My Take on Eggs

What is a superfood?

Good question, A superfood is a food that provides so many benefits that you simply can not afford to skip on them in your diet. Sure, we all know that eggs are a good source of high-quality protein. But did you know that research shows that eggs boost muscle growth, increase muscle strength and enhance fat loss? And I'm not talking about egg whites. I'm talking about the whole egg, yolk and all. The good news is that research has found that the cholesterol in egg yolks does not contribute to cardiovascular disease.

The average large whole egg contains:

• 72 calories
• 6 grams of protein
• Almost 0 grams of carbs
• 5 grams of fat

While the average large egg white contains:

• 17 calories
• 4 grams of protein

Those of you who religiously follow my nutrition advice know that I ALWAYS recommend adding eggs to your diet. But while eggs are anoutstanding protein source, the reason I recommend eggs goes FAR beyond their protein content.

Cholesterol Isn't All Bad

I recommend that you eat least 3 whole eggs per day. A study from Texas A&M found that subjects consuming 3 whole eggs per day while following a weight-lifting program for 12 weeks gained twice as much muscle mass and twice as much muscle strength as subjects eating no eggs or just one whole egg per day.

Yes, 3 whole eggs do provide about 15 grams of fat and over 600 mg of cholesterol, but the fat and cholesterol in egg yolks may be critical factors in why the subjects in the A&M study made such dramatic gains in muscle mass and strength. Research shows that athletes getting in higher fat intake, particularly from monounsaturated and saturated fat, have higher testosterone levels than those getting in low amounts of fat. And 80% of the fat in egg yolks comes from monounsaturated and saturated fat.

When it comes to cholesterol, you need to remember that testosterone is created in the body from, you guessed it, cholesterol. Plus, cholesterol is important for maintaining the integrity of cell membranes, such as those of muscle cells. This is important for muscle strength and growth.

In fact, one study from Kent State University found that subjects eating a higher cholesterol diet while following a 12-week weight lifting program gained 5 more pounds of muscle than those eating a low cholesterol diet. The higher cholesterol diet also led to double the strength gains as compared to the lower cholesterol diet.

In addition, University of Connecticut researchers found that men and women eating an additional 640 mg of cholesterol from eggs had no increase in the LDL cholesterol particles that are associated with cardiovascular disease.

Interested in dropping body fat? Research from Saint Louis University has shown that subjects eating eggs for breakfast not only eat fewer calories throughout the day, but also lose significantly more body fat than those not eating eggs for breakfast.

With all these benefits, you'd have to either be a fool, or someone who is not interested in gaining muscle, losing body fat and getting stronger; in which caseyou'd still be a fool to not add eggs to your diet.

My Recipe

I typically scramble 3 whole eggs and 3 egg whites together and cook them in a panwith about 1 table spoon of olive oil. This will net you about 270 calories, 30 grams of protein, 1 gram of carbs and 30 grams of fat. (Remember: This fat comes primarily from healthy fats in the yolks and the olive oil, which will support testosterone production.)

But if plain scrambled eggs sound boring to you, you can add some flavor to your eggs by trying my Greek scramble:

• Add 2 cups of spinach, and 1/4 cup of fat-free, or reduced fat, fetacheese. This will net you about 355 calories, 45 grams of protein, 3 grams of carbsand 30 grams of fat.
• On the go a lot and don't have time to scrambled eggs? Just hard boil a bunch of eggs. Drop them in a Ziploc baggie and you're ready to go.
• If even boiling eggs is too much cooking for you, pick up a bottle of pickled eggs.
• Regard less of how you eat them, just make sure eggs are a daily part of your diet add eggs to your diet.

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