Study: Eating Eggs Lowers Calorie Consumption

High-protein eggs thrash high-carb bagels for a satisfying breakfast

A new study out of Canada reveals something about a popular breakfast food that people who are livin' la vida low-carb already know about.

Published in the lastest issue of Journal of the American College of Nutrition, the study found that eating just 2 eggs for breakfast helps keep people satisfied longer than a small bagel does because of the high amount of protein contained in them. As a result, study participants had less hunger and actually took in fewer calories over the next full day as a result.

Here are the cold hard nutritional facts about an egg according the American Egg Board:


Eggs are high-protein, low-carb, and delicious!

The study included two groups that ate breakfast foods with the same amount of calories and food. The first group had two scrambled eggs with toast and low-calorie jelly while the second group ate a 3 1/2 inch bagel with cream cheese and some fat-free yogurt. The eggs group ate 163 few calories at lunch that day and a remarkable 418 fewer calories over the next 24 hours compared with the bagel group.

WOW! Talk about your compelling reasons for eating a high-protein breakfast (although I'd skip the toast and jelly)! This study even impressed the Nutrition Officer with the Canadian Egg Marketing Agency named Kim Kesseler, who also happens to be a registered dietitian.

"It only takes a couple of minutes to cook eggs in the microwave -- making them a great weekday breakfast for people who don't have a lot of time to spare in the morning," she said.

Kesseler has hit on something here that is actually one of my favorite low-carb breakfasts to make.

I've been cooking my eggs in the microwave at work for over a year now and it's a quick and easy way to cook them. I usually scramble about four eggs in a medium-sized bowl, cook them for two minutes on high, stir them, cook them another minute on high, stir them again, put my favorite cheese on top, cook them for 30 more seconds and voila -- they're hot and ready to eat. What a YUMMY low-carb breakfast with just a dash of pepper for taste!

I like eggs because they are inexpensive and healthy. People always ask me how I can afford to be on the low-carb lifestyle and want to know a cheaper way to do it. I ALWAYS recommend eggs to them because you can't go wrong with them. In fact, if money gets tight (as it is sometimes prone to do in life), then don't feel bad about eating a whole lotta eggs for a while. There's nothing shameful in doing so and you'll keep your weight in check by sticking with your low-carb plan.

The incredible satiety of eggs was the topic of this previous blog post and is the secret about livin' la vida low-carb that some people may not even realize. If you feel stuck in a rut with your weight loss, why don't you try adding more eggs to your diet. I ate my fair share of hard-boiled eggs while I was losing weight and I'm so glad I did.

Whether you scramble, boil, fry, or poach them, eggs really are the PERFECT low-carb food!

The researchers concluded: "Eggs are an integral and established part of breakfast in numerous cultures and the satiating effect of eggs may be useful in reducing energy intake thereby promoting weight management."

They are now studying the long-term effects of egg consumption on weight loss specificially. I'm gonna go out on a limb and make a prediction here -- EGGS HELP YOU LOSE WEIGHT! How's that for a bold claim?! LOL! We shall see, won't we?

For more information about the benefits of eating eggs, visit The Canadian Egg Marketing Agency.

1-14-06 UPDATE: An astute and nutritionally-educated reader of my blog sent me the following information today to add to the discussion of the healthy benefits of eating eggs:

As we all know, for many years now foods rich in saturated fat have been blamed for causing just about every possible ailment known to man: Heart disease, cancer, diabetes, arthrosclerosis, obesity, CHD... the list goes on and on and on. Not based on any scientific evidence, of course, but health "experts" "believe" that this is the case.

One of the most natural foods that has been demonized the most are eggs, for the most part as a result of the avalanche of anti-cholesterol tomfoolery touted by our ever-dependable friends in the mainstream media and organizations like the AHA, ADA and so forth.

Although it is a well-known and well-documented scientific fact that egg yolks are an excellent source of vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E, lecithin, choline, lutein, zeaxanthin and many other extremely beneficial carotenoids, we have been repeatedly told to steer clear and limit consumption to ridiculous levels. The reason given, once again, is that our health experts "believe" [sic!] they are not healthy and Mother Nature made actually a great mistake creating them - because they contain saturated fat and... here comes the KEYWORD: the evil of all evils: dietary cholesterol.

There: I said it. Depending on how much you believe in the anti-cholesterol hyperbole, any good low-fat-law abiding American is now supposed to fall on their knees, face Mecca, and beg for forgiveness to have consumed such an evil egg.

The real professionals, the scientific researchers and scientists of course have know for decades that eggs in fact are Nature's most perfect food. It is, however, important to remember that the quality of the egg is important. Just like with certain fruits, like apples, quality and nutritional value can vary tremendously. Please do yourself a favor and buy free-range organic eggs, from hens that are fed a traditional, mixed diet. These eggs undoubtedly are of the finest quality and have the best nutritional value and taste. Trust me, the difference in taste alone is worth the (minimal) additional expense! And, by the way, the color of the eggshell, brown or white, is absolutely of no significance, as some believe.

Eggs do not pose a CHD (Coronary Heart Disease) risk and are an excellent food for kids either. It most likely won't surprise you that eggs are being exonerated on a large scale, lately. The fat- and cholesterol phobists in fact have only achieved the opposite of what they intended with their nutritional fads: scientific research shows eggs -once again- to be perfect for maintaining good health, and also that none of the self-appointed health "experts" predictions, the nonsense they "believed", are based on fact.

For example, in a recent study, children aged 8-12 years were randomly assigned to eat either 2 whole eggs per day or the equivalent amount of egg whites for 30 days. After a 3-week period in which the children were waned off eggs, the children were assigned to the alternate treatment.

The researchers observed that all the kids had an increase in LDL peak diameter during the egg period and a decrease in smaller LDL. Individuals with a preponderance of small dense LDL particles - the ones that are classified as "phenotype B" - have been shown in numerous studies to be at higher risk of CHD. Researchers postulate that these smaller particles are more susceptible to free radical damage, and that they can weasel their way into damaged sections of artery with greater ease.

In addition to the very beneficial increase in LDL size observed in all subjects, 5 of the children having LDL phenotype B (15%) shifted from this high-risk pattern to pattern A after the egg treatment. Which is excellent.

For good eyesight, eggs are an excellent source of the very important nutrient lutein. This nutrient has been shown to be absorbed better from eggs. For example, in another recent study, researchers compared the absorption of the lutein from various foods. Lutein is a nutrient that has come under increasing scrutiny for its possible role in protecting against age-related macular degeneration and cataract. After the subjects ingested equal amounts of lutein from either eggs, spinach or lutein supplements, it was observed that lutein absorption was significantly higher during the period of egg consumption.

For the last forty-plus years, health authorities - in all their magnificent stupidity - have been hysterically denouncing the foods that are good for us and steering us towards those that are far less nutritious. The results of this bizarre campaign can be seen all around us, in the current epidemic of diabetes and obesity.

References

Nydia Ballesteros M, et al. Dietary cholesterol does not increase biomarkers for chronic disease in a pediatric population from northern Mexico. Am J Clin Nutr 80: 855-861.

Chung H-Y, et al. Lutein Bioavailability Is Higher from Lutein-Enriched Eggs than from Supplements and Spinach in Men. J. Nutr, 2004 134: 1887-1893.

THANKS for the info! Education, education, education. The class never stops here at "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb."