EGGS. GOOD OR BAD?
Remember when eggs were demonized as having too much cholesterol? Me too. I love using this analogy for people who still think that cholesterol is bad… blaming cholesterol is like blaming firefighters for starting the very fire they are putting out! Cholesterol is a healing agent in the body!
In her book, Put Your Heart in Your Mouth, Dr. Natash Campbell-McBride, she writes: “Cholesterol is an essential part of any cell membrane; in fact, in many cells of the body almost half of the cell wall is made out of cholesterol.” She also notes that “It is an established scientific fact that the body uses fats and cholesterol as raw materials for building cells and tissues, which include ALL healing processes.”
We NEED cholesterol. It’s vital to our overall health and well being. It’s vital this information gets out there! I highly recommend her book if you or someone you know suffers from or has suffered from high blood pressure, atherosclerosis, arrhythmia, heart attacks, and “high cholesterol”.
Okay back to eggs.
Eggs are nature’s multivitamin. They are an amazing source of bioavailable nutrients and high quality protein! They are also rich sources of selenium, vitamin D, B6, B12 and minerals such as zinc, iron and copper.
Now that we know eggs are GOOD FOR US! It’s important to note here is that all eggs are NOT created equal.
“FREE RANGE”, “NATURAL”, “CAGE-FREE”, “VEGETARIAN FED”???
These labels are a confusing tactic that USDA allows companies to use which meanings that do not truly depict how the chickens that lay the eggs were treated or raised:
The following terms are those to steer clear of:
- Natural – an absolutely meaningless term. All chickens are “natural”
- Antibiotic-free – this is important. We don’t want to eat any animals given antibiotics. Antibiotics make animals (and people) fat. This is a huge reason antibiotics are given to animals, it makes them fat.
- Cage Free – this only applies to hens that don’t live in cages. The chicken we eat isn’t raised in cages but the majority in horrible and inhumane conditions.
- Free-range – same as cage free for eggs. As for chicken’s raised for meat, this just means the animals had access to the outdoors but not actually if they went outside. Completely meaningless.
- Hormone-free – it is actually illegal to give hormones to poultry. So this term is meaningless and meant to make you think their chicken is better because of this meaningless term.
- Vegetarian fed – this is actually awful for poultry. Poultry is made to eat insect protein, such as worms, bugs, and grubs. This is why it’s crucial they are raised in pastures.
Terms to look for when buying eggs or chickens:
- Pastured or Pasture raised – Although this term isn’t an official designation, this is the gold-standard of egg and chicken production. When birds have ample space to live their happy pecking lives they are healthy, eat the right diet for them, and raised humanely. Buying local eggs at your farmer’s market is ideal! Find the nearest one to you by visiting www.localharvest.org
- Certified Humane- This means that an animal-welfare organization has inspected how the birds were raised and treated.
- Certified Organic – a very common label as it guarantees the birds weren’t fed grains doused with pesticides and GMO’s.
Healthy eggs should have a bright orange yolk. See below. Light colored yolks depict eggs from unhealthy or nutrient-deficient chickens.
I hope I’ve inspired you to first, love eggs (unless allergic), include them daily, and choose them wisely!
Do you have a good source for eggs? Do you think you’ll change the way you buy your eggs? I’d love to know!
If you love this type of content and are searching for more tips and ways to implement a long-term and sustainable lifestyle, join me in one of my clean eating programs!
With love and gratitude, Becky
