Eggs? Well, yes, eggs are good for you, writes Dr. Al Sears on U.S. Wellness’s website. It’s not just the protein in eggs that makes them so healthy. Eggs are what Dr. Sears calls “nature’s vitamin package. They have every vitamin you need — all the B vitamins and vitamin C. They even have the fat soluble vitamins A, D, E and K that are so hard to come by in the modern world.” What’s more, eggs have every amino acid you need in exactly the ratio you need it. Humans also digest the protein from eggs better than from meat or fish.
But, you ask, what about cholesterol and its link to heart disease? According to Dr. Sears, neither cholesterol nor eggs cause heart disease?
A study from Harvard followed 118,000 men and women for 14 years. It found no link between eating eggs and the risk of heart disease or stroke.
In fact, another study of almost 600,000 people found that eating one egg a day actually lowered the risk of stroke by 12%.
But before you head out to one of the big box grocery stores, there are a few things to keep in mind in before choosing which eggs to buy. What you don’t want are factory-raised eggs that have been laid in filthy environments by chickens confined to hundreds of cages stacked sometimes two stories high. The chickens raised in those environments are “25 times more likely to become contaminated with salmonella than free-roaming chickens.” And eggs from factory-raised chickens have far less omega-3s, antioxidants, nutrients and protein than eggs from their free roaming sisters. Here’s what Dr. Sears suggests:
- Look for eggs labeled “Pastured” or “Pasture Raised.” I call them the “Rolls Royce” of eggs. They have much higher nutrient levels and less chance of passing along disease. Pastured chickens live on small farms where they run around freely. Each day they’re herded in small groups to fresh pastureland. They have fresh greens to eat and a clean environment. These chickens have plenty of space, sunshine and a natural diet to eat.
- Don’t get pastured confused with “free-range.” The USDA allows a “free-range” label if the chicken coop has a door to the outside. But that doesn’t mean the chickens actually ever see the light of day.
- If you can’t find pastured eggs, my second choice is organic. Organic eggs come from cage-free hens fed organic, vegetarian feed. Neither the hens nor their feed are subjected to antibiotics, hormones or pesticides.
Read more on the marketing fraud of eggs here.
Originally posted December 20, 2016.
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