Since I am a proponent of leaving Nature's work alone and not trying to manipulate the food we eat, I decided to do a bit of research.
First of all, an egg (yolk and white) has a total of about 80 calories. I'm mentioning the caloric count not because I personally care but because I know a lot of you out there do. What do you get for these 80 calories? An incredible amount of health value:
| W. Y. | ||
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 17 | 59 |
| Fat (g) | .06 | 4.51 |
| Saturated Fat (g) | 0 | 1.6 |
| Carbs (g) | .24 | .61 |
| Protein (g) | 3.6 | 2.7 |
| Cholesterol (mg) | 0 | 210 |
| Sodium (mg) | 55 | 8 |
| Calcium (mg) | 2.3 | 21.9 |
| Vitamin D (IU) | 0 | 18 |
| Folate (mcg) | 1.3 | 24.8 |
I found the above table at: http://www.fitsugar.com/364527 Sorry that the formatting is a bit off. That's not my strong point.
As you can see, most of the nutrient value listed above is in the yolk. It's not that the egg white has "empty calories"--far from it. But it makes me sad to think that while so many people are starving around the world, we are throwing out food that is just plain good for you. I'm not trying to use the "clean your plate, kids are starving in Africa" line on anyone, I'm just asking that you think about what you're throwing out. Eggs could add a lot to your health and help to play a positive role in your weight management.
One last little interesting tidbit for women who want to get pregnant: folate (folic acid) is extremely important. And that's one of things you're throwing out with your egg yolk.
I don't eat many eggs, but if I do, I eat the whole egg and just have less. It does seem crazy to me that people throw away the best bit, lol!
ReplyDeleteThe reason i only eat egg whites is because my husband went through cardio rehab after his heart attack this year and they informed us that we should only eat the egg whites.
ReplyDeleteI have always eaten the entire egg when I do eat eggs. I find it difficult to have to throw away the yolks when following a recipe, and so then will hunt up another recipe that calls for just the yolks.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, thanks for the information on this!
http://hecate-metamorphosis.blogspot.com
I love eggs, but I eat them very, very rarely. When I do, it eat the whole thing though! I can't imagine not having the yolk!
ReplyDeleteI was only eating whites for awhile, but after we got chickens and started getting an influx of fresh eggs, I switched over to the real deal.
ReplyDeleteI miss whole eggs like you wouldn't believe! However, I have high cholesterol. My doctor told me that the best way to control it is with diet so I don't have to be on meds. He informed me that I should be eating, specifically, very little red meat, and very little whole eggs. He said if I want red meat, only eat it once a week. He said if I want whole eggs, only eat them for one meal a week...like as a breakfast of the weekend. That's why I stick to the egg whites...just following doctor's orders. :)
ReplyDeleteI was also only eating egg whites for the longest while but I've also switched back over to whole eggs.
ReplyDeleteI also now eat butter again ... in controlled amounts.
Reading books like Real Food convinced me that real food is always the better choice over processed. In Defense of Food also made me realize the bill of goods we were sold over the whole eggs/butter thing.