By Marcia Greenblum, MS, RD
August 19th, 2011
Last week I had the opportunity to exhibit for the Egg Nutrition Center at the IDEA World of Fitness conference. This is the first foray the Egg Nutrition Center has made into communicating with the fitness and personal trainer profession. We recognize that with increased awareness of the importance of exercise for improved health, weight control and strength in aging, the personal trainer community has often been asked to be a resource about good nutrition. We learned earlier this year from a focus group that we conducted with personal trainers, that the personal trainer scope of practice does not include nutrition counseling although they share a strong interest in nutrition as it relates to health and body composition. However, since the exercise and fitness profession is seen by many as a good role model of healthy living, we felt it was important to reach out to this professional group with accurate information about eggs and overall nutrition.
Our observations from our focus group with personal trainers were reinforced at the IDEA World of Fitness Conference exhibit when many attendees stopped by showing interest in learning more about eggs and the many nutritional benefits of egg intake. The people I met were genuinely enthusiastic about eating eggs and were pleased to learn that including an egg yolk in their multiple egg white meal would offer so many vitamin and mineral benefits. We talked about the additional benefits of satiety to keep from hunger during long practices and the role of amino acid leucine that signals muscle synthesis making eggs a good protein source after exercise. Many attendees also wanted to know more about the benefits of additional nutrients in specialty eggs such as enhanced content of lutein, omega-3 fatty acids and choline. I was pleased that most people who came to our booth had a basic knowledge about the eye health benefits of lutein, the infant brain development benefits of choline as well as the cardiovascular benefits of omega-3 fatty acids but wanted to know more because they were already convinced that eggs were an inexpensive source of high quality protein.
In fact, this group of exercise enthusiasts serves as a wonderful example of how eating eggs, while maintaining a healthy body weight and exercising regularly, can reduce the risk of most chronic disease.
Tags: amino acids, eggs, IDEA, lutein, omega-3
By Mitch Kanter, Ph.D.
May 16th, 2011
A recent article in the Miami Herald on the health benefits of lutein and zeaxanthin caught my eye (pun intended). Lutein and zeaxanthin are carotenoids that can impact, among other things, visual health by decreasing the risk of macular degeneration, an age-related eye condition. The article points out that green leafy vegetables, including spinach, kale, mustard greens, and broccoli, as well as eggs and oily fish are good sources of these nutrients. What the article fails to point out, however, is that a good amount of research exists indicating that the lutein and zeaxanthin in eggs are more bioavailable than they are when they come from plant sources. This is probably due to the lipid matrix of the egg yolk, which facilitates absorption of the fat soluble carotenoids. And nutrient bioavailability is an important consideration for human health. It doesn’t much matter if a food is high in a given nutrient if that nutrient is inaccessible to the body upon consumption.
The amount of lutein and zeathanthin in eggs is variable, and is largely dependent on the feed that the hen consumes. Some egg producers fortify the hens’ diet with marigold extract (an excellent source of these carotenoids) or purified lutein in an effort to raise the content of these vitamins in eggs. As a consumer you can get a rough idea of the lutein content of an egg by observing the color of the egg yolk. Lutein imparts an orange-yellow color to the yolk. Yolks from hens not supplemented with additional carotenoids tend to have a more yellow color.
For more information on lutein and zeaxanthin and their impact on eye health, the articles below are recommended. With an aging population comes a rise in age-related health conditions such as macular degeneration. So you’re likely to hear more and more about these carotenoids in the future.
- Vishwanathan R, Goodrow-Kotyla EF, Wooten BR, Wilson TA, Nicolosi RJ. Consumption of 2 and 4 egg yolks/d for 5 wk increases macular pigment concentrations in older adults with low macular pigment taking cholesterol-lowering statins. Am J Clin Nutr 2009;90:1272-9.
- Moeller SM, Jacques PF, Blumberg JB. The potential role of dietary xanthophylls in cataract and age-related macular degeneration. J Am Coll Nutr 2000;19:522S-527S.
Tags: carotenoids, eggs, eye health, lutein, zeaxanthin
By Marcia Greenblum, MS, RD
March 7th, 2011
When observing focus groups around the country which included physicians, nurses, dietitians and personal trainers it was interesting to see how these health professionals viewed eggs and dietary cholesterol. Most health professionals felt eggs were a healthy food choice especially compared to available alternatives. In fact, it was often heard that eggs got a bad rap and they did not feel that the food deserved to be the icon of indulgence. What we heard is that eggs offered many valuable nutrients lacking in their patient’s diets and suggested an egg is a better choice than sweetened cereals, breakfast bars or donuts. What concerned most health professionals were what other foods people choose to eat with eggs. They generally agreed that eggs need to choose new friends and could be considered healthy if they weren’t accompanied by the saturated fat and sodium found in other breakfast foods. This striking misperception is often exemplified in restaurant menus that list egg white omelets accompanied by high fat and high sodium bacon or sausage with white toast as the healthy choice, giving the impression that egg yolks are the unhealthy element.
In fact, scientific research has shown that the egg yolk supplies about 40% of the high quality protein in an egg important for muscle building and retaining muscle especially when aging or losing weight. The yolk is also known as a naturally good source of vitamin D, lutein and choline, all nutrients that are needed for health. What makes eggs especially healthy is that they can be a great vehicle for eating vegetables and whole grains that supply many other important nutrients making an egg breakfast done right a great way to start the day. To me, the recent research that showed eating eggs at breakfast did indeed keep one satisfied for longer than an isocaloric bagel breakfast confirmed that eggs at breakfast is the healthiest choice to make.
~ Marcia
Tags: breakfast, choline, eggs, fruit, Health Professionals, high-quality protein, lutein, toast, vitamin D
By Marcia Greenblum, MS, RD
January 27th, 2011
As a registered dietitian I’ve always been asked about “healthy foods”. I know at parties people watch what I take from the buffet table and feel a little uncomfortable eating decadent foods when I’m around. This is strange since my philosophy is to enjoy foods but make a diet of those which supply the most nutrients whenever possible.
This is why I was happy to see the list of “The 10 most healthy foods” posted last week on the HealthKicker blog. This list offers a reasonable list of foods that are both delicious and nutrient rich. The list doesn’t mention only trendy foods that are examples of good marketing but instead foods that have stood the test of time. On the list are berries, dark leafy vegetables, whole grains, fatty fish, dairy, beans/legumes, nuts, sweet potatoes, tomatoes and eggs. Not very radical but reasonable, these foods won’t make you stand out at parties but will help supply the nutrients needed for maintaining good health. In fact, just recently my youngest child who is now officially an adult came home from college and remarked at dinner that he never noticed that I always cook “healthy”. By this he meant, I offer a variety of vegetables at meals and I rarely fry foods or use gravies. I consider it a success that it took so long for him to notice that this was different than what he observed others eating. He hasn’t suffered, but learned to enjoy foods and preparations that are naturally healthy.
I mentioned trendy foods and this is a point worth repeating. HealthKicker blog points out the various reasons natural foods are full of nutrients. For example, the nutritional content of an egg as a source of high-quality protein, choline, lutein and zeaxanthin is mentioned in relation to the role in pregnancy, eye health and the prevention of age-related macular degeneration. This is very timely information considering the upcoming release of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines which is our government’s guidance for getting adequate nutrition from the American food supply. In fact, the 2010 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee concluded in their scientific report that the consumption of one egg a day is not associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease or stroke in health adults. Now that’s a food trend that good to see is back in style.
- Marcia
Tags: cholesterol, choline, lutein, protein, saturated fat, zeaxanthin
