Page 22 - atoday sept 30

A22
HEALTHWednesday 30 September
Eggs and Butter
By: Dr Carlos Viana
A favorite
dish of mine in a Japanese
restaurant is a raw quail
egg yolk on sea urchin
eggs. A variable “choles-
terol bomb”, one of my
colleagues called. Notice
that the Japanese sushi
chef throws away the white
of the egg. A good thing,
since raw egg whites should
never be consumed. Egg
whites contain substances
that remove vitamins from
your body and could pos-
sibly inhibit digestion of
protein, and affect growth.
Cooking the egg for just a
few minutes destroys these
and other harmful com-
pounds.
The reason a myth
has survived for years about
the dangers of eating egg
yolks is because one egg
yolk contains about 213 mil-
ligrams of cholesterol. This
is about the same amount
as my other favorite food,
olive oil that is also loaded
with cholesterol. However,
any clinical nutritionist will
tell you that the different
types of cholesterol are
not the same. Olive oil, like
egg yolks, both have a high
content of monounsatu-
rated fatty acids and anti-
oxidative substances. In lay
terms, both of these great
foods are rich in HDL, the
“good” cholesterol.
If you enjoy the
convenience of taking
a multivitamin to be sure
you’re getting enough
nutrients, you should con-
sider including soft boiled
or poached eggs in your
diet. They come close to
having everything a natural
multivitamin provides. Eggs
ter or “Gee” a form of but-
are low in sodium and are
a good source of protein,
riboflavin, Vitamin B12, Pan-
tothenic acid, phosphorus,
and selenium. Additionally,
there are amino acids, the
building blocks for muscle
and a great source of leci-
thin.
In fact, the word
“lecithin,” comes from
the Greek word “lekithos”
meaning “egg yolk”. Other
foods that contain lecithin
include: butter, peanuts,
cauliflower, tomatoes, ba-
nana, oranges, lentils, oats,
barley, corn, sesame seeds,
flax seeds, whole wheat
and human breast milk.
Notice I said, butter, not
margarine. Actually, if you
are worried about cho-
lesterol, according to a
Harvard Medical study,
margarine may increase
heart disease in women by
53% over eating the same
amount of butter. Marga-
rine contains up to 45 per-
cent of artificially created
unhealthy trans-fats.
No more fattening than
margarine, butter has been
in the diet for thousands of
years so our bodies are used
to digesting it. Besides leci-
thin, butter is a rich source
of easily absorbed vitamin
A, E, K, D and selenium, a
powerful antioxidant. We
use salt free to eliminate
the harmful processed salt
which is used as a preserva-
tive to help the butter last
longer on the shelf. If you
like the taste of salt, try add- lecithin has been used to
ing your own natural sea
salt, which still has some of
the minerals left and is not
chemically processed.
Even better is Clarified But-
role in memory functions
ter found in the Indian sec-
tion of your supermarket.
Gee can be made easily at
home and is butter which
has the milk solids or fat re-
moved. It has a high smoke
point and is a safer, health-
ier choice for cooking than
other fats or oils.
With people afraid to
eat egg yolks, the richest
source of choline found
in modern diets comes
from an additive called
lecithin. Lecithin is most
often added to foods as
an emulsifier which helps
keeps food blended. As a
dietary supplement, I con-
sider lecithin to be essential
for everyone. In our clinic I
see patient’s daily suffer-
ing from fatigue, insomnia,
kidney and bladder prob-
lems, high cholesterol lev-
els, nerve-muscle problems,
including cardiovascular
disease, infertility, liver and proportion of needed nu-
gallbladder problems, ane-
mia, and high blood pres-
sure. Lecithin in your body
keeps your cells functioning
properly, allows your nerves
to communicate with your
muscles; and prevent the
build-up of homocysteine
in your blood. Homocyste-
ine is a harmful compound
that is associated with car-
diovascular disease and
osteoporosis. Since lecithin
has fat-modifying effects,
lecithin helps prevent fatty
build-up in the liver.
An important part of lecithin
is choline. Since the 1930s,
research has shown that
choline is a component of
every human cell. Lecithin
can help control cholester-
ol levels. Because of its role
in nerve-muscle function,
help improve neuromuscu-
lar function in Alzheimer’s
disease and plays a critical
thetic or artificial vitamins,
and learning difficulties. which may also include fill-
Lecithin supple- ers, dyes and preservatives.
mentation is very impor- Get The Point! Eggs and
tant to babies, even while butter do not increase heart
still in the womb. Dietary disease risk in most people.
deficiency of lecithin can A Harvard School of Pub-
provoke respiratory distress lic Health study found that
in newborns, and failure to healthy adults were able to
thrive. In very young ba- eat an egg a day without
bies a continuing deficien- increasing their risk of heart
cy can produce impaired disease or stroke. Want help
growth, and abnormalities with a cholesterol problem
in bone formation. Medical or a healthier gall bladder,
data on lecithin suggests liver, brain or to improve
that simply supplementing the learning ability of your
the diets of pregnant and child? Come in so we can
nursing women with lecithin tailor a health program to
could affect their children’s your specific needs.
lifelong learning and mem-
ory. In adults, lecithin can CARLOS VIANA, Ph. D. is
boost cognitive function, an Oriental Medical Doc-
diminish age-related mem- tor (O.M.D.) having studied
ory decline, and reduce in China; a US Board Cert.
the brain’s vulnerability to Clinical Nutritionist (C.C.N.),
toxic substances. an Addiction Professional
Eggs are nutritious. They’re (C.Ad.), Chairperson of
nutrient dense that means the Latin American Com-
that eggs provide a good mittee of the International
Academy of Oral Medicine
trients for the calories they and Toxicology (IAOMT), a
provide. Eating nutrient- Rejuvenating Cell Therapist
dense foods is particularly specializing in Age Man-
important for children as agement, has a weekly
well as older adults be- radio program, writes and
cause their energy needs lectures extensively. For
are less but their nutrient information: VIANA HEAL-
needs are high. Nutrient ING CENTER, Kibaima 7, St
density is also important for Cruz TEL: 585-1270 Web Site:
anyone of any age who is www.vianaheal.com
trying to lose weight. One of “Prescriptions from Para-
the reasons for eating eggs dise” - Dr. Viana’s Award
is lecithin and supplement- Winning BOOK: Prescrip-
ing your diet with a qual- tions from Paradise, Intro-
ity lecithin supplement give duction to Biocompatible
us a healthy boost. By the Medicine – Available at
way, I recommend most of local Bookstores, Hotel Gift
my patients take individual, shops and Boticas. Signed
natural supplements, like Vi- copies at Viana Healing
tamin C, Magnesium, Zane Center, EBooks: Amazon
and always Lecithin. How- kindle, Nook, Itunes check
ever, if you prefer taking a for Events at: facebook.
multivitamin, make sure you com/vianahealingcenter.
are using a natural one. Join the discussion: www.
There is a difference be- facebook.com/prescrip-
tween quality food based tionsformparadise q
nutrients and cheaper, syn-