From Miya on Wikipedia. Click Photo for GFDL License

Mr. LaLanne says that he eats 8 egg whites per day. Egg whites are a great place to get your protein. According to wikipedia.org, egg whites have been determined to have the standard biological value of 100 (though some sources may have higher biological values). This means that egg whites are 100% bio-available, and that most of the absorbed nitrogen from egg white protein can be retained and used by the body. The biological value of plant protein sources is usually considerably lower than animal sources.

Egg whites are fat-free and cholesterol-free. However, do not eat raw egg whites. The human body cannot completely and safely digest a raw egg white. So, if you like a raw egg or raw egg white in your drink, you are wasting your time, not to mention the threat of Salmonella. Furthermore, Avidin, which is found in raw egg whites, blocks the uptake of Vitamin B6 (Biotin) which causes a vitamin deficiency. You must cook the egg white to neutralize the Avidin and allow your body to safely digest the protein and utilize all its Amino acids. Unfortunately, cooking also starts to destory the protein.

A great source I have found for liquid (not raw) egg whites is Egg Whites International. They produce 100% pure liquid egg whites that are heat-pasteurized and Salmonella-tested. The pasteurization process heats the egg white to 134 degrees for 3½ minutes, which kills the salmonella and neutralizes the Avidin. This allows the egg whites to be digested safely by the human body. When you cook an egg white to the point of scrambled eggs, you are overcooking the protein and denaturing the true value of the protein. Therefore, 100% Pure Liquid Egg Whites are liquid but not raw, making them the purest form of protein. You can store them in your refrigerator for 90 to 120 days and can be safely kept frozen indefinitely. Egg Whites International also has some very tasty Recipes

Here are the Nutrition Facts from Egg Whites International. Compare to raw eggs Nutrition Facts.

I figure that if egg whites have worked for Jack LaLanne, who’s 95 years old, they can certainly work for me.

phil.cdc.gov

A look into the brains of obese and overweight people finds less than you might have thought.

HHS HealthBeat (September 21, 2009) From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

“Persons with obesity had 8 percent less brain tissue than those with a healthy weight. Overweight individuals had a 4 percent reduction in their brain tissue compared to healthy weight,” stated Dr. Cyrus Raji.

Dr. Cyrus Raji of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine examined brain images on 94 people in their 70s, who remained healthy physically and mentally five years after the scans were made.

Dr. Raji says obese people in particular had less brain matter in areas responsible for attention and planning, and long-term memory. He says it’s a good reason for diet and exercise.

The study in the journal Human Brain Mapping was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

The illustration shows a normal artery with normal blood flow (figure A) and an artery containing plaque buildup (figure B). Courtesy: NHLBI

September is National Cholesterol Education Month
The National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) has been in existence since November, 1985. The NCEP is a program of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The NCEP consist of several federal agencies and the Coordinating Committee. The Coordinating Committee membership consists of more than 40 partner organizations which promote implementation of NCEP strategies and guidelines. Consisting of representatives from major medical and health professional associations, voluntary health organizations, community programs, and governmental agencies, the Coordinating Committee is the NCEP’s policy-setting body and board of directors.

A few of the objectives of NCEP are:

• To increase awareness that elevated blood cholesterol is a cause of coronary heart disease(CHD), and that reducing elevated blood cholesterol levels will contribute to the reduction of CHD risk.
• To increase the proportion of Americans who have reduced their dietary intake of saturated fat and cholesterol as part of a nutritionally adequate diet.
• To increase the proportion of Americans who know their blood cholesterol levels.
• To encourage people identified as having high blood cholesterol to seek professional advice and followup.
• To increase awareness that diet plays a major role in lowering high blood cholesterol, and that weight control and physcial activity also play a role in the management of high blood cholesterol, and that, if necessary, drugs may be added to the regimen.
• To increase public knowledge about the dietary principles for reducing blood cholesterol levels.
• To increase the proportion of people with high blood cholesterol who adhere to their cholesterol-lowering regimen.

During the month of September, commit to your self to become aware of the facts about cholesterol!   Set aside time, (plan it) to learn all you can about cholesterol in order to maintain your health.  A good place to start is at CDC.gov.  To learn more about NCEP, click this blue link to NHLBI website.  For helpful resources to use, click  National Cholesterol Education Month.

Courtesy University of Reading

In recent times milk has often been portrayed by the media as an unhealthy food. The study, led by Professor Peter Elwood (Cardiff University) together with Professor Ian Givens from the University of Reading’s Food Chain and Health Research Theme, aimed to establish whether the health benefits of drinking milk outweigh any dangers that lie in its consumption.

Importantly, this is the first time that disease risk associated with drinking milk has been looked at in relation to the number of deaths which the diseases are responsible for.

The review brought together published evidence from 324 studies of milk consumption as predictors of coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke and, diabetes. Data on milk consumption and cancer were based on the recent World Cancer Research Fund report. The outcomes were then compared with current death rates from these diseases.

Professor Givens explained: “While growth and bone health are of great importance to health and function, it is the effects of milk and dairy consumption on chronic disease that are of the greatest relevance to reduced morbidity and survival. Our review made it possible to assess overall whether increased milk consumption provides a survival advantage or not. We believe it does.

“Our findings clearly show that when the numbers of deaths from CHD, stroke and colo-rectal cancer were taken into account, there is strong evidence of an overall reduction in the risk of dying from these chronic diseases due to milk consumption. We certainly found no evidence that drinking milk might increase the risk of developing any condition, with the exception of prostate cancer. Put together, there is convincing overall evidence that milk consumption is associated with an increase in survival in Western communities.”

The reviewers also believe that increased milk consumption is likely to reduce health care costs substantially due to reduced chronic disease and associated morbidity.

“There is an urgent need to understand the mechanisms involved and for focused studies to confirm the epidemiological evidence since this topic has major implications for the agri-food industry,” added Professor Givens.

Source: University of Reading.

Notes:
¹ Studies classed as ‘high’ consumption varied and other studies did not define volume so amount of consumption is difficult to quantify. Several studies do classify high as about 550ml/d or more and one of Professor Peter Elwood’s own studies showed a reduction in vascular disease at about 200ml/d or more.

Cardiff University is recognised in independent government assessments as one of Britain’s leading teaching and research universities and is a member of the Russell Group of the UK’s most research intensive universities.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has updated its 1996 recommendation that all women planning or capable of pregnancy take a daily supplement containing 0.4 to 0.8 mg (400 to 800 µg) of folic acid. (A recommendation) The USPSTF reviewed the evidence on folic acid supplementation in women of childbearing age published since its previous review. The USPSTF did not review evidence on folic acid food fortification, counseling to increase dietary intake or screening for neural tube defects.

The recommendation is published in the May 5 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine and is available on the AHRQ Web site at http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/uspstf/uspsnrfol.htm.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force is the leading independent panel of experts in prevention and primary care.  The Task Force, which is supported by AHRQ, conducts rigorous, impartial assessments of the scientific evidence for the effectiveness of a broad range of clinical preventive services, including screening, counseling, and preventive medications.  Its recommendations are considered the gold standard for clinical preventive services.

Interestingly enough, another government agency does not approve of the above statements. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has this to say: