Eggs- The "Perfect" Protein

I am not diabetic, but I like to read about how to keep blood sugar under control. With the number of people in my family who do have diabetes, it seems like a good idea to do everything I can to prevent it now. This article comes from the Reversing Diabetes newsletter that I get, and I think it has some great information on eggs. I'm excited to find out that 2 eggs per day is perfectly acceptable. I am reading this in more and more information every day, so I think it's a pretty standard piece of advice now. I love eggs. Now I just need to find some recipes!

The Perfect Breakfast Food for Diabetes

If there’s one food that’s developed an undeservedly negative reputation, it’s eggs. You’ve heard it for years: Limit your egg intake because they’re loaded with artery-clogging cholesterol. And it’s true: Eggs are full of cholesterol—about 213 milligrams—all in the yolk.

But more recent studies show that eggs are actually great for you. The reasons? First, the negatives have been grossly overstated. The cholesterol found in eggs isn’t the same as the cholesterol in your blood stream—only your body can manufacture that type. And what mostly contributes to its manufacture is saturated fat, not dietary cholesterol. Doctors now say that from a cholesterol standpoint, eating eggs in moderation—that’s no more than two per day—is absolutely fine. For those who have high cholesterol, it’s best to stick to no more than 3 to 4 egg yolks per week. Egg whites contain no cholesterol though, so feel free to have a larger amount if you wish.

Then there are the good things inside eggs. It turns out that an egg is nature’s perfect protein. So much so that nutritionists use egg protein as the gold standard to rank all other proteins. That’s because eggs contain all the essential amino acids (the ones your body can’t make on its own) in just the right proportions.

Because they’re all protein and fat and no carbohydrate, eggs have no impact on your blood sugar. And like all protein, they help control your appetite by keeping you full longer. That means you eat less while controlling blood-glucose levels better—a double win!

Egg yolks are also one of the few foods that naturally deliver vitamin D, a much-needed vitamin that most of us don’t get enough of—which is why milk is usually fortified with it. Eggs also provide vitamin K to build strong bones, choline to improve our memory, and lutein to protect our eyesfrom macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in older folks.

Be careful how you serve them, though. Eggs usually come on a breakfast plate, straddled by mounds of bacon, piles of butter-soaked hash browns, and white-bread toast. The super-healthy approach? Cook your eggs in a bit of olive oil, and serve with whole-wheat toast and fresh fruit. Now that’s a great breakfast! Likewise, be careful with egg salad or deviled eggs made with lots of mayonnaise. Both are fat and calorie bombs.