Kind of loving this article maybe more than I should. Whenever we had lectures on nutrition and health management in med school, it was always a little mirky because, in the past, the medical profession has been pretty poor at pinpointing exactly what foods help you maintain/improve health (yeah, turns out that mimicking the healthy Asian population by eating low-fat, high-carb isn’t the best diet).
And of course, there are so many measurements beyond pounds, waistlines, and cholesterol–it’s tough to get a good assessment of health. John and I are currently on week three of the Paleo Challenge at our crossfit box (made considerably more easy by the fact that I can indulge with brownies and nutella). I like the lifestyle, but the one thing I can’t get behind is the encouragement that we get pre- and post-challenge blood work, which includes such measurements as c-reactive protein, a non-specific measure of inflammation. Any change made by the challenge seems arbitrary, but what do I know, right?
This short piece succinctly summarizes with a pop culture twist a lot of what I’ve learned. My favorite debunked myth is rightfully number 1; makes me feel better about consuming 3-4 eggs daily and feeding my daughter an over-easy (which she promptly destroys/devours) every morning:
kathleen and isaac’s chickens’ eggs
1. Eggs Are Bad For Your Health
Eggs are so incredibly nutritious that they’re often called “nature’s multivitamin.”
The nutrients in them are enough to turn a single cell into an entire baby chicken.
However, eggs have been demonized in the past because they contain a large amount of cholesterol, which was believed to increase the risk of heart disease.
But the truth is that despite being high in cholesterol, eggs don’t really raise the bad cholesterol in the blood. In fact, eggs primarily raise the “good” cholesterol (1, 2, 3, 4).
Despite all the warnings about eggs in the past few decades, studies show that they are NOT associated with heart disease (5, 6, 7).
If anything, eggs are pretty much a perfect food for humans. They’re loaded with protein, healthy fats, vitamins, minerals and unique antioxidants that protect the eyes (8, 9).
They are also an excellent source of Choline, a nutrient that is very important for the health of the brain and about 90% of people aren’t getting enough of (10, 11).
Despite being a “high fat” food, eating eggs for breakfast is proven to cause significant weight loss compared to a breakfast of bagels (12, 13).
Bottom Line: Eggs are among the most nutritious foods on the planet and do not raise your risk of heart disease. Eggs for breakfast can help you lose weight.
anna in med school 