Eggs,
Your Brain, Cholesterol and Heart Disease
by Charlie Skeen
Heart Disease and
High Cholesterol Foods
Since heart disease is the number one killer in the United States,
and other countries around the world, people are becoming more conscious
of avoiding high-cholesterol foods such as red meat, fried foods,
and eggs as recommended by their physician.
Eggs - Not Associated
with Heart Disease
One of these foods, eggs, after much research is actually proving
to protect us from heart disease. For example, researchers in Framington,
Massachusetts compared the egg consumption of 912 people. They discovered
that there was no association between egg consumption and heart disease
related symptoms such as heart attack, chest pain associated with
heart disease (angina pectoris), or death from heart disease.
Eggs Do Not Contribute
to Increased Cholesterol Levels
One researcher, Dr. Thomas R. Dawber also discovered that the cholesterol
levels of people who ate many eggs per week (7 to 24) were no different
than the people who ate only a few eggs per week (0 to 2.5).
Personal
Note:
I personally have been eating eggs for most of my life. I regularly
eat 18 to 24 eggs every week lightly scrambled. I am 51 years old
and I have a physical about once a year. I just had a visit to my
physician today, 9-18-03, and my blood pressure was 104 over 64 with
a resting heart rate of 52 beats a minute. My heart rate sometimes
reads into the forties. My cholesterol hovers around 150 to 168 with
an HDL reading of 49 mg/dl (HDL Reference Range 25 - 70) and an LDL
reading of 88 mg/dl (LDL Reference Range 0-130).
Also, please understand
that I do not drink or smoke, and I regularly exercise 3 days a week
and put into practice other health building factors.
Lecithin - Fat Eliminator
Within an egg is a natural substance called lecithin which is partly
made up of phosphatidylcholine. This phosphatidylcholine is made up
of one phosphate group, two fatty acids, and choline. When foods containing
phosphatidylcholine are eaten the body will break it down and use
the choline in the liver to assist in metabolizing, or breaking down
fat, and in the blood stream to prevent fat from accumulating on the
walls of the arteries. Since one large egg contains around 2,009 milligrams
of lecithin you would be getting about 282 milligrams of usable choline.
And this, many researchers feel, is the main reason why eggs do not
raise the cholesterol levels of people.
Linoleic Acid and
Cholesterol
Another reason researchers say that the phosphatidylcholine found
in lecithin can help control cholesterol is that it contains an essential
fatty acid called linoleic acid. Since many people eat processed oils
and fats they do not get enough of this fatty acid with the result
their blood fat levels become impaired, such as high cholesterol,
triglycerides, LDL, and low HDL levels. Linoleic acid also assists
in preventing platelet aggregation, or blood cell stickiness, which
causes clumps or clots to form blocking blood flow in the arteries.
Choline, the Brain
and Our Memory
In order for our brain to carry out the many complex processes that
it goes through daily, including our memory, an essential chemical,
called acetylcholine, must be available. For the body to produce acetylcholine,
choline is required.
Excellent Source
of Usable Protein
Another excellent advantage of eggs is that they provide a source
of high quality protein that is highly usable by the body. For example,
one large hard boiled egg contains 6.3 grams of highly usable protein.
And while it also contains 5.3 grams of fat, most of the fat is monounsaturated
and polyunsaturated which is more beneficial than the saturated fat
which is solid at room temperature while the other two are liquid.
And, remember the high level of choline which assists the body in
metabolizing the fats.
When eating eggs I know
many people who throw away the yolk because they don’t want
the fat or cholesterol. Actually most of the nutrition, such as lecithin,
is in the yolk. The yolk also contains B12, Folic Acid, Vitamin A,
Iron, and B2.
When preparing your eggs
do not fry them. Instead poach, scramble, or boil them. And never
eat raw eggs or add them to drinks in their raw state to prevent salmonella
poisoning.
The information I have just
provided is in no way advocating that you must eat eggs. But, on the
other hand if you have been eating egg substitutes, or avoiding them,
because of your fear of the cholesterol contained in eggs, then perhaps
this information may help you to rethink your decision.
| Below
is a chart showing the amount of choline and Phospholipid
level of some foods in milligrams. |
| Food
and Serving Size |
Free
Choline |
Lecithin
|
Total
Choline |
| Apple (1 medium) |
0.39 |
29.87
|
4.62 |
| Banana (1 medium) |
2.85
|
3.26
|
3.52 |
| Butter (1 tsp.) |
0.02
|
6.80
|
1.18 |
| Cauliflower (½
cup) |
6.79
|
107.06
|
22.15 |
| Cucumber (½
cup) |
1.18
|
3.06
|
1.74 |
| Egg (1 large) |
0.22
|
2009.80
|
282.32 |
| Potato (1) |
5.95
|
25.97
|
9.75 |
| Tomato (1) |
5.50
|
4.94
|
6.58 |
| Whole Wheat Bread ( 1 slice) |
2.52 |
6.57 |
3.43 |
| Human Milk
(1 cup)* |
2.10 |
27.08 |
10.29 |
| Infant Formula
(1 oz.) |
0.818 |
2.97 |
1.38 |
| Source:
Encyclopedia of Nutritional Supplements 1996, Michael T. Murray,
N.D. p-138 |
*Notice
that Human Milk has higher amounts of choline in comparison to the
Infant Formula. The choline is essential to the healthy development
of the child’s brain and blood profile in relationship to cholesterol,
triglycerides and heart disease in later years.
DISCLAIMER:
The information in this article is for educational purposes only,
and is not intended to provide medical advice which should always
be obtained from a qualified health practitioner, and has not been
approved by the U.S. FDA.
Copyright© 2004 by
Live Well Naturally. The use of information found in Live Well Naturally
Newsletter is prohibited without the written permission of the author.
