Eggs for your eyes

CEBU, Philippines - In addition to choline, an egg contains high-quality protein and essential amino acids. Because diet on eggs can do much for brain health, the treasures in the mineral content of eggs are incomparable even to expensive and sometimes deceptive vitamin supplements. While a capsule of food supplement can cost a hundred to a thousand pesos, one egg costs P5 to P7. Nutritionists say that an egg yolk contains about 300 micrograms of choline that helps regulate the brain, nervous system and cardiovascular system. Egg yolks are the richest source of choline.

Eggs are good for the eyes because its protein and amino acid content can prevent mascular degeneration of sight. Researchers found that people who eat eggs everyday lower their risk of developing cataracts. Also because of its mineral content, eggs promote healthy hair and nails.

Question, is it true that eating too much egg will increase cholesterol? Answer is, no. Whoever disseminated the falsehood is of the devil. It was found that in a randomized controlled trial of 160 overweight or obese men and women, the egg eaters lost 6.0 pounds and 83 percent decrease in waist circumference. The experiment was such that the obese men and women were divided into two groups. One group ate a breakfast including two eggs a day, while the other consumed a bagel breakfast. A bagel breakfast is a glazed doughnut shaped roll. It was found that the bagel eaters lost only 3.5 pounds or just half of what the egg eaters were losing. Eggs can actually promote weight loss.

As studies have proven that eggs do not significantly affect cholesterol levels,  research likewise suggests that eating whole eggs can significantly improve blood lipids and lower risk of heart attack or stroke. A study published in Biological and Pharmaceutical Bulletin reported that egg yolks are potent inhibitors of human platelet aggregation and prolong fibrinogen formation. Fibrinogen is  a protein present in blood, which when converted into fibrin, serves as the scaffolding for clumps of platelets along with red and white blood cells that are deposited to form a blood clot. These anti-clotting egg yolk proteins inhibit clot formation in a dose-dependent manner. This means that the more egg yolks eaten, the more clot preventing action.