It seems as if there are stories and questions that we never hear the end of…

Will carbs make me fat?

What’s the BEST exercise for fat loss?

Does THIS fat burner work?

How do I burn more belly fat?

And, finally … one that just came up again this AM … is it OK to eat whole eggs or should I just eat egg whites?

There’s usually the concern about cholesterol.  Then fat itself. 

So it’s time to revisit this and HOPEFULLY put an end to the myth that egg yolks are bad.

Here’s the deal.  The yolk has all the cholesterol and fat.  That is correct.  It also has ALL the nutrition! 

While some still shun the yellow goodness in the egg, egg yolks are fantastic for you.  

There has NEVER been a connection between eating eggs and heart disease.

A study by researchers at the University of Connecticut supported the notion that eggs are fantastic for you, despite the high levels of cholesterol in them.

They found that after feeding groups an additional 640 mg of dietary cholesterol through egg yolks (about 200 mg of cholesterol/yolk) the plasma (in the blood) levels of HDL (the “good” cholesterol) were significantly higher than those who did not eat the additional dietary cholesterol from egg yolks.

You see, while it was once though that eating dietary cholesterol meant it went directly to your arteries to form plaque, we now know that dietary cholesterol doesn’t play much of a role in plasma cholesterol…or heart disease for that matter.

In fact a study published in 2007 fed participants eggs daily, upwards of over 6 per week (so around 1 or more per day) and they concluded that “regular egg consumption does not increase the risk of stroke and cardiovascular diseases.”

Here’s the deal – the body makes cholesterol.  

When you eat dietary cholesterol, your cholesterol production slows.  

Or the reverse holds true – you don’t eat enough, which usually means way too little dietary fat, your body will make more to meet the body’s needs.

Outside of the cholesterol "concern," eggs are high in some nutrients that may be otherwise difficult to get in the diet – choline, which is great for brain health, carotenoids, which are important for eye health, and zeaxanthin, which is an antioxidant.  And those are just a few of the benefits.

Research shows eggs boost weight loss!

Another recent study published in the International Journal of Obesity fed subjects an egg based breakfast (2 eggs/day) or a bagel based breakfast for 8 weeks.  It’s well known eating breakfast boosts fat loss.  This took it one step further.

Their findings?

Those eating the egg based breakfasts had a 65% greater weight loss and 34% greater decrease in their waists.

 Sold on the yolks yet?

 3 Take Home Points:

1. Egg yolks provide at least 13 important nutrients – egg whites don’t offer much outside of protein.
2. Dietary cholesterol is NOT the devil it was once thought to be. 
3. Eggs may boost weight loss when compared to a same calorie carbohydrate heavy breakfast

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You are probably well aware of the recent Nationwide Recall of eggs linked to salmonella.  And more recently the expansion of this recall…

…and I wouldn’t be surprised if we hear an even greater expansion soon.

So what does this mean?

Should we stop eating eggs?

As of now here are the brand names that are part of the recall:

Lucerne, Albertson, Mountain Dairy, Ralph’s, Boomsma’s, Sunshine, Hillandale, Trafficanda, Farm Fresh, Shoreland, Lund, Dutch Farms and Kemps.

We’ve always been supportive of the health benefits of eggs.  Great sources of protein, vitamins, and minerals. 

But of course a recall of this magnitude is certainly scary.  So at this point here is what the FDA advised consumers to do:

• Toss recalled eggs or return them to the store for a refund.
• See a doctor if you think you are ill after eating recalled eggs.
• Keep eggs refrigerated at all times.
• Throw out cracked or dirty eggs.
• Wash hands, utensils and preparation surfaces with soap and water after contact with raw eggs.
• Cook eggs until both the white and the yolk are firm and eat promptly after cooking.

Or maybe the smartest move would be to do what we’ve done this week … switch over to a vegan diet, where eggs aren’t part of our nutrition at all this week. 

When we do eat eggs, we only use those from our local farmers market.  Of course this doesn’t protect us 100%, but this way there’s a little more "control" over the product, less shipping, handling, and less of a chance to have issues. 

And these eggs taste much better anyhow. 

Once this recall passes and it’s determined where the issue is coming from, if you do go back to eating eggs, remember that eggs DO NOT cause heart disease — a topic we wrote about in the past. 

In the meantime, if you do eat eggs, follow the FDA recommendations to make sure you don’t put yourself or family at risk.  Or, like us, shift over to a vegan diet for a bit and avoid that risk altogether.

"Organic foods are a waste of money" caused a bit of a stir — we were called "hypocrites" for not sticking to our guns recommending "healthy foods."

So I started thinking that I needed to clarify some points — I summarized a recent study that was published, basically showing there was no difference between organic and conventional foods.

But the question resurfaced — "I don’t care what the research says, what do YOU personally do?"

At the Mohr House, we belong to a CSA (community supported agriculture) and supplement with weekly trips to the Farmer’s Market. 

As I said, local is best in our opinion — and 99% of the time, these farmers are also organic, even though they may not be "certified" as such because of the associated costs.  You should ask the farmers how they grow their produce.

A CSA is simply where you buy a share of a farm — we paid $500 and get weekly, local crops, from May – December.  That’s well worth the price. Find one in YOUR area by visiting Local Harvest.org.  These are the greatest way to buy the best vegetables and fruit from YOUR area.  Our particular CSA guarantees nothing they carry will come from more than 50 miles away … and, as I said, local means tastier and much higher in nutrients.  If it’s organic too, it’s a great bonus.

Our goal is to buy everything as "close to the ground" as possible.  We also buy all of our meats from the farmer’s market — we’re fortunate to have one near us with farmers who have free range chicken & eggs (with pictures on the farm of their "happy, bug eating chickens" as they call them), 100% grass fed and finished red meat and pork.  We want to know where our food comes from … we know the farmers and they know us.

You know your hair dresser by name and you likely know your mechanic and your tailor.  Doesn’t it also make sense to know the person growing the food you’re eating and feeding to your family? 

We also grow some of our own veggies — we’re not making Martha Stewart nervous, but we have loads of tomatoes, some bell peppers, eggplant, zucchini and yellow squash, along with a boatload of fresh herbs.  What a blast!  There’s also data that shows families who grow their own vegetables have kids who eat more of them. 

So in a nutshell — 99% of our produce and all our meats are organically produced and are from local farms. 

And we do that by "following" these three "rules."

1. Grow them ourselves.

2. Buy them from a Farmer’s Market (or our CSA).
   
3. Join a CSA ( $500 over 6 months — you can’t beat the price for the quality!)
   

Speaking of knowing where our foods come from, has anyone seen the movie Food, Inc?  Anxious to learn a bit more about the food industry … I have a feeling it’s going to reinforce just how important "local" is!!!  Check out the trailer — Foodincmovie.com