Egg Beaters

Eggs.  They may seem like just eggs if you don't know any better.  I know I didn't know any better until about 5 years ago when we got our first set of chickens.  We started getting eggs and have loved having chickens ever since.  I have put a lot of time and research in to eggs and why eggs from free range hens are so much healthier than those from caged hens.  I was curious, so I found out.  I would absolutely love to share that information with you.

First, let's talk about why people could possibly be afraid of eggs.  Well, not all too long ago, scientists came up with the idea that eggs weren't good for us because they were high in cholesterol and cholesterol lead to heart attacks.  Eggs do contain cholesterol, this is true.  But did you know that our body needs cholesterol to maintain cell membrane structure? Sure, too much of it can cause heart disease.  In the past decade or so, research has actually shown that cholesterol from food is not the biggest culprit, it's the saturated fats that we eat that do the biggest harm to our hearts.  Now, remember my post on fats here....not all saturated fats are bad, within reason.  The idea that all cholesterol is bad, lead to the awful creation of products like egg beaters(shivers down my spine).  You see, all the cholesterol in an egg is contained in the yolk.  Egg beaters were put on the shelves at the grocery store, made of egg whits and no yolks.  This made them fat free and you guessed it...cholesterol free.  What the egg beater people failed to mention were these ingredients:

Egg Whites, Less than 1%: Natural Flavor, Color (Includes Beta Carotene), Spices, Salt, Onion Powder, Vegetable Gums (Xanthan Gum, Guar Gum), Maltodextrin. Vitamins and Minerals: Calcium Sulfate, Iron (Ferric Phosphate), Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol Acetate), Zinc Sulfate, Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin B12, Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin), Vitamin B1 (Thiamine Mononitrate), Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine Hydrochloride), Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin D3

My personal favorite is "natural flavor".  I mean, what in the heck is that!?  You see, they took out the yolk, which has all of the flavor so they had to add all of these other ingredients to make up for the lack of taste.  They have to use the gums and the thickeners to add fluff to the eggs since egg whites won't do that on their own.  Yep, you need the yolk to do that.  They have to fortify the egg beaters with vitamins since they took out all of the natural vitamins when they took the yolk out.  Why they had to use the sweetener maltodextrin in there, one will never know.  I think you get the point.  There are a lot of things in these egg beaters that are more toxic to us, than eating healthy, wholesome EGGS! 

Here's the deal.  When you eat an egg, you are consuming 10% of your daily allowance of saturated fats(according to those really smart people ;)...right?).  Eating an egg whole, without seperating it and filling it up with other substances is so much healthier for you.  There are ways that vitamins and nutrients interact with eachother in their natural state(like as in a whole egg) that scientists can't even explain.  That means that not altering our food is soooooo much better for us.  It's the way God intended it if you ask me.

If you are interested in finding good, healthy eggs, keep reading.  It can be very confusing when you go into the grocery store and look at the egg shelf.  There are so many different kinds and they all have all of these different labels that say things that sound good, but you don't really know what they mean.  Free range, cage free, organic, etc.  Here is a breakdown of what those things mean:

Cage free: Chickens are not kept in cages. They may or may not be allowed outside.

Fortified or vitamin enriched: Chicken feed is supplemented with vitamins or flaxseed to increase the eggs' nutritional profile.  Flaxseed boosts the eggs' omega-3 content.

Free range:  Chickens are given access to the outdoors.  But that access can be limited and doesn't guarantee the outdoor area is green pasture.  Some industrial farms might provide only one small door for thousands of chickens to use.

Certified Humane: Chickens must be allowed to perform natural behaviors and are therefore not allowed to be kept in cages, but access to outdoors is not required.

Organic:  To earn the official organic label, USDA guidelines must be followed, including ensuring that feed is certified organic and that the chickens are not given any synthetics hormones or antibiotics.

Natural, naturally raised: Unregulated, means nothing.

No hormones, no antibiotics:  Unregulated, means nothing.

Pasture raised:  Chickens are raised with extensive access to the outdoors, and a portion of their diet includes pasture grasses and insects.

So, pretty much nearly all of the labels that you read in the store aren't that great, except for one...pasture raised.  Eggs that come from hens that are allowed regular access to outdoors where they can eat grass, weeds and bugs are MUCH healthier than those that are only allowed organic food.  Obviously organic food is great, but if they aren't being allowed to be outside in nature the way that it was intended, they are not going to produce an optimum egg.  It's common sense if you ask me.  If you have chickens, you understand.  If you have seen them outside, scratching around eating bugs and grass, you know just how wrong and sickening it is to keep them in a small pen where they never see the light of day.  Read the labels carefully people and watch this video while you're at it(PLEASE).

"https://www.youtube.com/embed/TbqyAemRlno?rel=0"

There is a lot of information available out there.  I encourage you to research this further.  Maybe even get yourself some chickens!!  Buy from someone you know and trust.  If you can't do that, do the best you can at the store with the information you learned above.  Best of luck.