Velma Garnes, Fitness Instructor, Focused-Fitness.org

As a whole food eggs are an inexpensive and low calorie source of nutrients such as folate, riboflavin, selenium, choline and vitamins B-12 and A. They are also considered a source of very high quality protein.

The controversy with egg consumption comes the confusion of the increase of coronary heart disease (CHD) because of the amount of cholesterol found in the egg yolk.

The truth is that extensive research has failed to establish a definitive link between dietary egg yolk consumption and the progression of the disease.

Egg protein is helpful in weight training in that it has a high biological value (best matches what is needed by your muscles). It inhibits the breakdown of the muscle, post work out (PWO) when protein is desperately needed, especially after a weight training workout.

The best eggs to choose are those that are organic. Organic eggs are always free-range eggs, but free-range eggs are not always organic. If you choose to go organic, make sure the carton has the USDA organic seal on it. USDA organic have the strictest food production standards in the world.

Here are the qualifications for organic eggs:

  1. Certified organic farms are required to follow the strict production rules of the USDA’s National Organic Standards www.ams.usda.gov/nop and are regularly inspected by an independent third party for compliance.
  2. Organic hens are allowed access to the outdoors, and never kept in confinement cages, providing many benefits such as better quality of life for the animal, superior animal health, and greater nutritive value in food derived from the animal.
  3. Our hens are fed only certified organic feed, grown on land not treated with synthetic fertilizers or pesticides for a minimum of three years.If you choose regular eggs, then it would be wise to avoid the yolk because this is where all the garbage that they treat and inject the hens with is concentrated the most. I don’t like my kids to eat regular eggs because as growing children, protein is so vital for their growth and so therefore have a high rate of absorption and if you think about it, by the time they reach your age, they would have many built up toxins.
  4. Organic animals must not be genetically modified and cannot be fed food from genetically modified sources.

Organic eggs right now are about $3.19/dozen. I can’t really tell you how much regular eggs are right now because I can’t tell you the last time I bought them! If it’s not worth it to you, then by all means, skip this section, but remember, garbage in, garbage out.

Protein is essential for building so many things in your body–you may as well make it a good source. Do it for yourself. You’re worth every penny!

Velma Garnes has been a fitness enthusiast most of her life. In her school days, she ran track, flirted briefly with gymnastics, and settled on cheerleading and track in High School. This enthusiasm for fitness remains today, as evidenced by her certifications as a personal trainer, SPINNING instructor, a National Academy of Sports Medicine Performance Enhancement Specialist (NASM-PES), and Ashtanga (Power) Yoga instructor.  Visit her Web site at http://www.focused-fitness.org/index.html