Eggs – Good or Bad For You?

Data for these reports come from the Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy.  I consider their publications to be extremely well researched.

Eggs: the protein in eggs provides all the essential amino acids your body needs as well as essential nutrients such as biotin, selenium, vitamins B12, A and D, iodine, potassium and phosphorus.  Egg yolks are high in lutein and zeaxanthin that may help to protect against age-related macular degeneration.

The controversy about eggs comes from the cholesterol in the yolk.  Too much LDL cholesterol in the blood can lead to a build-up of plaque in the arteries, increasing the risk for heart attack and stroke. Recent research has shown that for most people dietary cholesterol is not significantly related to LDL cholesterol in the body.  Saturated fat in the diet is more of a problem. 

Studies published in the last year have shown data on both sides of the subject of eggs in the diet.  Here is a prudent way to look at it.  If you have diabetes, have had a heart attack or are at high risk for heart disease, talk to your doctor about avoiding eggs altogether.  Enjoy an egg white omelet.  Get tested for diabetes if you are overweight or obese – many people have diabetes without knowing it.  

If you are not in the high risk category, eat eggs in moderation.  The American Heart Association suggests no more than one egg a day. Avoid unhealthy sides with your egg, such as bacon, ham, sausage, white bread or other refined grains, or fried white potatoes.  Eat eggs with vegetables, beans and whole grains instead. Store eggs in the refrigerator. Cook them until the yolk is firm to decrease the risk of salmonella infection.

Saturated fat is found in butter, lard, cheese, meats, chicken with the skin, and many baked good such as doughnuts, piecrusts, frozen pizza and cookies.   Fast food restaurants use trans-fats for frying because the oil can be used over and over again. Avoid when possible. Read the label on processed foods and margarine to look for partially hydrogenated oil. Avoid it.  Coconut oil is a saturated fat that many people enjoy because of its distinctive taste.  According the Dr. Walter Willett of the Harvard School of Public Health – “for now, I’d use coconut oil sparingly.  Most of the research so far has consisted of short-term studies to examine its effect on cholesterol levels.  We really don’t know how coconut oil affects heart disease.  And I don’t think coconut oil is as healthful as vegetable oils like olive oil and soybean oil, which are mainly unsaturated fat and therefore both lower LDL and increase HDL.  Coconut oil’s special HDL boosting effect may make it ‘less bad’ than the high saturated fat content would indicate, but it’s still probably not the best choice among the many available oils to reduce the risk of heart disease.”

Sadja Greenwood, MD, MPH

  

Breath Meditation – A Way to Relieve Stress

This entry is based on an article in Health.Harvard.edu

Psychological stress is bad for your health, increasing the risk of heart disease and cancer.  Stress can bring memory problems and bodily aches and pains.  Reducing stress helps sleep and may bring down blood pressure.  Focusing attention on breathing can help to make you relaxed, and is a gateway to ‘mindfulness’ – which means that you accept what comes in life, and its challenges.  Dr. Ronald Siegel, an assistant professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School, has written a book on meditation and mindfulness – The Mindfulness Solution: Everyday practices for everyday problems. 

Find a comfortable place with minimal distractions – sit, stand or walk.  Many people find sitting the most helpful.  Repeat a sound, phrase or movement – allowing thoughts to come and go as you focus on repetition.  You can silently count inhalations and exhalations, going from one to four for example, or silently say ‘in and out’ to yourself, or say peace/love, or here/now as you breathe.

Do your meditation at the same time every day, starting with 10 minutes in the morning and evening and working up to 20 minutes or more as it becomes easier.  Mindfulness came from Buddhism originally but is shared by many spiritual traditions and religions.  It means focusing on the present moment and accepting it without judgment.  Embrace life as it is. Much stress comes from fighting reality.

In summary: sit with your spine erect in a comfortable position.

Focus on your breath - it doesn’t matter if it’s long or short.

Allow your thoughts to come and go, returning your attention to your breath.

Get the book by Dr. Siegel mentioned above, or find a meditation site such as Insight Timer. 

Stay tuned for exciting new treatments for the Ebola Virus in Africa and drug resistant tuberculosis in the U.S. and throughout the world.  

Mindfulness does not mean that you abdicate working against injustice and the many problems in the world. It means that you accept your personal stressful situation for a short time every day to achieve a sense of well-being. 

Sadja Greenwood, MD, MPH

Water Safety, Kale, Abortion Pills Should be Everywhere

Water Safety

Drowning is the leading cause of injury death in children ages 1-4 and the third leading cause of unintentional injury deaths in children and adolescents ages 5-19.  In 2017 1000 children in the US were killed by drowning. The American Academy of Pediatrics says that parents must supervise their children constantly, require and model life jacket use, enroll children in swimming classes, keep barriers in place around pools, and know CPR. 

When playing in or near a pool or at the beach, stay in the water with your child and give him/her 100% of your attention.  Ignore your phone - but keep it charged and within reach in case of emergency,  Know the address of where you are swimming.  

Install a 4 sided fence around any pool of water, with a self-latching gate. Make kids buddy up - explain that each kid is responsible for knowing where the buddy is at all times.  Teach your child these water rules - no running, no diving in the shallow end of a pool, no pushing someone in, no pulling another kid under the water, no swimming without adult supervision, ever.  Never leave a child under 4 alone in a bathtub at home or near a bath that is filling.  Keep the toilet cover down and keep the bathroom door closed.

Kale has joined the ranks of 'the dirty dozen' by the Environmental Working Group!  This is probably because it has become so popular as a health food that producers must use herbicides to grow enough.  Be sure to buy organic kale, or grow your own.  

Abortion Pills Should be Everywhere by Farhad Manjoo, in the New York Times Sunday Review, August 4th.  In this article, Manjoo explains that it is possible to order the two pills that can result in a 'medical abortion' if taken within the first 10 weeks of pregnancy.  He was able to obtain the requisite pills on-line multiple times, for $200-300. This method has been shown to be about 97% effective, and much safer than childbirth. It will result in earlier and safer abortions. Manjoo expects that despite the current political efforts to make abortion illegal or difficult to obtain, ordering on-line will be unstoppable. Be sure to read his article on-line or at the library.

Sadja Greenwood, MD, MPH