The Role of Nutrition in Preventing Chronic Diseases

Nutrition plays a critical role in preventing chronic diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, and certain types of cancer. Chronic diseases account for a significant proportion of deaths worldwide, and the prevalence of these diseases is on the rise due to unhealthy lifestyle habits such as poor dietary choices.

In this article, we will discuss the role of nutrition in preventing chronic diseases, including the keyways that nutrition impacts your risk of developing chronic diseases.

Maintaining a healthy weight

Maintaining a healthy weight is an essential factor in preventing chronic diseases. Being overweight or obese increases your risk of developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and certain cancers. A diet that is high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins can help you maintain a healthy weight. These foods are nutrient-dense, filling, and low in calories.

In contrast, a diet that is high in sugar, processed foods, and unhealthy fats can lead to weight gain and increased risk of chronic diseases.

Lowering inflammation

Inflammation is a natural response of the immune system to injury or infection. However, chronic inflammation has been linked to a range of chronic diseases, including arthritis, Alzheimer's disease, and heart disease. Some foods, such as those that are high in antioxidants, can help lower inflammation in the body.

Antioxidants are compounds that help protect cells from damage caused by free radicals. Foods that are high in antioxidants include fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds, and whole grains.

Reducing blood sugar levels

High blood sugar levels are a key risk factor for type 2 diabetes. A diet that is low in sugar and refined carbohydrates can help regulate blood sugar levels and reduce your risk of developing diabetes.

Foods that are high in sugar can cause a spike in blood sugar levels, leading to insulin resistance and other metabolic disorders. In contrast, foods that are high in fiber, such as whole grains and vegetables, can help regulate blood sugar levels and prevent the development of diabetes.

Reducing blood pressure

High blood pressure is a risk factor for heart disease, stroke, and kidney disease. A diet that is high in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains can help lower blood pressure. These foods are rich in potassium.

which can help lower blood pressure. Foods that are high in sodium, such as processed foods and fast food, can lead to high blood pressure. It is essential to limit your intake of sodium and eat a diet that is rich in whole, unprocessed foods to prevent high blood pressure.

Providing essential nutrients

A diet that is rich in nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, and fiber can help protect against chronic diseases. For example, a diet that is high in calcium and vitamin D can help protect against osteoporosis, while a diet that is high in folate can help prevent certain types of cancer. In contrast, a diet that is low in nutrients can lead to deficiencies and increase the risk of chronic diseases.

In conclusion, good nutrition is essential for preventing chronic diseases. Eating a balanced diet that is high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins, and limiting processed foods, sugar, and unhealthy fats, can help reduce your risk of developing chronic diseases and improve your overall health. It is important to make healthy dietary choices a part of your daily lifestyle to prevent chronic diseases and maintain optimal health.

Eat Great, Lose Weight. No Gym.

If you are anything like millions of other men and women, you are always looking for a reason to postpone or outright avoid starting a weight loss program. Perhaps you do not want to pay the gym membership fees until the New Year, or maybe you just cannot stomach the thought of donning grubby workout gear in view of others.

Fortunately, there are many things you can do to kick-start your weight loss efforts — none of which require even a single visit to the gym.

First and foremost, consuming water is the easiest and cheapest way to get on the right track. Think of all the money you’ll save by ditching sodas and canned drinks from the vending machines at work and school, not to mention the cash you’ll hang onto by avoiding your local coffee bar.

 If you find the taste of tap water more repulsive than the idea of being fat, invest a few dollars in a filter. You can purchase one that fits into your kitchen sink, or you might opt for a water pitcher with a built-in filter. Another option is to buy a water bottle with a filter. Altogether, most of these alternatives will set you back less than $50.

Who can resist the temptation of Taco Bell and other greasy fast food denizens of the night? Simple: healthy people. It’s not just the usual suspects, either; any food, if eaten late in the evening or at night, has the potential to cause you to pack on the pounds and experience setbacks in your pursuit of a healthier lifestyle.

