Nutrients In Eggs

Last week I returned from exhibiting at the Pri-med Conference in New York City. This is not the first time I have exhibited at this conference and I’m always pleased with the result.

The attendees to this conference are health professionals from all realms of the medical field. Pri-Med delivers 3 days of medical updates at a remarkably low price which attracts many health professionals who work with low income patients in a community setting. It was very rewarding for us to bring the good news to all these health professionals that eggs are now 14% lower in dietary cholesterol.

In addition, current research shows that there are many health related benefits of consuming an egg; relating to its high quality protein yet low carbohydrate and calorie content, coupled with its 13 essential vitamins and minerals all for approximately 14 cents an egg.

Anna and I were very busy throughout the 3 days talking with physicians, nurses, dietitians and physician assistants about how they can now tell their patients to go back to eating an egg a day, as recommended by the US Dietary Guidelines. We were able to sign up nearly 250 health professionals who were interested in receiving the ENC newsletter, Nutrition CloseUp, as well as completing a survey which entered them into a contest to win a year’s worth of eggs for themselves and a donation to a local NYC food bank. Not surprisingly, most HPs enjoy eggs themselves and have been advising their patients that eggs are a healthful food all along.

Hi Readers!  Today we have one of our Registered Dietitian Advisors, Karen Buch, blogging.  Enjoy!

~Marcia

I’m a registered dietitian, director at a supermarket chain and mom to a high-energy 16-month old. So, I understand the challenges some moms face while trying eat well despite their hectic lifestyle. Most of us have good intentions. We want to make healthy, delicious meals for our families–but, some days, our busy lives get in the way.

One thing I remind myself to do is allow ample time to re-charge and enjoy life along the way. Memorial Day is just around the corner and I’m looking forward to the long holiday weekend. I plan to take full advantage of the extra time and the chance to kick back and relax. At some point over the weekend, I’m going to cook, but I want to keep it simple. I plan to make this quick and easy appetizer. It’s one of my favorite recipes to take to a party or serve when I’m hosting. You can literally mix everything in a single bowl and dump it into the pan to bake!

I feel great about serving this for three reasons. One: it’s DELICIOUS and I always get requests for the recipe. Two: it contains spinach—a superfood packed with lutein and beta carotene for eye health, antioxidant vitamins C and E, iron and B vitamins like folic acid, thiamine, riboflavin and B6. Three: it contains eggs as a source of perfect protein and 13 essential nutrients. You may also be surprised to learn eggs are 14 percent lower in cholesterol than once thought.

Give these Cheesy Spinach Squares a try and enjoy your holiday!

Cheesy Spinach Squares
Prep time: 10 minutes   Cook Time:  45 minutes    Makes: 20 squares
Ingredients:
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed to remove excess liquid
3 large eggs
1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
1 (4-ounce) can sliced mushrooms, drained
1 cup skim milk
1 (16-ounce) package 2% sharp cheddar cheese shreds
½  tsp salt
1 cup flour
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp baking soda
nonstick cooking spray
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a  9” x  13” glass baking dish by spraying all sides lightly with cooking spray. In a large mixing bowl, add spinach, eggs, onion, mushrooms, milk and cheese. Stir.  Sprinkle in salt, flour, onion powder, baking soda and stir until combined thoroughly.  Pour mixture into prepared baking dish and spread evenly. Bake for 45 minutes or until top is golden brown. Slice into squares and serve warm or at room temperature. Within 2 hours, store any leftover squares in the refrigerator for 1-2 days. Squares re-heat easily in the microwave.

Karen Buch RD, LDN

Recent news on the 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. Lutein and zeaxanthin can be found in green leafy vegetables – such as spinach, kale, collard greens, and broccoli – as well as eggs. However, research suggests that the lutein and zeaxanthin in eggs are more bioavailable than when 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 zeaxanthin 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 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.

Like most registered dietitians, I struggle to keep up with scientific developments. So much is controversial and hard to discern the effects of independent variables. I attended the “Great Debate” held years ago at USDA in Washington D.C. where the high carbohydrate diet pattern and the low carbohydrate diet pattern were hotly debated. Poor Dr. Atkins who saw the value of a lower carbohydrate intake in his patients was ridiculed for not having published his clinical findings. However, when the successful findings supporting a low carbohydrate intake began to be published doubters still doubted the findings. I think he was on the right track but the real story is low carbohydrate, high quality protein.

