Eggs and Health

[dgibbons]

I have been eating a lot of eggs lately. I have been having 7-8 per day as my main protein source. I am a little guy, around 125lbs.

I eat very little meat(1-2 servings per week), and I am using protein powders very rarely. Outside of this, I am eating mainly a paleo diet, lots of fruits and vegetables and nuts. I feel great on this diet.

However, people constantly caution against eating as many eggs as I do. If they are basically replacing meat in my diet, are they a cause for concern with regard to cholesterol and overall health? I have read that eggs raise good cholesterol levels, but are not bad for overall blood cholesterol.

What do you guys think?

[Guest jumpupandfly]

There are very different ideas out there regarding eggs and cholesterol levels, and whether its healthy to eat them a lot.

In my opinion, you'll be fine, and the protein in eggs is very good and is easily used by your body compared to other sources.

If you are concerned about your cholesterol levels, then check with your doctor.

[David Picó García]

if you dont care about cholesterol go on, else, eat only the white of the egg (sorry i dont know that word in english :oops: ).The yellow part of the egg (sorry again) has a lot cholesterol, some people says that is not absorved because of the other components presents in the egg. May be. But you can eat just the white and benefit from high quality protein without be worried about cholesterol.

Cholesterol is needed for creat testosterone but with a standar diet you can be sure you got all the one you need.

So my recomendation is eat the white for protein and take other (not eggs) products if you want to raise good cholesterol.

[dgibbons]

Thanks for the responses, guys.

Does anyone know why there is such conflicting advice out there about eggs and cholesterol? Ive seen an interview where Charles Poliquin recommended eating whole eggs.

[Guest Ido Portal]

There is no problem with eating whole eggs. It wont elavate your cholesterol, especialy not the bad one. Latest research shows that there is no direct corellation between cholesterol consumption and cholesterol measured in blood. The body will produce more cholesterol on its own if you limit consumption and vise versa. Also the improtant thing is the ratio between the various cholesterol types and not total cholesterol.

The problem with such a frequent egg consumption is food allergies. It is a very allerganic protein source and eating it daily will lead to intolerance. (Skin problems, gut issues, and many many other manifestations of allergie)

Also look for organic omega-3 eggs. These are very good for you.

[dgibbons]

Thanks for the response. Would you recommend eating eggs 5 days instead of 7 each week, or cutting back on the number each day to reduce the chance of having allergy problems?

[Blairbob]

Do you have allergy problems. You either are or are not allergic to eggs. More than likely there is a tendency to be that regular eggs, not cage free, will tend to send someone's allergies off. This also applies to any eggs from chickens with hormones or antibiotics.

[Ari]

If you eat enough eggs frequently enough, you will become allergic to them. Or rather, you will just start to show symptoms of your allergy to them. Same with milk.

[Guess]

I eat 4 eggs per day, I take the yellow part raw, and I cook the white part (sorry for bad english). I do that for 1 year, and I've never get any symptome of allergy or other problems. So, my advice is to take your yellow part raw.

[Bob Sanders]

I eat eggs every morning for breakfast for protein in the morning about 3 eggs and sometimes 2. Is that OK? I assume most peopl eat eggs everyday in the mornings.

[Blairbob]

I have heard reports of some people eating around half a dozen day with good cholestrol/blood work results.

Preferably 2 eggs scrambled isn't a whole lot of food in itself. I prefer at least 3 maybe 5. 3 boiled eggs is always a good snack and it's easy to boil a half dozen to munch on through the day.

[Gregor]

From other forum (nutition) was one guy who eat 70 eggs per week for 6 months. Then he went to doctor and gave a blood sample.

The results was posted on a forum and all bad cholesterol was at the limit and good cholesterol at the normal.

That means that dietary cholesterol don't have any influence on cholesterol in your body.

[Bob Sanders]

So why do body builders go drinking raw eggs and taking all the yolks out? Now I know that body builders are only there for the looks and is totally different from gymnastics but a Gymnast needs a perfect body to execute moves with ease. How does the yolk effect the body composition?

[Gregor]

1.Ok if you go directly after training you can eat without yolk beacuse it's faster absorbtion and it's way from optimal (optimal are protein Whey powders).

