Is eating Egg white better than eating the whole egg?

Eggs are a part of traditional breakfast almost over a major part of the world and are almost a must in the plate of a growing child. Recently a new trend arose of eating only the egg white and not consuming the yolk portion. Below we discuss how eating an egg white is different from eating whole egg.

Egg whites are mainly water and proteins. These proteins are rich in the essential amino-acids, which your body can’t synthesize and must be supplemented by food. All the fat and cholesterol of the egg is in the yolk of the egg. Thus more than 60% of the calories of the egg lie in the yolk. Egg whites can be a good choice for people on restricted lipid diet such as heart patients. Besides having the lipids, the yolk harbors the great chunk of vitamins and minerals, for which eggs are famous as a good nutrition for growing children. So if you are not eating the yolk of the egg you are missing out on the vitamins, minerals and the antioxidant selenium as well. The vitamins include vitamin A, Vitamin B12, Vitamin B5 and vitamin D etc. These vitamins are good for your eyes, your skin and your bones and keep your body metabolism pumping.

                To conclude, eating only the egg white can be a good choice for the calorie conscious people looking for a way to lose weight, But by cutting off the yolk you are cutting out a major chink of health benefits that an egg can provide if eaten whole. 

Walnut: The Brain shaped nut

Walnut is one beautiful nut and surprisingly resembles a human brain in its shape with its ridges and grooves. Walnuts are eaten as a snack and are frequently added into salads, soups and desserts because of their tantalizingly yummy flavor and amazing crunch. But it is almost impossible to take walnut out of its shell in one piece. And according to Willy Wonka, only squirrels can do it. Since we don’t have squirrels at our disposal to do it, we have to make peace with half segments (sed lyf). But mostly it’s small chunks. Walnut oil is also used as a salad dressing.

On the inside, walnuts are mostly fat. The fat is good fat and packs a lot of energy and calories. They have a very high proportion of essential fatty acids (the fatty acids which your body can’t synthesize and must be supplemented by food). Of the minerals, it has a rich supply of copper, copper is necessary for the oxidative breakdown of food in your body and is required for energy production. It also has decent amounts of folic acid and a high amount of Vitamin E, the antioxidant. Besides vitamin E, a number of walnut exclusive compounds are present which function as antioxidants. Antioxidants are really good for your skin and can protect you from cancer.

For our major discussion, we will discuss that do walnuts or do they not improve your brain function and comprehension. The mechanisms behind their benefit is that antioxidants present in walnuts trap the oxidative stress molecules and deactivate them. The oxidative stress is one of most important mechanisms of aging and leading cause of age related deterioration all over the body. Thus, walnuts can protect your brain and other tissues and improve age related symptoms such as forgetfulness. But a word of caution is necessary as walnuts are a calorie dense and fat rich diet. Animal studies show a great association of improved brain function with eating walnuts or other high antioxidant foods. A study conducted on aged rats in 2008 revealed that walnuts greatly improved their learning capacity and cognitive functions. Besides the antioxidant activity, the essential fatty acids, that walnuts have, are used to synthesize a number of neurotransmitters. Walnuts, according to research, can improve some symptoms of depression, as well.

So Eat Walnuts and Protect your brains (can’t say for what do you want to save them?).

Carrots: The rabbit food…

Whenever I see carrots or read about them it takes me back to the naughty “Bugs-bunny” from Looney Tunes chewing on his carrot. That’s where I developed my liking for carrots. And it further strengthens my liking knowing that they are so good. The slightly sweet taste is like a treat for the taste-buds. And the taste is further complemented by the crunch, the symphony of crackle. The colour of carrots ranges from yellowish orange to red and reflects the composition. Carrots are enjoyed in a number of ways including raw in salads, cooked and pureed.

