Eggs may not be bad for your heart after all

Subgroup analyses signal a possible benefit among older adults and those with diabetes
Subgroup analyses signal a possible benefit among older adults and those with diabetes

Whether you like your eggs sunny-side up, hard boiled or scrambled, many hesitate to eat them amid concerns that eggs may raise cholesterol levels and be bad for heart health. However, results from a prospective, controlled trial presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session show that over a four-month period cholesterol levels were similar among people who ate fortified eggs most days of the week compared with those who didn’t eat eggs.

A total of 140 patients with or at high risk for cardiovascular disease were enrolled in the PROSPERITY trial, which aimed to assess the effects of eating 12 or more fortified eggs a week versus a non-egg diet (consuming less than two eggs a week) on HDL- and LDL-cholesterol, as well as other key markers of cardiovascular health over a four-month study period.

“We know that cardiovascular disease is, to some extent, mediated through risk factors like high blood pressure, high cholesterol and increased BMI and diabetes. Dietary patterns and habits can have a notable influence on these and there’s been a lot of conflicting information about whether or not eggs are safe to eat, especially for people who have or are at risk for heart disease,” said Nina Nouhravesh, MD, a research fellow at the Duke Clinical Research Institute in Durham, North Carolina, and the study’s lead author. “This is a small study, but it gives us reassurance that eating fortified eggs is OK with regard to lipid effects over four months, even among a more high-risk population.”

Eggs are a common and relatively inexpensive source of protein and dietary cholesterol. Nouhravesh and her team wanted to look specifically at fortified eggs as they contain less saturated fat and additional vitamins and minerals, such as iodine, vitamin D, selenium, vitamin B2, 5 and 12, and omega-3 fatty acids.

For this study, patients were randomly assigned to eat 12 fortified eggs a week (cooked in whatever manner they chose) or to eat fewer than two eggs of any kind (fortified or not) per week.  All patients were 50 years of age or older (the average age was 66 years), half were female and 27% were Black. All patients had experienced one prior cardiovascular event or had two cardiovascular risk factors, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, increased BMI or diabetes. The co-primary endpoint was LDL and HDL cholesterol at four months. Secondary endpoints included lipid, cardiometabolic and inflammatory biomarkers and levels of vitamin and minerals. 

Patients had in-person clinic visits at the start of the study and visits at one and four months to take vital signs and have bloodwork done. Phone check-ins occurred at two and three months and patients in the fortified egg group were asked about their weekly egg consumption. Those with low adherence were provided additional education materials.

Results showed a -0.64 mg/dL and a -3.14 mg/dL reduction in HDL-cholesterol (“good” cholesterol) and LDL cholesterol (“bad” cholesterol), respectively, in the fortified egg group. While these differences weren’t statistically significant, the researchers said the differences suggest that eating 12 fortified eggs each week had no adverse effect on blood cholesterol. In terms of secondary endpoints, researchers observed a numerical reduction in total cholesterol, LDL particle number, another lipid biomarker called apoB, high-sensitivity troponin (a marker of heart damage), and insulin resistance scores in the fortified egg group, while vitamin B increased.

“While this is a neutral study, we did not observe adverse effects on biomarkers of cardiovascular health and there were signals of potential benefits of eating fortified eggs that warrant further investigation in larger studies as they are more hypothesis generating here,” Nouhravesh said, explaining that subgroup analyses revealed numerical increases in HDL cholesterol and reductions in LDL cholesterol in patients 65 years or older and those with diabetes in the fortified egg group compared with those eating fewer than two eggs.

So why have eggs gotten a bad rap? Some of the confusion stems from the fact that egg yolks contain cholesterol. Experts said a more important consideration, especially in the context of these findings, might be what people are eating alongside their eggs, such as buttered toast, bacon and other processed meats, which are not heart healthy choices. As always, Nouhravesh said it’s a good idea for people with heart disease to talk with their doctor about a heart healthy diet.

This single-center study is limited by its small size and reliance on patients’ self-reporting of their egg consumption and other dietary patterns. It was also an unblinded study, which means patients knew what study group they were in, which can influence their health behaviors.