 If you are experiencing uncontrollable hunger so late in the day, it is time to reassess your eating habits in the morning, afternoon and early evening. Does your diet include enough fiber? (Fiber helps you to feel fuller throughout the day).

Are you loading up on empty calories and sugary snacks that lack any nutritional value whatsoever? Once you identify potentially problematic eating habits, you can address these unwarranted feelings of extreme hunger. In doing so, you are promoting healthier behaviors and will find it easier to drop those last few pounds.

If you regularly dine out in restaurants or visit the drive-thru at your local fast food joint, you are doing your body and your wallet serious injustice! Not only are these meals expensive (especially over the course of a few months), but they are often served with blatant disregard for the recommended portion size.

It is estimated that the average sit-down restaurant serves two to three times the appropriate 
amount of food; the exception, of course, is when steamed or similarly prepared vegetable sides are concerned, in which case portions tend to be undersized. Go figure!

If you think these guidelines seem overly simplistic, you are probably right. The truth is, however, that the simplest and most obvious solutions are often the most effective and sustainable options. Adopting healthier eating habits is certainly no exception.

So before you invest in so-called “miracle” supplements and fitness equipment, why not first consider what has been proven to work time and time again? Use the recommendations from this article and save your money (and your sanity) as you shed excess weight and burn through those calories.

A Helpful Guide To Seven Weight Loss Strategies

It can be difficult settling on the right process in order to lose weight effectively. Many times it may feel like you’re gaining ground, and then all the sudden you’re gaining weight. While it may be hard to discern and understand, there is a certain way you should approach everything. Continue reading to find out more about a helpful guide to seven weight loss strategies.

You need to know where you’re headed before you ever start out losing weight. This might take some serious assessing. What is your goal weight? Whatever it is, determine that, and also start selecting your other goals as well. This will help you get organized and settled on a plan. You need to have smaller goals that lead up to your biggergoals.

Next, it’s time to have a dumpster day and throw away all the food and beverages that you don’t need to be eating. Or, you can decide to give them away to other people. You don’t want to waste the food. You can give it to a shelter or another place that would need it. However, it’s time to get it out of your house because you’re going to be eating much differently.

Next, you must start a fitness plan that will be tailored to your goals. You need to make sure that you do all you can to get everything planned out. Decide when you’re going to do your cardiovascular exercise, and make sure you plan out your strength conditioning as well.

 You want to select exercises that you want to do and not ones that you’re dreading. In other words, select exercises that you enjoy possibly like a sport that you like or something.

You must be sure that you stick to your plan or you will not find the success that you’re looking for. Focus on your goals, and think about what you need to do in order to be successful. Don’t be so hard on yourself to where you stress out and give in to temptation. This will put you under. Instead, allow yourself to let up and relax every so often, although healthily, and you will stick with your lifestyle change.

Weigh once a week, and hold yourself accountable to lose the weight. In addition, find support from your family friends and maybe a support group, too. This will help you and encourage you, and they can also help you be more accountable. You also need a good solid idea of how you’re going to keep those pounds off of you. This means that you need to plan this ahead of time. You can’t just expect you’re going to keep them off. You have to implement a lifestyle change that continues to keep them

Losing weight and keeping it off is a monumental task, and there are certain things you can do when designing your weight loss plan to make it more effective. Think about the advice you’ve read in this article, and devise a plan that will see your success.

Using Biking As A Great Weight Loss Strategy

It is quite the challenge to lose weight for many people, but you can make it easier on yourself. Find something you like to do as far as your exercise is concerned, and if that is biking, then you have found the right article. Continue reading to learn how you can use your bike as a great weight loss strategy.

You must consider the size of the bike that you need and the style as well. What type of bike do you want? Make sure above everything else that you get the right size bike for your needs. You don’t want a bike that is too small especially. Take a look at them online or in person to get a better idea of the size that you need.

You need the right shoes to wear too if you don’t have any already. If you have the money, go ahead and buy yourself a new pair to show your dedication anyway. It is a great thing for yourself that you’re about to do. Get the right shoes for your needs, and make sure they’re comfortable as well. Of course, they have to be the right shoes for biking, so don’t buy anything off topic.

