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About The Health of It All....

This is an index of the health notes included in recipes. These short tidbits of information can help answer questions on everything from Omega-3 Fats in fish to whether to cook chicken with the skin on or not. Want to know about garlic and cholesterol? Is it okay to eat eggs or not? It's all here.

More Articles About Eggs

Quit Worrying About Eggs!
It's a common misperception that those who have high cholesterol need to avoid foods with high levels of cholesterol in them, such as eggs and shrimp. The truth is that the amount of fat and saturated fat in your diet has much more impact on your cholesterol levels - and therefore your risk of heart failure - than the amount of cholesterol you eat.

An egg a day may help you keep your eyesight
About 5% of people 65 or older suffer from Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD), a disease which affects the part of the eye responsible for the sharpest central vision. One type of AMD has been associated with reduced blood levels of two antioxidants, carotenoids known as lutein and zeaxanthin. Chicken yolks provide a source of these carotenoids that is even more readily absorbed by the human body than lutein supplements or spinach, yet there is some concern that intake of additional chicken eggs might raise one's serum cholesterol levels.

Eggs Aren't A Problem
At almost every talk I give eggs come up in the discussion. Back in the 1970's and 80's eggs got a really bad rap - and not for very substantial reasons. Much of what happened in the late 1960's that laid the groundwork for the egg's poor reputation wasn't based on sound science, but over the last 30 years research has shown that for most people, dietary eggs and cholesterol is not a problem. 

 
 

The Health of It All

Eating Eggs

It appears that people with elevated cholesterol levels are able to have their eggs and eat them, too!

Dr. Frank Hu from the Harvard School of Public Health published a study of over 100,000 people who reported their egg consumption (April 1999 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association). Because the study's participants were also a part of the Nurse's Health Study and the Health Professional's Follow-up Study, he was able to compare their egg consumption with their health data.

He found that intakes of up to 1 egg daily did not cause an increase in the risk of heart disease or stroke. This doesn't mean that control of total dietary cholesterol should be abandoned altogether. It just means that this one study found that eggs alone did not have an impact on this group's risk.

This raises the question of whether other components in eggs render its cholesterol less harmful than the cholesterol found in other foods. As usual, more research needs to be conducted on this subject. Read More "The Health of It All..." Articles