We have a girl scout in our family now so we have to support our troops! Then our daughter Becky posted this link and it reminded us of another possible blog title, "everything in moderation," but don't forget nutrient dense foods!
"Old Wisdom: Eggs clog your arteries and increase your risk of heart attack, stroke, diabetes and early death.
New Wisdom: Nonsense! Eggs are very nearly the perfect food.
How did this one happen? A century ago, when our grandparents gathered their eggs from the backyard hens, there was no controversy. Then cholesterol became the big bugaboo, and all of a sudden, we were being lectured to limit our consumption of eggs to four a week, if any.
Last year, scientists decided to settle the matter once and for all. A meta-analysis of 17 studies on egg consumption and health discovered that eggs did not contribute—at all—to heart disease or stroke in healthy individuals. On the contrary, eggs raise our good (HDL) cholesterol numbers and change the bad (LDL) cholesterol from small and dense to large and benign. Eggs are also high in iron and protein and two antioxidants, lutein and zeaxanthine, which protect against age-related eye disorders like macular degeneration and cataracts."
The key is to eat eggs from free-range, happy and healthy chickens, just like in the old days, but I imagine most of us still get our eggs from those dangerous caged hens that are sold in our local grocery?
Thank you Lord for 12 very healthy grand children from 12 very healthy parents. They don't necessarily avoid the foods listed in the link's group of seven.
How about you?
Ed Winkle
Hhhhmmm Eggs from free range chickens, when they pick s _ _ _, are more healthy for us than the caged layers. Is it the natural immunity thing then.
ReplyDeletePhred here, just food for thought
How does a person know if free range chickens are happy and caged chickens are dangerous?
ReplyDeleteI think that's people's opinion watching a few! Scientific research?
DeleteEd
Its true, if some people saw the things that free range chickens eat, they might be shocked. Not to say there is any harm in it but just a little known fact about the omnivorous eating habits of the free range chicken.
ReplyDeleteEd why do you frequently attack the quality of food produced by the American farmer? Do you make baseless opinionated statements about food quality to support niche markets? Do you want the public to be weary of agriculture?
ReplyDeleteIn this instance you praise the virtues of eggs but take a shot at the producers that aren't free range. Which is the vast majority.
It reads to me like you get kicks from running others down.
David Seck
I don't mean to, David. It's just what comes naturally to me. Was I raised in the wrong generation?
DeleteEd Winkle
Ed why do you frequently attack the quality of food produced by the American farmer? Do you make baseless opinionated statements about food quality to support niche markets? Do you want the public to be weary of agriculture?
DeleteIn this instance you praise the virtues of eggs but take a shot at the producers that aren't free range. Which is the vast majority.
It reads to me like you get kicks from running others down.
David Seck
David, why do you continue to pick on me? You have the only really negative comment in this list and it is focused at me. I do not post to disturb you. I post to make you think. I apologize if my words don't come out to suit you but yes I question everything we do.
I think we have the best food system in the world and I want to do more than sustain it. I want to improve it. So I question things.
I think I said something along the way or someone but a bug in your bonnet to not trust anything I say.
Your posts here are welcome until they become too negative.
That's pretty close to a personal attack on me and I won't tolerate that.
Thank you for your participation but it is really not positive.
Email me if you wish to discuss our differences.
Sincerely,
Ed Winkle
My comment was meant to make you think as well as the other readers of this blog think. It was negative on purpose. I do not appericiate when self appointed ambassadors of agriculture contribute to misinformation about food quality. It's not good for the public or agriculture industry. Talking bad about other farmers production practices has no place unless you are discussing factual information that brings into question the practice.
DeleteDo you really think you could tell the difference between a caged hens egg and a free range hens egg?
David Seck
Ed, your views attack agriculture when you put them here. You want people to think but you want them to agree with you to. And as you can see not all agree. I think you like the controversy to gain attention. It seems that's not the only thing you have learned from following Dr Huber.
DeleteI don't think coffee can be very healthy, there is no going around the fact that roasting coffee is highly carcinogenic. I still drink it every other day or so, alternating with black tea.
ReplyDeleteBut I agree with the rest, I like eggs, I never drink milk other than whole (and organic, but that's another debate), Safeway has a great organic microwave popcorn too. I probably eat too much salt though, and barely any chocolate. The French would add red wine and animal fat like butter and duck fat to that list no doubt! ;)
Coconut is a fantastic fruit that gives so many different "dairy" products, not just the shreds for baking: The green coconuts are full of refreshing "water." The drier ones have less water but still have a moist "meat" that can be squeezed into "milk" or mixed into "butter," you can filter out the solids or let it set to "cream" on top, and filter out the water to extract pure coconut "oil," which is solid at room temperature. That's already 5 products from one fruit: Water, milk, cream, butter and oil. Many different inspiring ways offered on Youtube:
Milk: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0XmM05_MRU
Butter: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OFQ567ETUs
David, it's not just about the nutrition or our health, Ed made a point about the hens' health with his mention of "free-range, happy and healthy chickens" as opposed to "caged hens."
ReplyDeleteI have no interest in producers who aren't free range either, it's not "running them down" to say that we prefer free range. I have no interest in the dry and bitter carrots they sell at the store either, good for these farmers if they can sell them, but I won't buy them. I think this kind of criticism is more about the food industry than the farming industry, especially egg producers, who are contracted and don't have much of a choice.
Ed and Chimel, please stop telling other farmers this stuff. Talking to farmers about things like free range chickens make better eggs or questioning the viability of GMO is not helpful. I've been living all winter off the money I make selling nonGMO grain to folks raising chickens and pigs that are convinced soy and corn is Frankenfood. I don't want any other farmers stealing my ideas. In fact, I've been thinking about sponsoring a showing of Food Inc here locally just to drum up a little more business. The place to talk about GMO and the benefits of fresh made feed, fresh farm raised meat, happy chickens and pigs, that sort of thing, is with the consumer not the producer.
ReplyDeleteWhen you are talking to farmers promote cover crop, keep the price of annual ryegrass and radish high. Well, I don't really care about radish being high cause I don't grow it and it is kind of a pain in the butt to no-till for the neighbors.
Please promote bigger tractors and tell folks that they should export their old Minneapolis-Molines and White corn planters to Oregon. Also, if anyone wants to donate a 2-110 FWA Series 3 with low hours and a nice cab or one of those ugly yellow White American 80 FWA I can provide a shipping address.
Be sure to stress how weird people are who have free range chickens and how crazy the anti-gmo crowd is. I can provide photographic proof of that if required. (I live near Portland)
I meant to say the people are convinced that corn and soy are full of GMO and are toxic. The critters don't really seem to care. Although they do like my fresh ground grain much better than the store bought stuff. I don't know why. I blame it on the GMO.
DeleteI agree but what am I to talk about? My old days on the farm?
DeleteGee whiz, I don't get it.
I spread lime and gypsum and make my own farm better and I get all these replies suggesting I am nuts for reading the real world?
Is the real world nuts?
Is that what you are saying?
Ed Winkle
I like your blog, Ed. I don't know much, but free range chickens and their eggs have to be better for you than the caged ones, even if I can't tell the difference. I will eat them both, though... God bless all the farmers providing all of our food.
ReplyDeleteAnother point, the caged layers don't have access to a
ReplyDeleteRooster
That is why to free range tastes better
ReplyDelete