When you’re planning a nice long ride, make sure you take water and low-fat snacks with you or a sports drink. Think of it like a picnic, and make sure the stuff you pack is healthy. You can stop at the half-way point in your ride and have a little picnic, or you can drink your water and eat whatever snack you pick along the way. Make sure you have some way to carry it with you easily. This means you will want to make sure that either your bike has a storage place or holder for these or you can put them on your person somehow. A backpack is always a good thing to have.

You also need a first-aid kit on your person, so it’s probably a good idea that you have a backpack as mentioned earlier if you don’t have compartments for things on your bike. This backpack can contain your food and water as well as your first-aid kit. This will ensure that you have the supplies that you need.

You also need to have things to fix your tire in case something happens. Therefore, it’s a good idea to have this stuff in your backpack as well. You can also get extra padding to put in your seat, and this will make it comfortable for you to ride longer. You also need to know where you’re going so that you don’t get lost.

When trying to lose weight, it’s important that you do something you like to do for exercise. Make sure you pick and choose a few different activities, and try looking for something new. Biking makes a great exercise routine, and you should remember what you’ve read to ensure that you have the best biking experience.

How To Change A Poor Diet

When people think of diet they think of food. We must first clarify what a diet is all about so that you understand how diets differ from one person to another. Every person needs a certain amount of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients to survive.

 Not every person needs the same amount of these elements to survive. The basis for a diet depends on your age, metabolism, activities, and nutritional needs.

A poor diet usually translates, over time, to poor health.

 A younger person can overcome the deficiencies of a poor diet and still function normally compared to an older adult.

What Causes a Poor Diet?

Poor diets are generally the result of bad habits. In a fast-paced, fast food world, we become accustomed to eating quickly and eating processed foods. As this routine becomes part of our daily routine, the end result is a poor diet.

Your body has the remarkable resilience to still function adequately, even though it has to work harder to process junk food and the likes. But, there comes a time when your body, as regenerative as it is, starts to fail.

Unfortunately, most people don’t wake up to the fact that their diet needs changing until it reaches this point. Fortunately, you are about to find out how to change a poor diet right now.

Small Changes Equal Big Results

As mentioned, poor diets are usually the result of bad habits. Eating fast, eating on the run, eating late at night, all these habits perpetuate eating foods that are not good for you – mainly fast foods.

To change bad habits you must first identify those habits. You may not be able to change your daily routine, but there is always a small change you can make. It could be 10 minutes here or there; this is where you start. You must start from where you’re at and work from there.

Breakfast is an important meal. Focusing on a good breakfast makes the rest of your day good. Breakfast doesn’t have to be complicated, it only has to be digestible and somewhat nutritious. What do we mean by digestible? Pancakes with heavy syrup and bacon and ham is hard to digest in the morning.

It takes more energy, and instead of feeling energized you will feel sluggish. This is not the way to start your day. Oatmeal with honey and berries is much better and simpler to make.

What you must keep in mind with any meal is: the heavier the meal the more time it takes to digest. There’s also a similar correlation with processed, junk foods – it takes more energy to process these foods than the benefits derived from them. These are all things that contribute to a poor diet.

Changing a poor diet should be done by changing poor habits one at a time. It may start with simply taking an extra 10 minutes at dinner to relax and enjoy the meal. From there you can replace poor quality foods with better, nutritious foods.

Trying to change too many things at once usually ends up in frustration, and you’ll revert back to your old, bad habits.

Bezos, Dell invest in Qliance

Under the ‘I didn’t see this one coming’ category, we find that Jeff Bezos, Michael Dell and Drew Carey (from the ‘one of these things is not like the others’ category) announced an investment in the Seattle-based medical home provider Qliance. 

Found the mention of Tech Flash (thanks, Priest).

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While the Alliance medical home model is one I have strongly advocated, I have my reservations about the extent to which they can be broadly successful in the areas where we need it the most: caring for patients living with chronic conditions.