It is easy to feel comfortable supporting the benefits of a high protein breakfast. Susan Dopart in her blog suggests that eating a strong protein breakfast within an hour of waking up can increase your metabolic rate, lower insulin resistance and stabilize blood sugar for the rest of the day. One thing I know from personal experience is that eating an adequate amount of high quality protein at breakfast keeps me from being hungry much longer than the bagel or cereal breakfast I had been consuming daily.

This is very useful when I am traveling for business or exhibiting at conferences and can’t be sure when I will be able to take a lunch break. I am not insulin resistant but have a family history of diabetes and I can feel when my glucose levels are low. High quality protein like that in eggs, milk, cheese and yogurt is my way of keeping an even temper and focus on my activities and preventing myself from eating too many calories or undesirable foods that lack nutrients. This was also demonstrated by researchers at University of Connecticut in a study of  “Eating protein-rich eggs for breakfast reduces hunger and decreases calorie consumption at lunch and throughout the day” published in the February 2010 issue of Nutrition Research. Researchers found that men who consumed an egg-based breakfast ate significantly fewer calories when offered an unlimited lunch buffet compared to when they ate a carbohydrate-rich bagel breakfast of equal calories. Ratliff, J., Leite, J.O., de Ogburn, R., Puglisi, M.J., VanHeest, J., Fernandez, M.L. (2010) Consuming  eggs for breakfast influences plasma glucose and ghrelin, while reducing energy intake during the next 24 hours in adult men. Nutrition Research, 30, 96-103.

I think it’s time to move on from the high carbohydrate dogma that dietitians were trained to promote and see the value of high quality protein especially at breakfast both for the satiety it provides and the muscle synthesis signaling that helps maintain muscle mass.

Hi Readers!  Today we have one of our Registered Dietitian Advisors, Serena Ball, blogging.  Enjoy!

~ Marcia

I love eggs. I adore eating eat them. And as a registered dietitian and mom of three, I feel great about feeding them to my children. Most of all, I love how easy it is to cook a perfect egg.

Since my kitchen is often full of chaos, I count it as a small victory when perfectly cooked eggs emerge from the fray. Cooking perfectly creamy, satiny scrambled eggs is simple, as long as they are patiently cooked low (heat) and slow. The trick to a perfectly poached egg is a tablespoon of vinegar in the poaching water. Even custardy egg en cocottes (baked eggs) are now easy thanks to Julia Child’s video. However, preparing the perfect hardboiled egg has always eluded me; until now.

Thanks to my recent placement on the Egg Nutrition Center’s Registered Dietitian Advisory board, I was sent a press release containing simple instructions for perfect Easter eggs. Reading it was an “Ah-Ha Moment!” Finally, the elusive trick to perfectly cooked hardboiled egg: Don’t boil them! After years of boiling my eggs five minutes, then three minutes then one minute, I learned the secret to a hardboiled egg is to only bring the water to a boil and then immediately cover it and turn off the heat. (Boiling them will leave a green ring around the yolk and make whites tough.) In fact, the Incredible Egg folks don’t even call them hardboiled eggs, they call them hard-cooked eggs. Here are the three steps to perfect hard-cooked eggs:

1. Place eggs in a single layer in a pan; add cold water to cover eggs by 1 inch. (Eggs that have sat in your refrigerator for a week – instead of fresh from the store – are easier to peel in the end.)
2. Over high heat, bring to a full rolling boil where large bubbles break the surface of the water. (No, it’s not true that a ‘watched pot never boils;’ so go ahead and keep your eye on it.) Immediately remove from heat, cover pan, and set the timer for 15 minutes for large eggs (longer for extra large eggs).
3. Use kitchen tongs or a slotted spoon to remove eggs and place in a bowl of ice cold water to chill. Crack, peel and eat or place in the refrigerator to enjoy later.

If you prefer not to sit and watch the pot boil, you can try this ingenious (but time-consuming) recipe for Slow Cooker Hardboiled eggs.

Or, if you like recipes in say, 140 characters or less, try this reci-tweet) for hard-cooked eggs: “To hard-cook eggs, just bring to boil, turn off heat & keep in covered pot for 15 min. Then cool in ice water” For more reci-tweets and helpful egg tips, join me, @TspCurry and @IncredibleEggs for a Twitter Party on April 20 at 8:00 p.m. CT.

Lastly, here’s a photo of one of my kids enjoying a favorite egg recipe from my own childhood. Here’s the recipe for silky smooth Egg Custard.

Serena Ball, MS, RD is Partner at Teaspoon Communications and the egg cook for her husband and three children in Chicago.