What if there was but one “Nature’s Perfect Food?” Wouldn’t that be wonderful for consumers, doctors, producers of that food? Actually, this has been a topic since there were both people and food on the planet. What is the one food that provides the perfect balance of vitamins, minerals, and health enhancers? In the last 100 years, various different foods have vied for the title of “perfect.” From cheese to milk to eggs, the high-stakes game has gone on. Which food do you believe is the current leader? That depends on when you were born.
Your great-grandfather probably believed that corn was nature’s perfect food. Easy to grow in almost any climate, corn was a staple of any good dinner plate from Colonial times through most of the 1800s. As healthy as it was for you, corn was also easily stored and did not require refrigeration.
When every American family had refrigeration (or at least a reliable icebox), a new food came to the front. Baby Boomers remember when Dad intoned at the dinner table, “Drink your milk, boy, so you grow strong. It’s nature’s perfect food.” Well, Dad was right…as long as he was talking to a baby calf! Indeed, cow’s milk is the perfect food for a bovine’s offspring. For the rest of us, well, not so much. A recent study in Sweden revealed that over-consumption of milk resulted in 16% more fractures of any kind in women, and 60% more hip fractures. The high number of milk sugars (mainly lactose and dextrose) were cited as the reason.
Fast forward to today and eggs. Well-balanced nutritionally and easily digested, eggs are now touted in some circles as that elusive nature’s perfect food.
Wait, what? Did you say hack me? Come closer. I don’t like to shout room to room. Now, go ahead. Oh, you have acne. From what? Eggs? You have got to be kidding me! Now, eggs cause acne?
Indeed, while eggs may turn out to be someone’s nature’s perfect food, there is peer-reviewed evidence to suggest otherwise. While the evidence is still mostly circumstantial, loud voices are insisting that removing eggs from their diet resulted in a reduction, or complete removal, of adult acne.
How circumstantial? For every two, “Eggs Are the Cause of Your Acne,” reports, such as https://goodglow.co/, insist that not only are eggs not the cause of your acne, but they are the best thing out there for clearing it up. So who are we to believe?
The devil, as it so often is, lies in the details. In this case, the details are in how many eggs you consume in your diet. It appears that 1-4 eggs a week are pretty much okay, while an egg or two every morning may create trouble with the oily bits on your skin. Also, it appears that foods with eggs cooked in, such as most baked goods, do not make for an acne problem in most people. Of course, no two egg-eaters/skippers are alike, so the test you conduct on yourself will be your final authority.
Finally, people ask about yolks versus whites, both, neither, or one at a time. While there doesn’t appear to be advantages of eating the white or the yolk, you are losing out on valuable nutrients if you exclude one or the other entirely. (Not to mention the flavor you are losing by excluding egg yolk.) In all likelihood, if your body tolerates egg yolk, the white shouldn’t be a problem. The same conclusion fits vice versa.
As always, consult a physician before making drastic changes to your usual diet. Gildshire values your friendship too much to let you get into trouble from a dietary standpoint.