 Yes, I’m sure they can provide great services for the large majority of young, healthy people, but their contribution to the overall health care dollar is relatively small (depending on who you ask between 5% and 10%).

But when it comes to advancing chronic care management, you need a medical home that is not silo’d off from the rest of the continuity of care. 

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Quite the contrary, the medical home needs to be the fulcrum around which all care is managed. Yes, I know some think ‘managed’ an ill-advised word to use – loaded as it is with 1980’s ‘managed care’ baggage.

 However, that’s exactly what’s needed to ensure the appropriate care is provided and care is truly coordinated to reduce errors and duplication of effort.

Don’t quite see how the Qliance model works in the big bad world of chronic care management, but I like the concept.

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No Sugar Drumbeat Gets Iouder

 No Sugar’ drumbeat gets louder

Well, if you wanted to call me a Gary Taubes fanboy before, I guess you’ve got one more reason to now as here’s one more post about his writings.

Back in October 2010, I authored a post entitled Sugar – Public Enemy Number One. The main takeaway I intended for the article was to argue that if all the diet books and nutrition gurus in all the world would just agree on this *one* thing: elimination of refined sugars from the diet (including fruit juices, by the way) that would be the single most important contribution they could all make to our public health. 

This would result in vastly healthier people and dramatically lower health care costs.

Back in January when Gary took his show on the road to Seattle, he mentioned he was working on this big article for the New York Times about sugar.

 The summary was he was taking a look into the claims of Dr. Robert Lustig of UCSF who came out and said fructose was a toxin – in the concentrations consumed in the SAD . 

Now that Gary is a left coaster, he’s gotta make nice with the neighbors (he even got his new BFF Michael Pollan to say nice things about his new book – nice going :)

The net of all this is a ‘little’ piece in the New York Times called Is Sugar Toxic?. Of course, Gary doesn’t do ‘little’ so don’t expect a reader’s digest version, but you should expect a thorough and well-reasoned article.

Of course, I want you to read it, but the summary is he thinks there’s something to the idea that sugar should be considered a toxin. One small step for man 

Top Ham For weight loss!

Go ahead, ham it up! Lean ham can be wonderful for weight loss – as long as you choose the correct kind of ham, and eat it with weight loss power oods! Ham comes from the leanest pork cut.You can enjoy eating lean ham many different ways.

Ham is available year round – either pre-packaged, or deli style, canned to whole hams. Ham is very convenient and easy to prepare. 

Ham is a healthy choice of meat, can be purchased extra lean, and low fat. One ounce of extra lean sliced ham is only about 30 calories! On average, a person may eat about 4 ounces of meat with a meal. So do the math, 4 ounces of extra lean ham is only about 120 calories! Now that’s pretty good for weight loss power foods!

When purchasing ham, it can be fresh ham, which must be cooked before eating. Cooked hams – or ready to eat hams can be eaten right away; right out of the package. Be sure to read your label to make sure your ham doesn’t need to be cooked before eating.

Ham is very high in protein, vitamin B-1, B-6, B-12, iron, and zinc! Because of these vitamins and minerals contained in ham, you will get many healthy benefits such as; vitamin B-1 which can help repair muscle tissues and nerves, vitamin B-6 which can help promote normal nervous system function, vitamin B-12 which can help build red blood cells.

Iron is needed for energy production, and zinc is needed to help maintain healthy bone structure and immune system.

If you are concerned about the sodium in ham, you probably need not be! You can purchase low sodium ham, which tastes wonderful. Just keep an eye on your total sodium intake in the ham, and what you choose to eat with it. Remember moderation!

There are many ways to enjoy eating your cooked ham! Grilled ham is very tasty. Chopped lean ham is great for breakfast, tossed on a salad or just eaten as a snack!

Try using thin lean ham slices instead of bread! That’s 
right – roll some shredded lettuce, cucumbers, chopped onions, and a slice of tomato, etc. inside of a nice thin slice of lean ham! This is a much better way to make a sandwich wrap than using high carb white flour bread. Give it a try – you’ll love it!

