Low cholesterol eggs?

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I have raised chickens for many years. I have a recollection of an article I read a long time ago about how the cholesterol level of eggs was directly related to what the chickens ate. I have recently discovered that I need to lower my cholesterol level, and would like the eggs my chickens lay to have lower cholesterol. I feed them cracked corn and pellets from the local feed store. They also get table scraps. Does anyone know what change I could make in their diet to lower the cholesterol level in the eggs they lay?

Thanks!

-- Chicken Lady (chickenlady@cluck.com), February 15, 2000

Answers

Hi, Chicken Lady! I am not a chicken 'n 'egg'spert, :) however, I found this from The Mayo Clinic Newsletter: http://www.longevity101.com/eggs.htm

Type =low cholesterol eggs= into a search engine (I use google.com), and you will find a wealth of info about the subject. Try different search requests such as: raising checkens, chicken feed, free range chickens, chicken egg production, etc. to zero in on your concerns. I'll bet it's out there!

I hope this helps...... Ray in OKC, OK @ 5:11pm cst 02/15/2000

-- Ray (raymondo@netzero.net), February 15, 2000.


.......Duh! chicken, not checken wasn't checken' my spellin'....(:-)

Ray in OKC,OK

-- Ray (raymondo57@netzero.net), February 15, 2000.


Dear CL, Cholesterol isn't that simple. There are different forms of lipoproteins (cholesterol), high density HDL (eggs, butter, olive oil), mid density MDL (blended margarine,various vegtable oils), low density LDL (margarine, "tropical oils" like cocnut, palm) and very low density VLDL. Basically you want as high a HDL as possible and low everything else. Throw away your margarine, crisco, etc. and stay far away from anything with hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils (this takes effort, say goodbye to processed pre-prepared foods). Use nothing but olive oil and butter. Also eat one bowl of oatmeal per day, spice it up with dried fruit or cinnamon and sugar, or honey, or brown sugar.

Please note that there are three distinct genetic groups of people in the population 1. those whose cholesterol counts go up and down depending on what foods they eat 2. those whose cholesterol counts stay high regardles of what they eat or don't eat 3. those whose cholesterol count stays low regardless of what the eat or don't eat.

Learn about the mediteranean diet and the Atkin's diet.

-- Ken Seger (kenseger@earthlink.net), February 15, 2000.


Hey Chicken Lady,

I can't answer your question about using a different feed to lower cholesterol, but perhaps their might be folks at this forum, The Hen House, that can.

I was looking up in an old nutrition book (might be outdated, but fairly close to the mark), and here are the cholesterol and fat information given for an egg.

(1) Large White, raw: 0 mg. cholesterol; 0 gram saturated fat; 0 gram unsaturated fat; 17 calories.

(1) Large Yolk, raw: 312 mg cholesterol; 1.72 gram saturated fat; 3 gram unsaturated fat; 59 calories.

Unfortunately, across the board, the majority of the vitamins and minerals are also in the yolk.

You know, I don't know a whole lot about commercially raising eggs except that the hens are kept in close confinement and I suspect fed a very concentrated diet. I know our small flock has a more healthy environment, more exercise and I feed pellets and corn too, with some sunflower seeds added. They probably lay a healthier egg anyways?

I am one of the lucky folks as Ken mentioned. My son, on the other hand, does have to be mindful of such things. I have always separated his eggs and he eats only the whites, fried or for something like egg salad sandwhiches. For scrambled eggs, perhaps you could separate the yolks and whites first, adding only half or enough yolks back to add some color or taste to the whites, lowering the total cholesterol count some.

Likewise, with the cream in the freash goat's milk. As the cream rises to the top in the fridge (I store it in ready to drink pints for table use), so it is easy enough to skim it off before shaking and serving. I guess I am "manually" lowering the cholesterol in his diet, so to speak.

If someone else can't answer, and you find the answer to your question, I would surely appreciate your posting it here. I bet there are alot of folks faced with the same situation.

Good luck!

-- Lilly (homesteader145@yahoo.com), February 16, 2000.


Thank you all for the interesting leads. I will pursue the information you suggest!

-- Chicken Lady (chickenlady@cluck.com), February 16, 2000.


I'm a lacto-ovo vegetarian but do not eat enough dairy products to cause the high cholesterol I exhibit. According to my doctor, I can eat low-fat dirt and still have high cholesterol. I've resisted cholesterol-reducing medicine for years but have finally given in. With the onset of Type II diabetes, my doctor has told me that 75% of diabetics die of heart-related disease--it's a gamble: the possibility of liver disease or a very high risk of heart disease. I am to have my liver checked every six weeks, and believe me I shall.

Here's an article about Eggland's Best eggs:

http://www.ftc.gov/opa/1996/9603/egg.htm

FOR RELEASE: MARCH 13, 1996

EGGLAND'S BEST CHOLESTEROL CLAIMS CALLED DECEPTIVE:

Second Round with FTC Leads to $100,000 Civil Penalty

Federal Trade Commission follow-up of its 1994 case against Eggland's Best, Inc. has led to another settlement with the company over the cholesterol-related claims it has made in marketing its eggs, and this time the settlement includes a civil penalty of $100,000. NW Ayer, Inc. also has agreed to settle FTC charges over its role in creating ads that allegedly conveyed the same deceptive claims as those challenged by the FTC in its first action against Eggland's. At issue are claims regarding the effect of Eggland's eggs on blood cholesterol.

