I like you guys, well most
of you at least...
The other day
(morning)Brad and I were having a discussion about eggs. He told me that one
egg contains 90% of RDA of cholesterol. I told him I didn't believe that to be true, but
it also depends on the type of egg that you consume - meaning that pastured eggs
are more nutritious than caged ones. We then gave each other a challenging
stare coupled with a nod as he defied me to prove it.
Well, I, ever so full of nutritional data facts curiosity and the all too occasional bout of insomnia spent
some time seeking reputable information.
Cholesterol content in an egg:
The RDA of cholesterol for
the average person is 300mg. According to the nutritional data provided by
the USDA'swebsite - which incidentally is a pretty good source of acquiring
nutritional data due to the complexity of provided information - a large sized
raw egg contains roughly 186mg of cholesterol. When we math that, it turns out
to be 62% of your RDA. Other sites, such as nutritiondata.com gave
me a read of 212mg for one large egg, which equates to 71% of your RDA for cholesterol.
Alright, let's put this part of the discussion on the back burner and set it to
simmer.
Pastured eggs - vs - caged
eggs:
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Pastured eggs, meaning
eggs from chickens that are free to forage for grass and insects, are of much
higher nutritional quality than eggs from confinement chickens (aka, factory
farms). The marginal increase in value, of course, is found mostly in the yolk.
Insects provide a higher
DHA content, found exclusive in the yolk, and grass provides a higher vitamin E
and carotene content, also found exclusively in the yolk. Egg yolks from
pastured chickens are thus a powerful supplement to a healthy diet — a
super-food — providing necessary nutrients in which the Standard American Diet
is deficient.
Of the several articles I read whilst searching the nutritional differences between pastured and confined eggs, the one that seemed to be most reputable was in [motherearthnews.com]. The good folks at NatGeo, and Good Food U were among the ones who cited this study. It focused on confined
eggs vs. eggs from 14 different farms throughout the country and it was
done by an accredited laboratory in Portland, OR. The study found that,
compared to official USDA nutrient data for commercial eggs, eggs from hens
raised on pasture may contain:
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- 1/3 less cholesterol
- 1/4 less saturated fat
- 2/3 more vit - A
- 3 times more vit - E
- 7 times more beta carotene
- 4 to 6 times as much vit - D
- 2 times more omega-3 fatty acids
Ok, now lets address some
of possible gripes.
You can argue that the
study I found is biased - which humors me, because we can easily say that all
studies will contain some type of bias. Perhaps the website
(motherearthnews.com) sounds as if it is too hippie/owl-cuddling/granola for
you. That is a valid thought. I spent a lot of time looking for studies from a
major university or college to no avail. Several websites, nutritional blogs, and
magazines recurrently cited the aforementioned hippie-sounding
website. So I referenced it because the information seemed legit.
Without spending too much time on a soapbox, I would like
to opinionate that: Part of reason these type of studies don't exist
from major names is because most of the money to pay for big studies is in the
hands of these large factory brands that have great influence on the
USDA. The USDA will have you believe that all eggs are created equal, just
as all vegetables, whether organic or not, are equal. Somehow the output
from a chicken doesn’t depend on the inputs in the USDA’s world, which is
frankly a ridiculous assumption.
So.... perhaps a chicken is a little
computer program that always puts out the perfect solution, regardless of how
much craptacular garbage you fed into the program. I think it's rubbish. Either
way, the concept of getting away from factory farms is still new. What our
grandparents once called food, we now call organic food. Ok, so I stayed on the soapbox for quite a bit.... sorry. Those are strictly my thought on the matter.
Anyways, both (morning)Brad and I were kinda sorta correct but not really. Either way, I did get to read up a lot about eggs and the way that their nutritional content affects the body. Chicken eggs are high in cholesterol, yes. A diet
high in cholesterol can contribute to high blood cholesterol levels, yes. However,
how much the cholesterol in ones diet can increase ones blood cholesterol
varies from person to person. Studies done by the University of Conn., Harvard Med, the Mayo clinic, and NIH state that eggs don't necessarily lead to increased risk heart disease, rather, they are beneficial.
In closing, if you like huevos in your mouth there is no need to worry, for they are still good for you (again). Just like coffee - beautiful beautiful coffee. Myself, I usually consume 2 egg whites to 1 egg yolk when I go to town on some omelettes. Yummy. Thanks, Brad, for inspiring this bit of knowledge.
I can kill 2 stones with one bird,
-The Black Lion
