Most people seem to think that eggs are a bad food, more likely to make you store more belly fat than lose any. So you might be pretty surprised to see me include them in a list of fat burning foods! Unfortunately most of this bad press comes from the fried versions served up at fast food joints, and the pre-conception that they are a fatty food.
Not to mention the fact that chickens are mistreated by the battery farms that mass produce our eggs. Aren’t eggs bad for cholesterol levels too? Or are they? More on that in a moment…
But I’m here to show you that eggs are actually nutritional powerhouses, packed full of healthy vitamins, minerals and antioxidants; a true fat burning food!
Choose Whole Eggs
Recently it seems to have become popular to only eat the egg whites, discarding the yolk. The thinking behind this is that the whites contain all of the good stuff (i.e. the protein) and the yolks contain all of the crappy stuff (fat and cholesterol). Fair enough, yolk goes in the bin. But hang on a minute, what if I told you the thinking behind egg yolks was all wrong…
Whole eggs are a much more bio-available (easy to digest) source of protein than the whites alone. This is because of a more balanced amino acid profile. And that’s not the best bit…
Egg yolks are actually the most nutritious and healthiest part of the egg! They contain almost all of the vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. In fact more than 90% of an egg’s micronutrients are located in the yolk.
So What’s In An Egg Yolk
One of the antioxidants that can be found in egg yolk is lutein. This helps to slow down the thickening of your arteries, thus reducing the risk of heart disease. It is also important for maintaining healthy eyes.
The yolks are also loaded with vitamins and minerals such as: Calcium, iron, phosphorus, zinc, vitamins A, D, E and K, B6 and B12. There are also plenty of essential fatty acids.
So as you can see, by avoiding eggs completely, or just eating the whites you are missing out on a ton of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients.
Do Eggs Increase Cholesterol?
But what about the rumors that eggs are bad for my cholesterol levels; are they true? Well no actually, the rumors are false.
Recent research has shown that eggs increase good cholesterol (HDL), without increasing the bad LDL cholesterol.
So eggs DO increase cholesterol I hear you cry! But HDL is essential for may of your body’s vital functions. Higher levels of HDL has been liked to a decreased risk of heart disease. Nice.
Why Choose Free Range Eggs?
I’m a big fan of choosing the produce of free-range animals; their meat, their milk etc. I went to great length on the subject in my recent article on free range chicken breast. And guess what, free range eggs are no exception to this rule.
A hen’s quality of life, diet and environment are directly linked to the amount of nutrition that can be found in her eggs. Here is a little test you can do for yourself. If you were to crack open a battery farmed egg, and then a free-range egg you should notice a few differences. Firstly the free-range egg’s shell will be thicker and harder to crack. Next the free range yolk will be a deep orange, compared to a pale yellow yolk from the battery farmed egg.
Unfortunately battery farmed hens never get exercise or get access to a natural diet. But for the free range hens that do, it means their eggs are full of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and have a healthy ratio of omega 3 to omega 6 fatty acids. So it definitely is worth paying a little extra at the grocery store!
I hope you’ve enjoyed this article about free range, whole eggs. Check out my List Of Fat Burning Foods and uncover Negative Calorie Foods for even more foods that will help you lose weight.