2.Second thing is that whole eggs with yolk have way better amino acids profile.

3. They have good spectrum of fatty acids.

4. Eat them at least 2 hours prior or after training and ofcourse whenever you have meal in day. Why? beacuse we don't wan't to give body good fat for energy.

5. Eggs are the most anabolic nutrient you can get!!!

[Bob Sanders]

1.Ok if you go directly after training you can eat without yolk beacuse it's faster absorbtion and it's way from optimal (optimal are protein Whey powders).

2.Second thing is that whole eggs with yolk have way better amino acids profile.

3. They have good spectrum of fatty acids.

4. Eat them at least 2 hours prior or after training and ofcourse whenever you have meal in day. Why? beacuse we don't wan't to give body good fat for energy.

5. Eggs are the most anabolic nutrient you can get!!!

Did you mean " we want to give our body good fat for energy"? Thanks for the advice. Greatly informative. Thank you!

Speaking of eggs. Do any one have problems with sticking eggs? I just return my NON-STICK pan because it makes the egg stick. The chicken cooked fine. Any tips?

[Blairbob]

I hate teflon pans as they eventually wear out and now you're ingesting teflon.

I just use some butter when making the eggs up or canola oil if I'm out.

Some egg eaters throw the yolk out, because the yolk has more fat than the white. Unfortunately, the yolk has a lot more nutrition than the white as well.

[Gregor]

No we DON'T Why you want to, that good fat is going to waist?

You need good fats for other things in your body, not for energy.

[Bob Sanders]

Oh yeah I heard about that but I didn't know we ingest Teflon. :shock: They said something about heating it to hot making posionious fumes or something.

Gregor> Oh, got ya!

[David Picó García]

you have to do it Rocky style:

http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=3EYZCZvV7WM

Of course you also have to do it at 4 or 5 AM just before start running :wink:

[Guest Garre33]

ugh, thats gross! Im afraid to get salmonella so I boil the crap out of my eggs... haha

[Blairbob]

In Japan, raw eggs are frequently eaten, but it's also considered that the eggs that are produced there have more stringent health standards.

I did hear they are looking to require chicken farms in CA to be cage-free.

Teflon pans and utensils do have a heat threshold where they broke down. I'm kind of sick that a few of the pans we have are doing that because it's disgusting to scrape the teflon off when cleaning them.

[StevenL]

Eggs contain the highest quality protein of any food. Good source of choline needed for healthy brain and liver function. Avoid scrambled eggs. Scrambling oxidizes the cholesterol, and oxidized cholesterol increases the risk of atherosclerosis.

and another thing. . .

DON'T EAT JUST EGG WHITES!!!!

The whole egg is good for you.

[Blairbob]

Sunny side up and the other ones are icky. That texture is so, I dunno, heeby-jeeby.

I tried raw egg but I scrambled it and it was fine. I prefer my eggs scrambled or boiled, however though even though I did read about it oxidizing cholesterol.

[Blairbob]

raw eggs, these were good eggs.

gross, yuck, blech

i feel defiled but I didn't gag. i'm just glad i didn't put 2 in the glass

[Coach Sommer]

Raw Egg Banana Pudding

This has been my favorite breakfast now for a number of years. I have found that it is also an especially easy recipe for those who simply don't care for their raw eggs straight.

Recipe

1) 1 to 2 bananas - Place the bananas in a bowl. First break them into pieces and then begin mashing them with a fork. Continue mashing and stirring with the fork until the consistency of the banana has broken down completely into a pudding like consistency.

2) Add raw egg - Crack one raw egg onto the mashed bananas.

3) Add cinnamon - Add cinnamon according to your personal taste preference.

4) Re-mix the pudding - Stir the bananas, eggs and cinnamon until the mixture is fully blended and consistent.

The mashed bananas are surprisingly sweet and pleasant. Initially when you are not used to the texture of raw eggs, I recommend a ratio of 2 bananas to one raw egg. Over time, I found that I have naturally drifted to 1 banana and three raw eggs.

FYI, the eggs that I use are the fertile eggs from Trader Joes.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer