Planting Schedule Review: Sept. - Dec.
A Guide to Choosing and Preparing Awesome Food

Eggs: Healthy? You Decide

   Barred Rock Hens My husband and I enjoy eggs from our Barred Rock Hens.  We eat eggs every morning and baked in homemade breads, cakes, pies, cookies and puddings.

   Eggs are a versatile, natural, whole food.  Egg proteins act as binders in your favorite recipes.  They can increase leavening action, especially if they are beaten.  Egg yolks, because they contain fat increase tenderness in baked goods.  They are high in cholesterol, however, they are also high in lecithin, a fat emulsifier that helps break down cholesterol, preventing its build-up in the body.  Eggs contain all known vitamins (except C) and important trace minerals.  They are considered a complete protein because they contain generous amounts of all 8 essential amino acids.  The July Issue of the Harvard Heart Letter explains to us that eggs are a good source of nutrients and that saturated and trans fats have much bigger effects on blood cholesterol levels than eggs.

     As you probably know all eggs are not created equal.  As marketers encourage us to buy eggs, cage-free eggs, organic eggs, omega-3 eggs or free range eggs, what are we to choose?  My pick is free range eggs from chickens that spend at least part of their day outside on green areas where they can peck and eat their natural food - insects and green plants. In my opinion the ideal egg would be organic, free range and  raised locally.  Testing done by Mother Earth News  indicates that eggs from chickens that are allowed to free range outside daily are higher in nutrients and lower in cholesterol.  So what do you think? Healthy or not - you decide.

Help solve the Health Care Crisis:   Be informed - Take care of your body, it has to last for a lifetime.