Like Humpty
Dumpty, the common egg has had a great fall.
And, despite
their best efforts, nutrition experts are having a hard time
putting the "incredible, edible egg" back together
again.
In the 1940s,
egg consumption in the U.S. reached a high of more than 400
per person, per year. By the early 1990s, consumption had
fallen to 235, and a lot of those eggs were hidden in cakes,
cookies and other prepared baked goods and packaged
products, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The primary
reason? Scientific studies in the early `70s linked high
cholesterol to heart disease.
Never mind
that the studies linked cholesterol in the blood - not
cholesterol in the diet - to heart disease. Eggs caused
concern because egg yolks are the most common major source
of cholesterol in the American diet, the others being organ
meats (especially beef liver) and crustaceans (shrimp, crab
and lobster). How often do we eat those?
The 212
milligrams of cholesterol in a single large egg caused a lot
of consumers to cut back on eggs, and a new survey conducted
by the Egg Nutrition Center in January found 24 percent of
us still avoid eggs for fear of the dietary cholesterol they
contain.
Now experts
are urging us to reconsider the egg.
"Thirty
years of research has never linked eggs to heart
disease," says Neva Cochran, a nutrition communications
consultant and columnist for Women's World and Maximum
Fitness magazines. "Nutrition professionals
increasingly understand that the overall pattern of the
diet, not the avoidance of particular foods, is most
important for health and wellness. ... I tell people,
`Choose your eggs by the company they keep.'"
For
breakfast, she recommends fluffy scrambled eggs in the
company of fresh fruit, whole wheat toast and a glass of
low-fat milk or fat-free yogurt - as opposed to fried eggs
with bacon or sausage, biscuits and gravy.
The body
itself makes most of the cholesterol that gets into the
blood, which can clog blood vessels and lead to heart
attacks and strokes. The amount you produce, how well you
metabolize it and how easily your body gets rid of the
leftovers depends primarily on heredity.
As for diet,
other components, particularly saturated fats (from whole
milk dairy products, fatty meats, butter and tropical oils)
and trans fats (partially hydrogenated vegetable oils used
primarily in frying), are bigger issues than cholesterol
when it comes to coronary artery disease, says Dr. Jo Ann
Carson, professor of clinical nutrition at the University of
Texas Southwestern Medical School's Center for Human
Nutrition.
"Each
has a role in raising cholesterol, but saturated fat is a
bigger part of our diet (so it plays a bigger role). Cheese
and bacon are not only laden with saturated fat, but also
cholesterol. If we choose them to go in our three-egg
omelet, we really compound the problem," Carson says.
"Of course, there are healthier choices. We can choose
turkey bacon and low-fat cheese for our omelets. As my kids
were growing up, I used two egg whites with each whole egg
for scrambled eggs. I often use egg substitute in place of
eggs when I am cooking, but I also eat more deviled eggs
than I used to."
The American
Heart Association's latest nutrition recommendations do not
limit the number of eggs eaten, as long as total dietary
cholesterol is limited to about 300 milligrams per day,
which means one egg a day, and less if you eat liver or
lobster that day.
___
Q&A: We
ask the egg-sperts
Q: Why eat
eggs at all?
A: They are
an inexpensive source of high-quality, low-fat protein.
Also,
"they have more satiety value than most snacks, so you
feel full and satisfied longer," says Neva Cochran, a
nutrition communications consultant and columnist for
Women's World and Maximum Fitness magazines. "I
probably eat three or four hard-cooked eggs a week. Add a
couple of whole-grain crackers or a piece of fresh fruit,
and that's a low-calorie snack that will really stay with
you."
Q: Are they
OK for the elderly?
A: "I
sometimes see frail, elderly people who have heart failure
and are not getting as much protein as they need. Their
health is declining, but they don't eat eggs because eggs
contain cholesterol, and they know that is one of the things
that caused their heart failure," says Dr. Jo Ann
Carson, professor of clinical nutrition at the University of
Texas Southwestern Medical School's Center for Human
Nutrition. "But, for that person, eggs might be a very
good source of protein."
