Egg Whites VS. Whole Eggs?

Eggs yolks vs. egg whites. One of the great debates when considering a healthy diet is that egg whites are healthier for you because the yolk is loaded with cholesterol and fat. So, what's the answer? Which one do you choose when eating breakfast? Which is the healthier option?

To determine the answer, let's look at 3 key factors.

Factor #1: Do you want just protein or are you interested in the nutrients as well?

One egg is about 70 calories and has 6 grams of protein and 5 grams of fat. The egg white portion of the egg contains about 3.5 grams of the total protein. The remaining 2.5 grams plus the 5 grams of fat are in the yolk. This is why many people opt to toss the yolk and increase the egg white because you're getting all the protein without the unnecessary fat. Although this sounds good in theory, the yolk also contains all of the nutrients. The yolk contains leucin, choline, as well as Vitamin A, D,E & B. Leucin helps the attack on visceral fat, the fat that builds around your internal organs. It also promotes muscle recovery after exercise. Choline has been shown in research to be effective in preventing memory loss, protecting the liver from accumulating fat and may even lower cholesterol. Vitamins A, D, E & B have too many benefits to list. But to touch on the most important in regard to this topic, they enhance our breakdown of carbohydrates into glucose, which provides us energy. They breakdown fats and proteins, which aid the normal function of the nervous system and they promote healthy skin, hair, and eyes.[i]

Do you want less calories and less protein? Or do you want to opt for the yolk with more calories and fat but also a much higher level of nutrients, vitamins and minerals? The decision is now yours to make.

Factor #2: Cholesterol (HDL vs. LDL) or high density lipoprotein vs. low density lipoprotein

To keep this simple, LDL is the bad cholesterol because it causes the buildup of fatty deposits with in your arteries that cause heart disease. Conversely, HDL, or the good cholesterol, helps to remove the LDL from your arteries. Many studies show that eating whole eggs raises your HDL cholesterol to a higher degree than LDL thereby increasing the overall good to bad cholesterol level in your bloodstream. This is a good thing.

Cholesterol became such a big hype in the media over the past few decades because of the rise in people diagnosed with heart disease. BUT, having higher cholesterol doesn't mean you have heart disease. A Harvard study conducted on over 100,000 people concluded that egg consumption in healthy individuals did not increase the risk of coronary heart disease. Cholesterol does serve a purpose in your body and to eliminate it just because of media hype is bogus. Now that you know the difference, you are aware that as long as you are a healthy individual the increase of HDL you get by consuming egg yolks is not a bad thing after all.

Factor #3: The quality of the egg.

There are other factors to consider as well such as whether the egg is organic, whether the chickens are cage free, and what the chicken's diet consisted of. The more natural cage free chicken will have a yolk higher in omega 3 and contain more nutrients. A chicken that is raised in its natural state and allowed to eat insects and greens will have thicker shells and a deeper colored orange yolk indicating a much higher nutrient level and carotenoids. So the rule I'm proclaiming is the following. The better quality of the egg the more you should want the yolk.

Now you have an explanation of the 3 main factors to consider when choosing whether or not you want to include the yolks in your next healthy breakfast or toss them in the trash. There really is no right or wrong answer. It's merely a matter of preference. Personally, I use a combination of both and here is my recommendation. If you eat eggs everyday just eat the whites. This will limit your fat and cholesterol intake. However, you should also try and incorporate the whole egg into your diet once or twice a week to get all the other nutrients, vitamins and minerals found in the yolk. After all an egg is at the top of the super food list, and the yolk has everything to do with that.

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Why Eggs Are Good For You

Eggs are one of the great sources of not only protein but many other nutrients, minerals and vitamins. In fact, research on the nutrition facts of eggs have found that eggs, the egg yolk in particular, provides 100% of your recommended daily value of quite a bit of nutrients. Some of them include Carotenoids, Vitamins A, E, D and K. These are all essential for good health and functioning of our bodies. Protein, amongst many other things, aids in the strengthening, building and repairing of muscle tissue. It is therefore especially helpful to have a high protein meal or snack right after exercise to help repair any damaged or strained muscle tissue. As well as provide energy of course.

Quite contrary to the belief that many people have had over the years, eggs do not cause heart diseases and related ailments. Most individuals prefer to eat the egg without the yolk due to the cholesterol content. It is however important to note that it's actually the yolk that contains most of the nutritional benefits we can ever hope to get from an egg. Without the egg yolk, you will not gain all that you would have gained from eating an egg. Although the egg yolk does contain a high amount of cholesterol, research and studies have found that the type of cholesterol found in eggs does not have any harmful effects on our health.
In fact, eggs are one of the healthiest foods you could add to your diet. It is the egg yolk that contains Iron, Folate, Protein, Potassium, Vitamins A, C, D, E, K, B1, B2, B3, B6, B12 and many other nutrients and minerals which are essential for our bodies. Even the diet of expecting mothers.This is because an egg is also a source of Iron, Folate and Choline. These are all essential nutrients and minerals for the good and healthy development of the unborn child, as well as the mother.
If you are on a weight loss quest, adding eggs to your diet may also help you achieve your goal. This will obviously also have to be in conjunction with exercise and having healthy, well-balanced meals. The reason why eggs may help in weight loss is because they are part of the foods that are said to be high in high quality protein. This kind of protein helps to keep you satiated for longer periods. Foods high in high quality protein not only provide proteins to your body, but also bring along with them all the essential amino acids that our bodies need in just the right amounts. Now that's something that should get you thinking. It may be small, but an egg is loaded with minerals, nutrients and vitamins that are important in keeping our bodies healthy with low to medium calories depending on how it has been prepared. Now that's a great deal!

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How Many Eggs Can You Eat in a Day? The Surprising Truth