"The importance of the FTC action here is twofold," said Jodie Bernstein, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. "First, consumers are paying up to a dollar a dozen more for these eggs based on what we maintain are false and unsubstantiated claims, and consumers need truthful information about the health-related aspects of the foods they buy. And second, the case tells other advertisers making health claims that we take these claims seriously and that failing to comply with an FTC order is a costly proposition.

"When we examine ad agency culpability in deceptive advertising cases, we're looking to see whether the agency made a reasonable effort to determine what claims its ads were making to consumers and whether the claims were truthful and backed up by solid evidence," Bernstein continued. "In this case, Ayer created the first ads, so it clearly was on notice that the FTC believed the claims were deceptive. Yet it actively participated in creating new ads making essentially the same cholesterol-related claims."

Eggland's Best is based in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, and N.W. Ayer & Son, Inc., which does business as NW Ayer, Inc., is based in New York City. The FTC's first action against Eggland's was announced in February 1994, and culminated in a consent order prohibiting the company from misrepresenting the amount of cholesterol or other nutrients or ingredients in its eggs or in foods containing egg yolks, and requiring the company to have scientific substantiation for health-benefit claims for such foods. This consent order, finalized in August 1994, also required the company to label certain egg cartons with a corrective notice.

According to the FTC complaint detailing the new charges against Eggland's, advertisements that have run since August 1994 included statements such as:

"Imagine eating delicious, real, whole eggs and not raising your serum cholesterol. People did. In clinical tests of Eggland's Best eggs. They ate a dozen a week while keeping within the limits of the Surgeon General's low-fat diet. And . . . their serum cholesterol didn't go up."

The FTC complaint alleges that, through these and other statements, the new ads conveyed messages that:

eating Eggland's Best eggs will not increase serum cholesterol at all, or that doing so won't increase it as much as ordinary eggs; and

clinical studies have proven that adding 12 Eggland's Best eggs a week to a low-fat diet does not increase serum cholesterol.

Eggland's did not have substantiation for the first set of claims, and the clinical studies claim is false, the FTC charged, adding that the claims all violate the 1994 consent order. The FTC's complaint against Ayer cites these claims, as well as allegedly false claims made in the earlier ads that Eggland's Best eggs are low in saturated fat, and lower in such fat than ordinary eggs.

Eggland's Best has agreed to pay a $100,000 civil penalty over two years to settle these charges. At the FTC's request, the Department of Justice has filed in federal district court the proposed consent decree containing this penalty. The consent decree, which was negotiated by the FTC and requires the court's approval to become binding, also would prohibit Eggland's from violating the 1994 consent order in the future.

Because this is its first encounter with the FTC over the Eggland's Best claims, Ayer has signed a proposed consent agreement that includes fairly broad prohibitions against specified types of false or deceptive claims, but not a civil penalty. Any future violation of the order against Ayer could lead to civil penalties, however. The proposed consent agreement is being announced today for public comment before the Commission determines whether to make it final. It would prohibit Ayer from misrepresenting with regard to eggs and any meat, dairy or poultry product:

the absolute or comparative amount of cholesterol, total fat, saturated fat or any other fatty acid; and

the existence or results of any test or study.

Further, Ayer would be required to have competent and reliable scientific evidence to back up any claims that eggs or a meat, dairy or poultry product has any effect on serum cholesterol or any health benefit.

Claims specifically permitted by certain other government regulation would not be prohibited by these settlements. Finally, both settlements contain reporting and other provisions that would assist the FTC in continued monitoring of the respondents' compliance.

The Commission vote to accept these settlements was 5-0.

The proposed consent decree with Eggland's Best was filed on March 12 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia, by the Justice Department. The proposed consent agreement with Ayer will be published in the Federal Register shortly and will be subject to public comment for 60 days, after which the Commission will decide whether to make it final. Comments should be addressed to the FTC, Office of the Secretary, 6th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580.

NOTE: A consent agreement or consent decree is for settlement purposes only and does not constitute an admission of a law violation. When finalized, both have the force of law. Any violation of an FTC consent order may result in a civil penalty of $10,000.

Copies of the documents referenced above are available from the FTC's Public Reference Branch, Room 130, 6th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580;

202-326-2222; TTY for the hearing impaired

202-326-2502. To find out the latest news as it is announced, call the FTC NewsPhone recording at 202-326-2710.

FTC news releases and other materials also are available on the Internet at the FTC's World Wide Web site at: http://www.ftc.gov

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), February 16, 2000.


I have been told, by a fellow whom I consider to be reliable, that fertile eggs have lower cholesterol than the eggs from caged layers. I don't know that I have ever heard anyone else verify that claim.

If your chickens are ranging and there is a rooster in the flock, it seems to me that you should have as healthy eggs as you can have.

If you come across some verification of that lower cholesterol claim, if you would post it, I would be grateful.

regards,

gene

-- gene (ekbaker@essex1.com), February 18, 2000.


Gene...I think that old wive's tale (undoubtedly started by a man. LOL) was proven wrong years ago. Then there was the other myth of Aracana chicken eggs (the easter eggs) were supposed to be lower in Cholesterol. That too was disproven. Supposedly, the cholestero of an egg is dependent upon what it eats. If your chickens are free range as mine are, who knows what the cholesterol values are of grubs, grasshoppers, flys and crickets??? I just say that a happy chicken is the chicken with the best eggs. Taz

-- Taz (Tassi123@aol.com), February 20, 2000.

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