What are superfoods?


What are superfoods?

What are superfoods?




The infographic was shared by Topweightedvest, a blog dedicated to the usage of weighted vests and other useful weighted clothing which you can use in your day to day life to grow your body muscles.

We all love to be healthy. But do you do something to keep yourself healthy?

Superfoods may be your way to go.

Unfortunately, there is no proper legal definition for superfood, but it is essentially a food packed with nutrients.

These may be anything from antioxidants to polyphenols to vitamins to minerals. Superfoods are very important for the healthy body. The more you eat them, the better it is.

These foods will help you prevent chronic diseases and also helps you to prolong your life.

I will speak about few of my favourites and the rest you can read from the infographic.

Eggs

Eggs are considered as a perfect food as it contains all the necessary nutrients that a body requires. Apart from this eggs are a great source of inexpensive protein.

It also has other important nutrients which benefit your eyes.

You can eat three eggs a day without any issues.




Coconut Oil

Coconut oil is considered as the healthiest food on the planet.

There are many other popular oils out there, but nothing beats the nutritional value that coconut oil provides.

Not only does it help increase the “good cholesterol” but decreases the bad ones. It also helps you to tackle diseases like arthritis.

Kale

Kale Chips are one my favourites.

It is one of the most nutritious plant food. It is packed with nutrients and vitamins.

Kale is a great source of Vitamin C. Vitamin C helps in proper functioning of body cells.

Steamed Kale helps in lowering your cholesterol. This way you can prevent heart problems.

Hope you learnt a lot from the infographic. Please comment your favourite superfood below. I would love to know them.

How Regular Exercise Helps Lose Weight

Regular activity is very vital for good health and is especially much important if one is trying to cut off excess weight or to maintain a healthy lifestyle and healthy weight levels. More body activities are needed when one intents to loose weight. The reason behind this is that physical activities increase the amount of calories your body uses for energy. The burning of calories through physical activities together with reduced amounts of calories intake creates caloric deficit that results in weight loss.

Accelerates Burning of Calories

Fitness and Weight Loss

Fitness and Weight Loss

According to latest weight loss news & tips most of the weight loss occurs due to reduced caloric intake. However, evidence shows that the only way to lose drastically is to get engaged in regular physical activities. Regular physical activities can also reduce the risk of cardiovascular and diabetes apart from weight loss. Physical activities also help reduce high blood pressure, minimizes chances of contacting type 2 diabetes, heart attack and several forms of cancer. They also reduce the risk of arthritis, pain and associated disability, reduce the risk of osteoporosis and also minimize symptoms of depression and anxiety.


Weight loss activity has for a long time been confused with a pack of myths that have no scientific proofs behind them. However, there a few tips that are mainly based from scientific findings by some of the world’s most qualified scientists and have been rated with positive implications towards weight loss approaches. This is a high time to dawn light broadly to everyone that regular exercises works out perfectly with the combination of the following latest weight loss tips. Here are some of the latest lifestyle news and tips for weight loss that are worth trying:

  1. Drink much water prior to mealtime

This is an open truth and for real drinking water before meals works out perfect to enhance weight loss. One boosts metabolism by 24 to 30% over a period of 1 to 1.5hours by drinking water. This helps in burning excess calories. Drinking water about half an hour before meals helps dieters eat fewer calories and loose approximately 44% more weight.

  1. Consume protein-rich breakfast

Apart from nutritional benefits that one gets by eating eggs, it also helps him/her lose weight. Numerous studies have found that replacing a grain-based breakfast with eggs help you eat fewer calories for the next few hours. You will also feel satisfied for the better part of the day before main meals. Won’t this prevent you from reaching out to unhealthy snacks? This helps one lose more weight and body fat. If at all you can’t eat eggs at all, any source of quality protein for breakfast can tickle out the trick.

