I want to take a moment here and
thank all the chickens around the world for giving us such a great and powerful
superfood; the incredible egg. There’s too much cholesterol in eggs, you say?
Bah! That’s bad science propagated through ignorant outlets promoted by
companies who profit from low fat diets. These are the same brilliant
scientists who told us butter was bad and to switch to margarine. Now we know
how bad that advice was. Yes, all you low fat egg substitute wanna-bees and egg
white omelet eaters, you’ve got it all wrong. Historically, all over the world,
eggs have been considered a nutrient rich food. It’s only when scientists
discovered cholesterol that this basic staple was quickly vilified without
completely understanding the role of cholesterol and by misunderstanding the
true cause of heart disease. High cholesterol is an invented condition that
never needed a savior.
Not all eggs are created (and
processed) equal. When a chicken lays an egg, the outer surface is covered with
a natural “bloom” sealing the egg and helping prevent bacteria from entering. However,
before the eggs get to your supermarket (even the organic ones), they are
subject to a chlorine bath, or rinsed in lye, and most get a mineral oil
coating. The egg shell is a porous membrane much like our skin. What goes on
the outside of the shell can leach into the egg inside. Personally, I’m not a
fan of eating chlorine, lye, or petroleum derived mineral oil. Washing a freshly
laid, dirty egg covered with a stray fluffy feather, with vinegar just
before use is a much better cleaning method.
From here on out, when I used the
word “egg” I am referring to an egg laid by a pastured, free range chicken who
clucks in nature’s sunshine and whose diet consists of broad leaf weeds, bugs,
and worms. Look for a local farmer’s market or check out www.realmilk.com for a farm or co-op near
you. Of course Google can assist in the search as well.
Not only is cholesterol important
but the egg is a good source of protein, vitamin A, D, and E, thiamine,
riboflavin, folate, pyridoxine (B6), cobalamin (B12), pantothenic acid,
choline, calcium, iron, phosphorus, sodium, zinc, selenium, and copper. It has
lesser amounts of vitamin k, niacin, magnesium, potassium, and manganese. That’s
one heck of a vitamin pill. And the best way to eat them: Raw! Have you
forgotten about Rocky and his workout drink? Now, I’m not about to do that.
However, I do put a raw egg in my homemade breakfast smoothie: ½ an avocado, a
banana, big spoonful of organic yogurt, some fruit, and a raw eggs. Over the
top nutrition and you will never taste the egg or feel its consistency.
So what about that cholesterol
business? Science was just dead wrong. Time Magazine had it as their cover story
in June, 2014. Cholesterol is vital for
building healthy sex hormones and hormones that actually protect against heart
disease, not cause it. Vitamin D needs cholesterol for proper utilization. Bile
is critical to the digestive process and absorption of dietary fats. Bile salts,
made by the liver, require cholesterol. It is vital for proper brain and nerve
function. Cholesterol is critical to repair of damaged cells. When science
declares that there is too much cholesterol in your blood vessels, this is not
a finite disease but rather a symptom of cellular breakdown. It is your blood
vessels that are weak, losing their integrity, and thus cholesterol comes to
the rescue…acting like a Band Aid.
Instead of gobbling up our nutritious eggs and fats, our medical doctors
and pharmaceutical companies have strung us out on statin drugs designed to
lower cholesterol. These statin drugs come with a long list of side effects. The
most common side effect is muscle pain and weakness due to the depletion of
Co-Q10. Add to that,
neuropathy, heart failure, dizziness, cognitive impairment, cancer, depression,
pancreatitis and an increased risk of raised blood sugar levels and the
development of Type 2 diabetes.
It’s time to throw that bad science out in the recycle bin. It’s time to
reclaim our health and eat our eggs without guilt. It’s time to give our body
much needed nutrition that it has been denied. That is, of course, unless you
prefer ill health and all the side effects from statin drugs.