The Power Blast!

Calories: one ounce extra lean sliced ham 30 calories
Protein: 5 g
Fiber: 0
Sugars: 0
Vitamin C: 0
Calcium: 1.7 mg
Cholesterol: 13 mg
Potassium: 182 mg
Sodium: 297 mg
Saturated Fat: 0

Have fun losing weight while you are eating your new power food!

Healthy Meals for Kids

Good things come in small packages and mealtime is no exception.
These healthy meals are perfect for popping into little mouths or picking up with tiny fingers. Your kids will delight in these bite-sized meals and snacks.

 Each meal is low in calories, provides a variety of healthy ingredients, and is so tasty even the big kids (a.k.a. Mom or Dad) will like them.With each recipe,

 find suggestions for the parents to help make prep easier, to involve the children in the kitchen, or to add a unique, adult-friendly spin to the recipe. Best of all, you can feel good serving these healthy recipes to your children.

Source: www.cookinglight.com/food

7 tips to help children develop healthy habits.

It can be a constant battle for parents to teach their children healthy habits. Experts believe the key is to begin from an early age and for parents to be good role models when it comes to eating healthily. In this post, we share 7 easy tips to help your child develop healthy habits.

1.    Start small

2.     

Being healthy is all about making small and not drastic changes to your lifestyle. Sit down and assess your current lifestyle as a family and involve the children into the discussion.

 Prepare home made lunches and snacks instead of buying food from cafes and school canteen.

 Get the kids involved by creating an ideas chart on how the whole family can follow a healthier lifestyle. Why not try NUTRIWAY Chewable Multivitamin & Iron supplements packed with 11 vitamins and iron for diets that don't quite go according to plan or NUTRIWAY Chewable Natural C for stubborn little diets lacking in fresh fruits and vegetables.

2.  Visit food markets

If you’ve been buying fruits and vegetables from large supermarket chains, why not check out your local famers’ market on the weekends and take the children along to choose food?

 Local markets usually have a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables which haven’t been frozen plus buying food in bulk can save you money.

 Involve your child in choosing the food by teaching them how to pick out the best ones.

3. Distinguish treats from healthy foods

Foods high in fat and sugar like chocolates or ice-cream should be classed as treats not food to be consumed daily. Make the distinction early on with your children and only allow these foods occasionally.

Keep an eye on portion sizes when ordering treats in restaurants or cafes, always go for the smallest sizes and share with another family member. Buy low-fat frozen yoghurt instead of high calorie desserts to dole out as a treat after dinner.

4. Walk where possible

Encourage children to be physically active every day whether it’s walking to the shops or taking the dog for a walk. Exercising as a family such as cycling on the weekends or swimming gets everyone out of the house and helps with bonding.

Set a positive example by doing as much physical activity yourself, encourage and praise your child when you see them being active.

5. Cook at home

25 per cent of Australian children are currently being classified as overweight or obese¹ and one of the behaviours contributing to this trend is more takeaway meals being consumed in front of the TV. A 2010 study found that those families who didn’t watch TV during meal times were less likely to have children who ate chips or soft drinks.³

Cooking meals at home takes a little bit of planning but once you start, you’ll be surprised at how easy and convenient it really is! Plan meals in advance and pre-cook items like pasta sauces so that a quick meal of wholemeal pasta is ready for those busy days. Add some frozen vegetables to it and a quick side salad and you have a nutritious meal the whole family will enjoy.

6.  Don’t use food as reward or punishment

Experts say that food shouldn’t be used for reward or punishment as it can encourage children to develop an unhealthy relationship with food. If your child has shown some pleasing behaviour, take them to the park or the beach. Similarly, don’t withhold food as punishment as it can encourage naughty or undesirable behaviour.

7. Eat meals together

Sitting down as a family to enjoy meals every night can encourage children to develop healthy eating habits. Avoid scolding or arguing at these times and help children to slow down and eat properly. A study published in the Pediatrics journal stated that families who ate meals together had children in the normal weight range and had healthier. 

