Egg Substitutes: Good or Bad?
I was talking with a friend yesterday about using egg substitutes in my A-Z Veggie Scramble instead of real eggs. Is this healthier because you are avoiding cholesterol? Well, lets take a look…
First, lets talk about cholesterol. It is a waxy, fat-like substance made by our liver. It is part of every cell and is needed for things such as making healthy cell walls, hormones, vitamin D and bile acids. It is so essential that our liver makes approximately 3,000 milligrams a day – 10 times our daily recommended intake from food!
In healthy individuals, our livers regulated how much it makes depending on how much cholesterol we take in through our diet.
The livers of some individuals, however, do no regulate their cholesterol production and this leads to high cholesterol.
If you ARE one of these individuals, you will want to be vigilant in keeping your dietary intake of cholesterol below 300 milligrams. That means a very small amount of animal products: one egg has 213 milligrams and 6 ounces of meat has 180 milligrams! So, having a two egg omelet a day isn’t the best idea.
Does this mean egg substitutes are the way to go? Well, egg substitues are processed in large factories and have added artificial colors and flavors. They are housed in cartons that are made of paper that have been bleached and coated with a man-made plastic that has direct contact with the product. Not so appetizing to me….I’ll take mother nature, thank you.
Just make yourself an egg white omelet and you will be much better off. The average price of a dozen regular eggs is $2.90, which give you approximately 24 ounces of liquid egg, 12 ounces of egg whites. The average cost of Egg Beaters is $2.99 for a 12 ounce container. So you may even save a little money! If you are like me and use organic eggs, it will be closer to $4.00 for 12 ounces of egg whites, but well worth it.
If you DO NOT have a cholesterol problem, then having a moderate amount of farm fresh organic eggs is a much better alternitive to egg substitutes. You are getting the real deal with no added chemicals. Plus the yolk contains all the good stuff like Vitamin A, E, D, and K along with essential fatty acids, B6 and B12. There is so much GOOD in the yolk, it’s hard to wash it down the drain!
And that’s all I have to say about that…
mmm. you are making me want to eat an egg! Too Bad I’m allergic to them =(
i didn’t know that…what if they are in something, like cake?
This is so interesting and we’ve been wondering about eggs whites vs. the whole egg – now we know.
I’m curious about organic vs. non-organic eggs and wonder how crucial that is…
The literature out there suggests the #1 food category to concentrate on getting organic from is meat/diary. I believe the best is to get local eggs from happy, free range chickens, even if they are not certified organic (many of these farms cannot afford the certification process but basically adhere to the same guidelines). I get Campo Lindo eggs from Brookside market. In fact, eggs from free range chickens are found to have 1/3 less cholesterol and 1/4 less fat in a study by Mother Earth News.
Dalai,
I am a long-time reader and first-time commenter. I am wondering if it is appropriate to serve unsliced cheese on a large Nambe brand serving tray? Will the pewter shavings caused by the cheese knife eventually kill my guests? Plus, is Nambe tacky or will the clean post-modern design appeal to my guests notwithstanding the fact that I might be killing them (see question, infra, re: pewter shavings)?
XO,
James Dale Lawrence, Esq.
Oh, Dear Jim. I was just hoping to write an article about pewter poisoning….the numbers are on the rise. I think an extra dose of vitamin D will do the trick. As for your design taste, you may want to consult Mrs.Blandings Good luck my long-time fan…
“Mother Earth News” sounds like a reputable publication that is dedicated to providing a completely objective look at the differences and perceived advantages/disadvantages between organic and non-organic items….
Oh, you skeptic! I have my work cut out with you :)