Eggs Across The Lifespan

Hi Readers –  As you may have noticed, we have changed our blog name to Nutrition Unscrambled. Enjoy!

I was recently made aware of a blog called Raise Healthy Eaters. The site looks very good, and it offers a number of excellent tips on healthy eating for kids. A recent post discussed various nutritional myths, many of which were aimed at the micronutrient needs of children.

If you’re interested in learning more about healthy eating for children, this blog is worth checking out. And while we’re on the topic of healthy eating for children, a couple of recent studies you should be aware of are:

Krebs NF, Gao D, Gralla J, et al. Efficacy and safety of a high protein, low carbohydrate diet for weight loss in severely obese adolescents. J Pediatr 2010.

The study demonstrated that severely obese adolescents who followed a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet had significantly lower body mass index (BMI) after 13 weeks and were also able to maintain weight loss after six months versus those who followed a low-fat diet. The obese adolescents who followed the high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet also experienced greater fat mass loss and reductions in triglyceride levels.

 Leidy HJ, Racki EM. The addition of a protein-rich breakfast and its effect on acute appetite control and food intake in ‘breakfast skipping’ adolescents. Int J Obs 2010.

These researchers examined the impact of a protein-rich breakfast on adolescents who traditionally skipped breakfast. When the study participants ate a protein-rich breakfast the researchers observed that the teens were less hungry and ate approximately 130 fewer calories at lunch.

It continues to amaze me that nearly one in three American children are overweight or obese,  which increases their risk for developing chronic diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and cancer. More and more research is suggesting that the high carbohydrate eating practices that have been so prevalent in the U.S. for many years may be exacerbating the problem. Newer studies suggesting the benefits of higher protein/lower carb diets, such as those cited above are provocative, and worth considering.

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