I hope you had a Happy 4th of July and a healthy week!
One of the pervading myths in nutrition is that cholesterol causes heart disease. This has scared off many people from eating one of the most nutrient-dense foods available.
Eggs are actually beneficial for a number of reasons:
- Eggs are a great source of protein
- Eggs provide 13 essential nutrients (all in the yolk)
- Egg consumption with a reduced carbohydrate diet improves metabolic syndrome
- Eggs have no perceptible impact on blood cholesterol levels in 70% of the population
- In the other 30% of the population, eggs increased both HDL and LDL*
- Eggs have been shown to improve lipid profiles in a number of studies
* Recent research suggests that it's not the amount of cholesterol in an LDL particle that drives heart disease, rather it's the number of LDL particles in the bloodstream (Otvos et al, 2011).
Egg consumption actually tends to increase the proportion of large, buoyant LDL particles, which can carry more cholesterol, and therefore there are less particles needed overall. So, while eggs may increase LDL cholesterol, it actually decreases LDL particle concentration, which may be the biggest risk factor for heart disease. Eggs can raise HDL cholesterol which is beneficial as well.
(I will be lecturing on cholesterol soon in the studios to help you understand more about cholesterol, as it is a fascinating, and nuanced subject.)
Egg Consumption and Metabolic Syndrome
Researchers (Blesso et al, 2013) compared a group of people eating three eggs-a-day to a group eating a yolk-free substitute. The study title gives you the results and conclusion of the study: "Whole egg consumption improves lipoprotein profiles and insulin sensitivity to a greater extent than yolk-free egg substitute in individuals with metabolic syndrome."
The subjects consuming the eggs improved virtually every marker for cardiovascular disease and lowered their insulin resistance, which is a physiological condition in which cells fail to respond to the normal actions of the hormone insulin.
Egg Consumption and Cholesterol Levels
There was a relatively recent review (Kritchevsky, 2004) of the research and recommendations on egg consumption finding that egg consumption is not associated with higher cholesterol levels:
"Abstract: ...data from free-living populations show that egg consumption is not associated with higher cholesterol levels. Furthermore, as a whole, the epidemiologic literature does not support the idea that egg consumption is a risk factor for coronary disease. Within the nutritional community there is a growing appreciation that health derives from an overall pattern of diet rather than from the avoidance of particular foods, and there has been a shift in the tone in recent dietary recommendations away from "avoidance" messages to ones that promote healthy eating patterns. The most recent American Heart Association guidelines no longer include a recommendation to limit egg consumption, but recommend the adoption of eating practices associated with good health. Based on the epidemiologic evidence, there is no reason to think that such a healthy eating pattern could not include eggs."
Mark Sisson, a fitness and nutrition author, recently wrote about another egg study elucidating the benefits of the 'incredible, edible' food:
"For the study, researchers from the Pennington Biomedical Research Center at Louisiana State University assigned 152 otherwise healthy but overweight or obese participants to one of four groups: Egg, which required them to eat a breakfast containing two eggs; bagel, which required them to eat a breakfast containing bagels that was identical in terms of energy density and total energy to the egg breakfast; egg diet, which allowed the egg breakfast as part of a 1000 kcal energy-deficit low-fat diet; and bagel diet, which allowed the bagel breakfast plan, but this time with the calorie restrictions. Study participants were required to follow these diet parameters for at least five days per week
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"After eight weeks, participants in the egg diet group exhibited a 61% greater reduction in body mass index (BMI) than their peers in the bagel diet group. But we all know BMI is a bit of a tricky measurement and isn't necessarily reflective of a healthy weight, so consider this: When compared to the bagel dieters, participants in the egg diet group also exhibited a 65% greater weight loss, a 34% greater reduction in waist circumference (which some experts would argue is far more indicative of future health risks) and a 16% reduction in body fat (now we're talking!).
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"Based on these findings, the researchers conclude that an egg breakfast helps overweight adults lose more weight and feel more energetic than those who ate a bagel of equal calories. Speaking to the mechanism behind the findings, the study's lead author suggests that 'the increased satiety and energy due to eggs helps people better comply with a reduced-calorie diet.'"
These studies speaking to eating a "reduced-calorie diet" may be misinterpreting cause and effect. The conventional wisdom assumes that people adhering to a low-calorie diet causes a reduction in body fat. Perhaps it's the inverse: people increasing their protein and fat (the egg) intake and decreasing their consumption of carbohydrates (the bagel) cause them to reduce body fat and therefore reduce their calorie intake. Why? Because if they're creating an internal environment in which they are burning more fat from their fat stores, they have more endogenous, or 'internal food' available, and will therefore require less exogenous, or 'food', to meet energy demands. They haven't reduced calories below energy demands - that would imply starvation - their caloric consumption is meeting energy demands, but they are getting more fuel from body fat in the case of the egg group.
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Syrille R., a dedicated Weston client reached out and provided some wonderful cold soup recipes which will come in handy during the dog days of summer. Here is her delicious Gazpacho recipe:
GAZPACHO
- 6 Tomatoes
- 1 green pepper
- 1 red pepper
- 2 cucumbers, peeled
- 2 onions
- 3 cloves of garlic (I use 3 tbs. crushed garlic in a jar)
- 1 64 oz. bottle of tomato juice
- dash of cayenne pepper
- black pepper
- dash of kosher salt
- basil
Chop everything and put into food processor. It will take about 3-4 times to do this.
Pour into a large bowl after each batch has been processed. Do not overprocess. You want the vegetables to be coarsely chopped. Taste for seasoning.
Gazpacho can be paired with protein-rich foods such as an omelet or fish - in fact, you can add seafood to gazpacho such as scallops, shrimp, crab meat, or tuna, for example. Thanks for sharing, Syrille!
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Nutrition Seminar in Wellesley, July 12
I will be hosting a nutrition seminar at the Wellesley studio on Friday, July 12 12:30-2:30 p.m. in which we will discuss how to lose excess fat and keep it off and get in the best shape of your life. Topics will include nutrition, interval training, resistance training, support, accountability, and a brief history of the obesity epidemic and why some of the conventionally-believed tenets of weight loss, such as "calories-in-calories-out" are flawed, and may be the reason why you're struggling to lose fat and maintain your hard-earned lean body mass. There will be a Q&A throughout so I can address your specific questions, comments, and concerns.
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Have a happy, healthy, and productive week, and heed the words of Marcus Aurelius: "to begin is half the work, let half still remain; again begin this, and thou wilt have finished."
Onward and committed to your success,
Bob Kaplan independently owns and operates six Get In Shape For Women studios in Massachusetts: Bedford, Wayland, Wellesley, Westford, Weston, and Winchester. Bob has a Master of Business Administration (MBA) a Master of Science (MS) in Exercise Physiology, a Bachelors Degree in Nutrition, and is a nationally certified nutrition coach (Precision Nutrition) and personal trainer through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA-CPT).
Bob also serves as an independent researcher for the Nutrition Science Initiative (NuSI), a non-profit organization dedicated to reducing the economic and social burden of obesity and obesity-related chronic disease by improving the quality of science in nutrition and obesity research. Bob has more than 15 years experience as a personal trainer, exercise physiologist, nutrition and exercise program coordinator, freelance health and nutrition journalist, as well as a diet, health, and disease researcher, contributing to multiple New York Times Best Sellers.
