Jan
It is said that President Theodore Roosevelt began his day with a dozen whole eggs, yolks included. Known for grabbing life by the horns and giving it all he had, Teddy was full of vigor. Was it eggs that gave him the gusto to accomplish much in a short amount of time? Doubtful, but it is a piece to the puzzle which made the man who lived the strenuous life!
Sentenced Without a Fair Trial!
Deemed as saturated evilness by governing agencies advocating low fat lifestyles, eggs were sentenced to life behind bars. If you are as old as I am, you will remember the commercials where eggs plead for their freedom. Well, these same agencies have recently changed their stance, determining that saturated fats no longer pose such a threat.
Eggs are now recognized as safe against heart disease, blood pressure, and other health conditions. Unfortunately, however, society stills lives the misinformed life, that eggs are evil and saturated fats serve no purpose.
Egg White Revolution
Bodybuilders who recognized the benefits of eggs but still followed the recommended low fat lifestyle. Rather than complete elimination, they adopted a practice of capturing the sacred egg whites. Then sending the yokes to their immediate death.
Even as a former bodybuilder, this never felt right to me. It could have been seeing a benefit to the golden goodness but probably not. It was most likely because I was notably a “no waste” kind of guy. This is how I think of myself, but my family would prefer to just say I’m cheap.
A Waste of Potential
Cost aside, it is indisputable that egg yolks offer many micronutrient benefits. Most notably, eggs contain the scarce b-vitamins, not found frequently in foods. B-12, which plays a direct role in protein synthesis, are abundantly found in egg yolks.
The yolks also contain choline which improve memory function and cognition. My latest DNA report kindly informed me I better take this serious…
Yolks also contain half of the protein found within the egg. Back in my glory days, a gram of protein was more valuable than its equal weight in gold (at least in my mind). Throwing away three grams for every yolk near gave me a heart attack that they claimed the yolks would cause.
The Cost Comparison
In my retail store, I declined to carry the ever popular giant bottles of egg whites. It didn’t matter that they were tasteless or chocolate flavored. I could never lead my clients to the dark side of egg yolk disposal. When doing a cost comparison between bottled egg whites and buying a dozen eggs, there was no comparison.
The Yolk Comparison
Here is where we need to point out that quality matters. A dozen eggs from chickens living in darkness, sleeping on each other, cannot be good for you. No way, as good for you as chickens eating fresh foods (and worms), running around the yard, exposed to the sun.
The terms cage-free, free range, and organic can all be so confusing. A better strategy is to buy eggs from someone you know. Be it a company or an individual. Going on my walk with my kids I hear chickens cluck from many houses. I bet the same exists for you.
Time Matters
Fat is the most sensitive macronutrient to degradation and potentially harmful effects. Buying eggs recently laid by the chicken, eliminates most potential problems. Farm fresh eggs now give you fats that can help your hormonal system, joints, and brain function. It is the synergy between the saturated and omega fatty acids where these benefits occur.
You know what the vitamins A, D, E, and K are correct? Do you know what they all have in common? They are all fat-soluble vitamins. Fat soluble means that these vitamins dissolve in fat. Without fat, absorption is minimal. In Egg Yolks, you have all the above, trapped in fat.
Very few foods provide these fat-soluble vitamins along with the fats they need for absorption. With a salad, you need to add fat based dressings to get the most out of the vitamins inside.
The Cooking Comparison
“Low and slow,” LZ said. At the time LZ was telling me I needed to cook this way to prevent eggs from sticking. Nobody ever taught me to cook growing up. As I’m sure you know, eggs are the stickiest, most stubborn ingredients to hit the pan.
Thankfully LZ told me this, but for another good reason. Fats are sensitive to heat. While it is perhaps OK to cook eggs on medium to high temperatures briefly. Since they are filled with fats, cooking at lower temperatures is a precaution to keep the eggs from degrading. As well, this helps to maintain higher levels of micronutrients within them.
Maximizing the Yolk
We can hide a lot of (on their own) not so great tasting ingredients in eggs. Have you noticed that “not so great” often means good for you? Things like mushrooms and scallions can complement your eggs while also complimenting your body with their micro and phytonutrients. Use the fats within the eggs to your advantage. Leverage them by adding more ingredients where the micronutrients can enjoy the increased uptake of fatty acids.
A Balanced Approach
With all this talk about fats, you probably think I will push you over the keto ledge. That is not the case at all. Most people do not move enough…which means they require fewer calories.
If you get your total daily movement up, you will increase the amount of food that you can eat. This means more opportunities to increase your micronutrients. If you evenly distribute your macronutrients (proteins, carbohydrates, and fats) to 33% each, you get to eat plenty of fats.
Here is a personal example. Right now, I am eating 3000 calories per day. Roughly 35% is from fat.
Use this calculator to determine your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure.
This means I get to eat 1225 calories or 136 calories from fat. Even if I were to eat a dozen eggs per day like Teddy, I could still eat more fat! A dozen eggs, still allows me 64 grams of fat from my favorites. The list includes foods such as beef, butter, olive oil, coconut, salmon, milk, and nuts.
The trick is, do not follow a low-calorie diet. If you are like me and love food a low-calorie diet won’t work. The only way we get to avoid the low-calorie trap, is if we avoid a low energy lifestyle. Your couch, office chair, and driver’s seat should be your enemy, not the egg.
I hope this scrambled your thoughts about eggs…OK bad joke, but seriously, let me ask you a question.
What comes first, the chicken or the egg? Well, in my diet, the egg will always come first because their fats are where it’s at!