  1. Make black coffee your favorite beverage

Coffee has been unfairly demonized over years and for real quality coffee is loaded with antioxidants that that contains lots of health benefits. Research shows caffeine in coffee can boost metabolism by 4-10% and thus increase fat burning up from 15-30%. However, it is recommendable to avoid using too much sugar because it is rich in calories which can completely negate all the benefits you may expect from the coffee. In addition, taking green tea also works out in a similar way as coffee since it contains some fractions of caffeine that works in synergistic ways to enhance the burning of excess fats. It can be taken either as a beverage or green tea extract supplement.

  1. Use coconut oil in all your meals

Coconut oil is very healthy and its high in special fats called medium chain triglycerides which are metabolized differently than other fats. One should replace his/her current cooking oil with coconut oil and this will boost metabolism by 120 calories per day, reduce appetite to the extent that you start eating 25% fewer calories per day.

  1. Take supplements

In reference to online publications of the latest lifestyle news and tips, supplementing has always been an option for those who can’t have access to balanced diets that are rich in minerals and essential nutrients. There are many supplements that are rich in fiber, which helps to absorb water and sits in the gut for long hours, making you feel fuller and helping you eat fewer calories.

Additional Tips

In addition to the above factors, one should also cut on added sugar, eat less refined carbs by switching to a low carb diet, exercise portion control or count calories, keep health food around in case he/she gets hungry and above all, use smaller plates that makes you get used to eating small amounts of food.  This will ensure that you are burning more calories than you eat.

Conclusion

Excess weight comes about as a result of poor eating habits that result in excess calories. No one enjoys it when he/she is reading overweight. This makes him or her uncomfortable and this limits the social life that one lives. Therefore, for comfort, regular exercises and better eating habits help one to live a healthy and happy life.

References

https://www.consumerhealthdigest.com/fitness/

https://www.glozine.com/lifestyle/health

The Five Best Sources of Vitamin D from Diet




Welcome to our latest blog post looking at Vitamins and health. Today we are going to focus on Vitamin D. To see in more detail why you need Vitamin D in your diet please look at this blog post we published a few years ago.

Good levels of Vitamin D are important in a number of medical conditions but particularly fibromyalgia and multiple sclerosis.

As that previous blog states, and I feel we should re-iterate, the best source of Vitamin D is natural sunlight. We would certainly recommend enjoying a safe amount of sunlight each day during the Spring and Summer.

For this post we are going to focus on sources of Vitamin D from diet. Please also note that we are looking at food which are naturally high in Vitamin D rather than those which have been “fortified” with Vitamin D. Also note all the numbers given her , are by very definition, approximate.

So in the spirit of the music charts of yesteryear we would like to present the five top sources of Vitamin starting with Number 5!




5) Shiitake Mushrooms

Shiitake mushrooms - a sources of vitamin D

Shiitake mushrooms – a sources of vitamin D

4) Eggs

Eggs and Vitamin D

Eggs and Vitamin D

Did you know that one normal sized eggs has 10% of your daily Vitamin D needs? But please remember the Vitamin D is concentrated in the yolk so you will need to eat the whole thing. But aren’t poached eggs on toast the greatest breakfast?




3) Cow’s Milk

Cow's milk and Vitamin D

Cow’s milk and Vitamin D

In the US cow’s milk is almost always fortified with Vitamin D. But it does not have to be if grass fed.

That being said and eight once glass (or a half litre) will net you about 30% of your daily Vitamin D requirement.

2) Salmon

Vitamin D and Salmon

Vitamin D and Salmon

Just 100g or around 4 oz will give you over 20% more than you daily requirement.

So what are you waiting for? Time for sushi anyone?

Well there is just one thing. The food with the highest levels of Vitamin D.

Why not scroll down to find out!

1) Cod-Liver Oil

Vitamin D and Cod Liver Oil

Vitamin D and Cod Lover Oil

Bet you please you know that eh?

Actually one tablespoon givers you over 130% of your daily dose of Vitamin D.

But I have to say. Why bother? It tastes, well, horrible.

Give me an egg and salmon curry any day with a walk in the son and I’m happy.

But I did think you should know!