Source: www.amwaytoday.com.au/Health/h

Is This Why You Feel Awful (Even If Your Doctor Says Nothing's Wrong)?

When Suzanne O'Sullivan, MD, was working as a neurologist at the Royal London Hospital in 2004, she was assigned to treat epilepsy patients who, inexplicably, just weren't getting better. Having run out of standard treatments, she suspected that maybe their pain didn't stem from a physical problem after all.O'Sullivan investigated and discovered that many of her patients were indeed suffering from psychosomatic disorders, with psychological stress manifesting as seizures and other bodily problems. That work eventually led to the publication of her new book, . We asked her what everyone needs to know about these disorders.

Q: What are the most common symptoms of psychosomatic disorders? 
A: Headaches, dizziness, memory loss, stomach pain, seizures—you name it. Psychosomatic conditions are defined by the fact that they can't be traced back to a medical problem like an injury, a disease, or a tumor. The important point, though, is that the symptoms are real.

Q: How do you diagnose such disorders?
A: I often base my diagnosis on signs that don't fit well with a disease but do fit well with a psychosomatic condition. For example, if I ask a psychosomatic patient who has tremors in his left hand to tap the table with his right, both hands will tend to shake at the same cadence. That won't happen with a patient who has tremors in one hand due to Parkinson's because that disease involves the breakdown and death of nerve cells in the brain.

Q: What's triggering the symptoms?
A: It could be as profound as dissociating from a childhood trauma, or it could be related to recent stress, like a job loss.

Q: And what's happening in the patient's brain?
A: When researchers have used functional MRI to scan the brains of people with psychosomatic paralysis, they've found that the area of the brain the patients are trying to recruit when they want to move isn't the same area that's regularly involved. It's as if they've trained their brain in a negative way. Once the patient is able to acknowledge that the problem is psychosomatic, we can work on training the brain to function normally again.

Q: Is a psychosomatic diagnosis hard for patients to accept? 
A: It can come as a terrible shock. Some people think psychosomatic means "Oh, you're saying there's nothing wrong with me."

Q: Is the disorder related to hypochondria?
A: For people with hypochondria, the problem is more about their disproportionate anxiety over a symptom that's often quite small. Those with a psychosomatic condition may also be worried, but they're dealing with physical symptoms that are stopping them from functioning normally.

Q: What should family members do if they suspect the root of a loved one's problems is in their head? 
A: It's ill-advised to suggest to your loved one that you think her problems are psychological until she herself is prepared to accept that. I recommend encouraging the person to see a doctor who specializes in whatever the physical symptoms are, like a cardiologist for heart palpitations or a neurologist for numbness or tremors, but is also open to treating psychosomatic disorders.



Q: Why is it so important to understand these disorders?
A: Because failing to understand them leads to unnecessary suffering. Change has to start with doctors. We're terrified we'll overlook a disease, but that fear can mean spending months searching for a physical cause without considering other possibilities. That's time the patient could have been getting the proper treatment, like psychological, occupational, or physical therapy. The sooner you make the correct diagnosis, the likelier the person will get better.

 source: www.oprah.com/health_wellness

AN EGG YOLK A DAY KEEPS THE DOCTOR AWAY

The Paleo world has been arguing forever that saturated fat and cholesterol aren’t bad. But in the rush to debunk all the myths about how evil they are, we can sometimes forget the other side of the argument. Whole foods rich in saturated fat and cholesterol aren’t just not-bad; they’re incredibly nutritious. Eliminating them from your diet for fear of fat and cholesterol is actually depriving your body of important nutrition.

Egg yolks are the perfect example. All the nutrition in an egg is in the yolk, but way too many people still insist on buying egg whites and throwing the yolks away. Here’s why the yolks are actually the best part – if you’re going to toss anything, toss the white, and keep all the nutritional goodness in the middle.

Egg Yolks: Full of the Good Stuff

Egg yolks are full of important nutrients, especially ones from free-range hens.