On the inside, a great part of carrots is made up of water. Besides water they have mostly carbohydrates and minimal proteins and fats. The carbohydrates consists of readily digestible sugars and fibers. Even then the glycemic index is low and can be consumed by diabetics without much rise in blood glucose levels and are fit for dieting. In the Vitamins, Carrots are a very rich source of vitamin A. The concentration of Beta-Carotene, The reason of orange hue, is very high in them which is further converted to vitamin A, which improves vision especially when there is not much light and is good for your skin. Lycopene, antioxidant which may prevent certain cancers, is also present and accounts for the Red colour. The Yellow hue is contributed by lutein which improves the vision by preventing age related changes in the eye.

Now you know enough about carrots to eat them. J

Potatoes: French fries

Potatoes are like every child’s most favourite vegetable. Potatoes are also eaten as staple food in some areas. Excessive relish is found about eating them as fried cutlets and chips, less so when boiled or cooked.

Potatoes grow underground as a root tuber of a handsome plant having white to light purple flowers. The plant other than tubers is not fit for human consumption because of poisonous glycol-alkaloids. Some of these are also found in the potatoes and are in a higher concentration in the peel. At low concentrations, these are almost harmless. But higher concentrations can be dangerous.

On the inside potatoes are like carbs, carbs and carbs and a very little amount of proteins and fats with a large amount of water. The carbohydrates are good for a spike of available glucose in blood so not good for diabetic patients. But, the rise in glucose depends a lot on the type of potatoes and cooking methods. A part of these carbohydrates is fiber and that fiber is rich in the peel of the potatoes. The fiber can help our digestive system in a number of ways involving increasing the motility, and making bulk. Cooking and then cooling down of potatoes improves the content of the fiber. So next time be patient and let them cool down. Yellow colour of potatoes is explained by lutein content which is a phytochemical, antioxidant and good for the health of eyes.

Besides this there is a mixed bag of vitamins and minerals. It is a decent source of vitamin B6 or pyridoxine, required for cellular respiration and energy production. And a handsome amount of vitamin C, required for wound healing and a good skin. Trace amounts of Thiamine or vitamin B1, Riboflavin or vitamin B2, Niacin or vitamin B3 and folate. Little amounts of minerals are also found in it comprising of iron, Magnesium, Manganese and Potassium.

                Enjoy your French fries…

Almonds: the eye shaped nut

Almonds are one of the most recommended nuts, undoubtedly and are available throughout the year. They are the seeds of Almond tree which is close relative of cherry tree and has beautiful light pink to white flowers.

Almonds are considerably rich in proteins but lack some of the essential aminoacids. But the almond proteins help repair the neurons of brains thus may improve memory. The fat content is pretty high. Almond oil extracted is used for both edible and application purposes. The carbohydrate content, which is very low, comprises of mostly fiber. So can be used for achieving low body weight or steady increase in the blood sugar level in diabetic patients. Almonds are Gluten free.

Almonds have a rich supply of vitamin E, the powerful antioxidant which is also good for your skin and prevents senile damage to the eyes, and Vitamin B2 or riboflavin, required for the basic metabolism of cellular respiration responsible for energy production and biotin. Besides the vitamins it has minerals in store including magnesium, copper (required by oxidation enzymes), manganese and iron.

A significant common word is around about soaking your almonds nightlong before eating. The scientific explanation is that presence of phytic acid in the nuts including almonds which interferes with the absorption of other minerals. Soaking the almonds gets rid of that phytic acid for you. Besides enzyme inhibitors are also present in nuts which can be avoided by soaking. You should also peel the almonds because the peels of most nuts is harder to digest but the peel has some high concentrations of antioxidants. So it is up to you to peel them or not.

A word of caution is necessary because bitter almonds contain a very toxic substance called amygdalin, a cyanogenic glycoside (cyanides are potentially the most powerful poisons), the toxic potential is so high that eating even only four to five bitter almonds can prove fatal.

Perhaps, from now on you should take your almonds more seriously or if you eat them regularly, consume them with more relish.