Colorful, Fresh Eggs!
Pasture-raised eggs can have up to 7 times the nutrients in some categories!
Hens at Maple Valley Farm are moved to well-rested, deep-rooted pasture regularly.
Here are some more interesting facts about egg nutrition:
1. Eggs, and dietary cholesterol in general, do not adversely affect cholesterol levels in the blood (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19852882 this is one of many recently published studies that indicate that dietary cholesterol has very little impact on blood cholesterol levels in about 75% of the population. The remaining 25% of the population are more sensitive. In this group, dietary cholesterol only modestly increases both LDL (“bad cholesterol” and HDL (“good cholesterol”), but it does not affect the ratio of LDL to HDL nor does it increase the risk of heart disease. )
2. In people whose blood cholesterol is affected by eating them, eggs change LDL cholesterol from small, dense LDL (which is bad) to large LDL, which is benign. ( http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19369056 ,http://journals.lww.com/co-clinicalnutrition/Abstract/2006/01000/Dietary_cholesterol_provided_by_eggs_and_plasma.4.aspx, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8782636 )
3. All of the 13 essential nutrients eggs contain are found in the yolk. Egg yolks are an especially good source of choline, a B-vitamin that plays important roles in everything from neurotransmitter production to detoxification to maintenance of healthy cells. ( http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19906248 )
4. Due to the fact that eggs increase blood-levels of two antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin that accumulate in the retina of the eye, eating eggs can protect the eye from diseases such as macular degeneration and cataracts (http://www.iovs.org/content/47/6/2329.short , http://www.iovs.org/content/44/6/2461.short ,http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/62/6/1448S.short , http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23571649 )
5. A large egg contains 77 calories, 6 grams of protein and all 9 essential amino acids. It is rich in iron, phosphorous, selenium and vitamins A, B12, B2 and B5 (among others). One egg contains 113 mg of Choline – a very important nutrient for the brain, among other things. ( http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/dairy-and-egg-products/117/2)
6. Eggs from hens raised on pasture have significantly more nutrients than factory eggs. (http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2009/05/pastured-eggs.html : note that even among “pastured egg producers” the nutrients can vary widely. Generally, moving the hens regularly to lush, deep rooted forage with plenty of insects makes a difference! During the growing season, we move ours weekly to fresh pasture.)
Enjoy your eggs!
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