Vitamins and Minerals

Egg yolks contain almost all the vitamins and minerals in the egg. There’s just no comparison. Here’s the data for 3 egg yolks compared to 3 egg whites (Why 3? Because 3 eggs is around what most people should be eating at a single meal).

	3 Egg yolks contain… (%DV)*	3 egg whites contain…(%DV)
Vitamin A	15%	0
Vitamin D	15%	0
Vitamin E	6%	0
Thiamin (Vitamin B1)	6%	0
Riboflavin (Vitamin B3)	15%	27%
Vitamin B6	9%	0
Folate (Vitamin B9)	18%	0
Vitamin B12	18%	0
Choline	348 mg	1.2 mg
Calcium	6%	0
Iron	9%	0
Phosphorus	21%	0
Zinc	9%	0
Selenium	42%	27%

at least it gives you a meaningful estimation – 0.9mg of Vitamin B6 means nothing to most people.

Egg yolks are more nutritious than the whites in every category but one (riboflavin).

The nutrients in eggs also have some interesting specific benefits. For example,  just found that the Vitamin D in egg yolks might be particularly good for diabetics. People with diabetes often have Vitamin D deficiencies, and the form of Vitamin D in eggs could be particularly beneficial.

Free-range eggs have  eggs from hens kept indoors.

Other Good Stuff in Egg Yolks

Vitamins and minerals don’t actually cover the whole range of good stuff found in eggs.

First of all, there are phospholipids. A phospholipid is a type of fat important for building cell membranes. There are a bunch of different types of phospholipids, and they’re found in several different foods, but eggs are one of the main sources in the typical American diet (unless you’re pounding down a lot of krill oil on the regular). A typical egg contains around 1.3 grams of phospholipids, and most of that is in the yolk. Egg phospholipids have benefits for…

• Egg phospholipids may affect cholesterol and inflammation levels in beneficial ways.

• Metabolic health. found that phospholipids from egg yolks helped decrease blood pressure and improve vascular function.

• Memory and cognitive function. against Alzheimer’s Disease, although it’s always worth mentioning that rat studies are not human studies and this is still pretty preliminary.

Egg yolks also have antioxidants – that’s what gives them such a bright yellow color.this revew  goes over some of the compounds in egg yolks with antioxidant activity. Vitamin E and selenium were listed in the table above, but eggs also contain carotenoids, which give them their yellow color. The carotenoids in egg yolks are more bioavailable than the carotenoids in vegetables, because they come packaged with fat.

The carotenoids in eggs are strongly influenced by the hen’s diet, and free-range eggs have a lot more. That’s why free-range eggs have a much more vibrant yellow color (sometimes almost orange) than factory-farm eggs. Cut two eggs open side by side and you can see the difference for yourself. The deeper and richer the color, the more carotenoids in the egg.

Another antioxidant in egg yolks, phosvitin, may help reduce any problems with oxidizing the iron in the yolks. Iron is an important mineral, but it’s very vulnerable to a kind of damage called oxidation (if the iron is outside your body, you can see this damage in the form of rust). Inside your body, oxidation can make the iron inflammatory – or avoid eating a lot of iron. But the iron in egg yolks is safe from oxidation because it comes packaged with phosvitin.

Egg whites have some antioxidants, but not the same ones. To get the full benefits of the antioxidants, you have to eat the yolk as well.

Egg Whites: They Have Some Protein, and That’s Nice

It’s not like egg whites are bad for you. They do have some protein, and that’s good – protein is an important part of a healthy diet. But egg whites don’t have much of anything besides protein.

Also, egg whites have most of the compounds that give people bad reactions to eggs. The proteins in egg whites can be irritating or problematic, especially for people with, and cooking doesn’t always completely denature them. If you can handle the potential antinutrients in the white, great, but they’re not right for everyone.

Finding Good Eggs

Since the nutrient content of free-range eggs is so much higher, it’s worth the trouble to find them – but you’ll have to fight through a bunch of misleading labels. Here’s how to interpret them:

       source:https://paleoleap.com