Q: Should
pregnant women eat eggs?
A: Yes, as
long as the eggs are fully cooked and the women are not
allergic to eggs.
Eggs provide
four of the nutrients pregnant women need most: protein,
iron, folate and choline. They are an excellent source of
choline (a nutrient especially important for pregnant and
nursing women during fetal and infant brain development).
Two eggs provide about half the recommended daily intake of
choline and a type of iron that is particularly well
absorbed. Eggs also contain folate, a B vitamin that can
help reduce the risk of serious birth defects affecting the
brain and spinal cord.
Q: What if I
have high blood cholesterol?
A: The
typical recommendation: If you have high LDL ("bad
cholesterol"), eat no more than two egg yolks a week.
The Diabetes Association says no more than three a week.
"If you
have high cholesterol in your blood, we give you a diet that
restricts dietary cholesterol to 200 milligrams per day.
Most products made with eggs (such as cornbread, muffins and
pancakes) are diluted enough that they are not a big
concern," Carson says.
Q: What if
I'm on a cholesterol-lowering drug?
A: Most
people with high cholesterol can lower it with an effective
drug or combination of drugs, but they still need to limit
cholesterol and fat, particularly saturated fat.
Cholesterol-lowering drugs are meant to go along with a
low-fat, low-cholesterol diet, Carson says.
Q: What about
"designer eggs?"
A: Eggs
designed to be more nutritious, such as Eggland's Best, come
from "vegetarian-fed hens," and have higher
concentrations of vitamin E, more omega-3 fatty acids (which
may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and dementia)
and less saturated fat than regular eggs. Some brands also
promise less cholesterol.
"There
are so many designer eggs, but I don't recommend spending
the extra money when regular eggs are so nutritious,"
says Cochran, who researches recipes and meal plans for the
Egg Council.
For more
information, go to www.incredibleegg.org
Sources:
American Council on Science and Health, American Egg Board,
Brigham and Women's Hospital Pregnancy Food Guide, Neva
Cochran, Jo Ann Carson
___
PERFECTLY
HARD-COOKED EGGS
This method
will assure eggs are tender, not rubbery, and have no green
ring around the yolk:
1. Put as
many eggs as you want or can fit in one layer on the bottom
of a pan. Put the pan in the sink and run water into the pan
until it is one inch over the top of the eggs. Put the pan
on a burner, and turn the burner to medium high.
2. Let the
water come to a boil. Put the lid on the pan when the water
is boiling. Move the pan onto a cold burner. Leave the lid
on. Set the timer for 15 minutes for large eggs, 12 minutes
for medium or 18 minutes for extra large.
3. Put the
pan in the sink when the time is up and run cold water into
the pan until the eggs are cool. Put eggs into the
refrigerator if you are going to use them later, or peel
them if you are going to use them right away.
4. Gently tap
a cooled egg on a countertop or table until it has cracks in
it. Roll the egg between your hands until the cracks turn
into small crackles all over the egg.
5. Use your
fingers to start peeling off the shell at the large end of
the egg. If you need to, you can hold the egg under running
cold water or dip it in a bowl of water to make peeling
easier. Throw out all the pieces of egg shell. (Do not peel
eggs until shortly before you eat them. Eat them all within
a week of cooking.)
Source: The
American Egg Board
___
EGG YOLKS VS.
WHITES: NUTRITION
One large egg
has about 75 calories from 6 grams of protein and 5 grams of
fat, most of it unsaturated.
Eggs offer 18
vitamins and minerals, including iron, riboflavin, folate
and vitamins B12, D and E.
An egg yolk
has:
59 calories
3 grams of
protein
5 grams of
fat
212 mg of
cholesterol
23 mg of
calcium
81 mg of
phosphorus
An egg white
has:
16 calories
3 grams of
protein
0 cholesterol
2 mg of
calcium
4 mg of
phosphorus
55 mg of
sodium
45 mg of
potassium.
Source:
American Council on Science and Health
