I am a creature of habit when it comes to eating breakfast. For starters, I always eat breakfast. I awaken hungry and I am ready to chow.
My normal routine begins with berries. Raspberries, blackberries and blueberries are my favorites. Then I move to eggs. I pour a generous amount of olive oil into a small frying pan, crack two healthy eggs into the pan, add pepper and occasionally chopped spinach and/or chopped tomatoes. For a real splurge, I toss in a little cheddar cheese. I then scoop out about a tablespoon of almond butter onto my plate and cover it with cinnamon. That breakfast is completed by a mug of steaming dark roast coffee with a little cream.
That is my breakfast at least six out of seven day a week, often all seven.
May is National Egg Month. Eggs are good for us!
Eggs have long been vilified for their high cholesterol content. However, new research states we may have been all wrong.
While it’s true that just one egg yolk has 200 mg of cholesterol, eggs also contain additional nutrients that may help lower the risk for heart disease. In addition, the amount of fat in an egg, about 5 grams, is mostly monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat. It’s also crucial to differentiate between dietary cholesterol and cholesterol in the blood, which are only weakly related.
Eggs also boost brain health. When you eat the whole egg, yolks are a very good source of vitamin B12. This vitamin energizes the brain and provides crucial protection by eliminating potentially toxic compounds and promoting long-term nerve health and function.
Egg yolks are also one of the few excellent sources of choline. Choline is the main building block of the nervous system function. Its importance cannot be overstated.
Research has shown that eating eggs daily for breakfast is an effective strategy to help control body weight. The healthy fats found in eggs help increase feelings of fullness and satisfaction. This cuts down on snacking between meals.
And yet another boon, eggs are rich in the antioxidant lutein, which fights free radical damage. Lutein also helps protect existing brain cells, helps create new ones, and improves neuroplasticity (the brain’s capacity to keep developing, changing, and healing itself).
As I see my mother getting old and struggling so much with her memory and the processing of daily tasks, I want to take intentional steps to try to keep my brain as healthy as possible.
If you are now not convinced to eat eggs, you really do need to start eating your eggs because your brain obviously needs them.