Kitchen Voyeur with Dr. Wagner: Episode 1

Show Notes:

First of all, THANK YOU for watching this first episode of Kitchen Voyeur! It's truly a joy to produce content for people who care about real food. We'll keep this thing rolling and see what happens. The plan is to produce one video every two weeks or so. Thanks for joining me on the journey.

Ingredients in this Episode:

The Much-Maligned Incredible Edible Egg:

  • Egg yolks are high in Choline, a brain food, (think acetylcholine, the memory molecule).
  • Yolks are also a great source of Vitamin B12 & B2. And they are super fantastic sources of Pre-formed Vitamin A and Vitamin D, which are fat-soluble vitamins conveniently packaged in eggs along with fat for optimal absorption.
  • Eggs are very high in Selenium, a critical trace mineral now depleted in many soils and crops, especially where I live. Selenium works in concert with Vitamin E to reduce free-radical damage ("body rust"), inflammation, and the risk of prostate cancer. And that's just a few of things we know.
  • Quality protein. All Essential Amino Acids are present and accounted for.
  • Quality fats including omega 3’s. Forget those trendy "Omega-3 Eggs" from hens fed engineered diets. Pastured chickens, eating their ancestral diet of greens and grubs, produce eggs with superior Omega 3 content. Always have. Nature knows best.

Sourcing Eggs:

Why do I recommend Pastured, Organic?

Because animals bioconcentrate nutrients. That’s why they produce some of the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet. So far so good.

But by the same token, they also bioconcentrate toxins. You are not just what you eat. You are what you eat, eats.

So animal foods are a two-edged sword. They could be nutrient-dense; they could also be toxin-dense.

If your hens are eating pesticide-laden, GMO corn (standard chicken feed), then they are going to concentrate that for you. How nice.

But if your hens are out there running around, eating grubs and greens and herbs and minerals in the soil, then they will concentrate that for you. As nature intended. They eat their ancestral diet, so you can eat yours.

The Benefits of Basil:

  • Massive Vitamin K
  • Anti-bacterial properties (gently regulates gut flora, unlike antibiotics which destroy and imbalance the gut microbiome.)
  • Full of phytonutrients, flavonoids, volatile oils
  • Anti-inflammatory
  • Protects DNA from free-radical damage (oxidation, "body rust").

Why I Say "No" to Non-Stick:

I say no to Teflon and ALL other Perflorinated Chemical (PFC) knock-offs--anything with an "F" in it: PTFE (polytetraflouroethylene), PFOA (perflourooctanoic acid), all of it.

PFCs have been linked to smaller birth weight, elevated cholesterol, abnormal thyroid, liver inflammation, and a weakened immune system.

Even the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) acknowledges that PFCs generate "environmental persistence, bioaccumulation, and toxicity properties to an extraordinary degree."

Q: How do I fry an egg on stainless steel without it sticking?

A: Use less heat and more cooking fat = more health, less mess.

Remember, we’re not trying to make egg chips here. We do not want any cancer-causing crispies (acrylamide), just a nice fluffy and juicy egg.

What about Cholesterol?

Cholesterol is NOT a foreign substance to the body. Contrary to what you may have been taught, it's not Kryptonite. Here are some cholesterol facts for you:

  • Cholesterol is in EVERY cell of your body. It's part of the rivets and scaffolding that hold every square nanometer of yourself together. You couldn't get away from cholesterol if you tried.
  • Cholesterol is vital to brain function and the formation of memories
  • Cholesterol is a critical component of every hormone.
  • You can’t make vitamin D without Cholesterol.
  • Dietary cholesterol has not been shown to be strongly associated with cholesterol in the blood. But genetics, high insulin levels, insulin resistance, and metabolic syndrome are strongly correlated.
  • Many studies demonizing eggs or cholesterol in the past failed to take into account subjects' intake of trans fat, sugar, refined grains, and exercise (whoops!)--any one of which could have played havoc with LDL cholesterol levels. And these studies were often funded by drug companies who made cholesterol-lowering drugs. (Yes, science is for sale).
  • Several recent large-scale diet studies show no increased risk of either heart attack or stroke eating up to six eggs per WEEK. With one exception: people with Type II diabetes. (High blood sugar and insulin change the impact of the fat and cholesterol we eat). Egg eaters even showed increased levels of HDL (the "good" cholesterol).

bon appétit!

Marc Wagner, MD, MPH.

Related Posts:

References:

  • Rong, Y. et al. Egg consumption and risk of coronary heart disease and stroke: dose-response meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. BMJ 346, e8539 (2013)

  • Shin, J. Y., Xun, P., Nakamura, Y. & He, K. Egg consumption in relation to risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 98, 146–59 (2013).

  • Andersen, C. J. et al. Egg consumption modulates HDL lipid composition and increases the cholesterol-accepting capacity of serum in metabolic syndrome. Lipids 48, 557–67 (2013).

  • Olthof, M. R., Brink, E. J., Katan, M. B. & Verhoef, P. Choline supplemented as phosphatidylcholine decreases fasting and postmethionine-loading plasma homocysteine concentrations in healthy men. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 82, 111–7 (2005).