day 13: eggs
When it comes to breakfast I’m usually an oatmeal kind of girl. It’s so warm and creamy and stick-to-your-ribs filling but lately I’ve been eating eggs in the morning for an extra source of protein. This morning when I opened the egg carton to grab some eggs to poach I saw only 2 eggs left and that’s when I realized that I had eaten 2 eggs every morning for brekkie last week. Usually it takes me about a month to go through a dozen eggs, but they were on my grocery list this week too.
This particular carton was organic eggs from free run hens. Maybe it’s all in my head, but I really do think they taste better and at least the fact that I can eat them without a guilty conscience justifies the higher price.
Anyway, I had heard before that due to the cholesterol content of eggs their consumption should be limited. So I thought I’d look into it. I did a little research and learned some interesting facts.
One egg has 215mg cholesterol (daily limit is 300) and 1.5g saturated fat. It has 6g of high-quality easily absorbed protein (3 in the yolk and 3 in the white) so if I toss the yolks, then I’ll be cracking 4 eggs instead of 2 to get the same amount of protein.
Eggs are nutrient dense. For only about 75 calories you get your total daily requirement of B12 and a quarter of your selenium. Eggs also have lutein which helps prevent macular degeneration. So there are definite health benefits to eating eggs.
I’m not worried about gaining weight by eating eggs, but I did find this interesting: In an 8-week study in the International Journal of Obesity, a group who ate a reduced calorie diet with 2 eggs for breakfast had a 61% greater reduction in BMI, a 65% greater weight loss, a 34% greater reduction in waist circumference, and a 16% greater reduction in percent body fat than a group who ate the same amount of calories but had a bagel breakfast. Basically, eggs at breakfast make you feel fuller longer allowing you to eat less.
Also, I read that cholesterol from food sources has less effect on blood cholesterol than saturated fat from food sources. I don’t eat a lot of meat and I have been cutting back on cheese, so my saturated fat intake is pretty low. As far as I know, I don’t have high LDL cholesterol so I should be safe to eat eggs.
So, I guess I’ll eat eggs at breakfast this week too!
Sources:
http://www.realage.com/blogs/have-you-had-an-egg-today
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/cholesterol/hq00608
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=92
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-08/epr-awe080408.php
February 8th, 2010 at 3:23 pm
Eggs are the one non-veg item i don’t know if i cold ever do without. I just feel really good eating them. I just try and make sure to eat organic, cage-free eggs so that I know the product I’m getting is high quality and ethical.
I didn’t know that about the B12. That’s helpful because it’s one of the vitamins I worry about. Eggs for bkfast tomorrow!
February 8th, 2010 at 4:41 pm
egg-cellent post. I am so cheesy.
February 8th, 2010 at 8:55 pm
I was so going to say the same thing as Sam. =) Love all the egg info.
February 9th, 2010 at 11:16 am
I’ve heard that organic eggs do taste better. I’ve never eaten an organic egg and regular egg side by side to really be able to corroborate that myself, though.
I love eggs. I sometimes by the egg whites in a carton for ease of use. They make perfect little omelets straight from a carton. Yes, sometimes, I’m a convienence girl. Okay, alot of times.
February 9th, 2010 at 12:24 pm
I’m like you – I always pick oats over eggs for breakfast. However I do love a good egg dinner now and then!
February 9th, 2010 at 3:16 pm
Every time I read about how great eggs are, I always regret the fact that I don’t like them! I only like them soft boiled on toast
Good for you for liking such a healthy food, though!
February 9th, 2010 at 3:23 pm
Great blog!! Thank you so much for your comments. I look forward to reading more – add me to your roll if you wish!!!
February 9th, 2010 at 6:16 pm
What a nice blog…thanks so much for your comment!
I love eggs! I eat at least one a day. I don’t eat meat so this is one of the easiest ways for me to get protein.
February 10th, 2010 at 10:31 am
Wow, so many comments.
You ladies really like eggs!
February 11th, 2010 at 1:09 pm
I love me some eggs, obviously. I also like all those egg-y facts. It justifies my 1-2 egg a day habit. I’ve also heard that the cholesterol in eggs is the good kind that combats the bad kind. I wonder if there’s any truth to this or if I’m making it all up in my head.
Did you buy the Rowe farm eggs?
February 11th, 2010 at 1:28 pm
They were Rowe Farms in fact.