This week we are talking about non dairy and free range eggs. It is interesting that free range has various opinions. Our natural image is frolicking little chickens pecking and dancing among the tall grass and wide open fields. In some cases nothing could be farther from the truth. Especially in large commercial business.
Free range can be anything from a few hours of day light out side in large pens to indeed dancing among the farm yard. My neighbors here, that "free range" usually use two methods. One is to have little hen houses on wheels that are moved daily for clean scratching and bug hunting. The other is let them run free as nature intended.
The down fall of free running is hawks, owls, raccoons, and other predators. They may also leave eggs in undesirable places. This is the most natural way for them to live, but your neighbor who sees your chicken in their back yard may not agree, not to mention their dog. Putting the house on wheels with portable yard seems to protect the hens, keep the eggs within reach, and control disease by giving the cleanest housing possible. I have observed these methods and they both seem happy and content as long as the houses are not crowded.
Free range eggs are rich in color and the shells are firmer and have better calcium for those of you who disolve these for natural calcium in take. The flavor of confined hens with out any attempt to free range have no comparison for flavor to the free range eggs. Free range gives a full egg flavor and beautiful color to baked goods.
Egg whites contain adequate amounts of all essential fatty acids. They are a good source of inexpensive protein and contain iodine for good thyroid health. They contain carotenoid phytonutrient lutein, found to be important for good eye health. They are also one of the few sources of b vitamin, choline, a key ingredient to brain function, have low calories, only 68 in one egg. Brown eggs have no more nutritional value than white, but being from New England I love brown eggs.
Salmonella bacteria from chickens intestines may be found even in clean uncracked eggs. Washing eggs before cracking them is best but do not rub hard as they are porous and that would push the bacterial into the egg area. To kill Salmonella, the egg must reach internal temperature of 160 degrees effectively patureurizing them, or cooked at 140 degrees for at least 3 minutes. All eggs where the yolk is fully cooked are safe from Salmonella. Poached and soft boiled still reduce the risks as they take at least 3 minutes.You have no doubt noticed that raw egg risks are now listed at all eating areas where eggs are served. Remember to refrigerate even hard boiled eggs.
Although eggs are high in cholesterol, the egg whites are cholesterol free. Eggs contain 187 mg of cholesterol. Egg whites contain a compound called avidin that binds the B vitamin biotin which can lead to a deficiency of this nutrient in certain people. Cooking tham deactivates this avidin. Both whites and the yolks absorb chemicals and heavy metals, and any other polutants unless you chose organic eggs.
Here is some info on cholesterol medication:
drugs cause liver damage, kidney failure and cataracts, says BMJ
Sunday, November 07, 2010 by: David Gutierrez, staff writer
NaturalNews) Cholesterol-lowering statin drugs significantly increase a person's risk of cataracts, muscle weakness, liver dysfunction and kidney failure, according to a study in the British Medical Journal.
The study also confirmed that the drugs lower the risk of heart disease and esophageal cancer, but claims of other health benefits were unsupported.
Researchers from Nottingham University in the United Kingdom examined data on more than 2 million patients between the ages of 30 and 84, seen at 38 different general practices, who had been prescribed the cholesterol-lowering http://www.naturalnews.com/drugs.html More than 70 percent were taking simvastatin (Zocor), 22.3 percent were taking atorvastatin (Lipitor), 3.6 percent were taking pravastatin (Pravachol, Selektine), 1.9 percent were taking rosuvastatin (Crestor) and 1.4 percent were taking fluvastatin (Canef, Lescol, Lochol, Vastin).
The researchers confirmed prior data suggesting increase patients' risk of cateracts, liver dysfunction, kidney_failure. kidney failureand a form of muscle weakness known as myopathy. They found that for every 10,000 women.women treated with the drugs, 23 would develop acute kidney (renal) failure. 39 would develop myopathy, 74 would develop liver dysfunction and 309 would develop cataracts. Men suffered an even higher development of myopathy, but their risks of the other three were similar to those suffered by women.
Putting it in different terms, the researchers found that only 434 people would need to be treated with the drugs for five years for one case of acute renal failure to develop. It would take only 136 treated for each case of liver dysfunction and 33 for each case of cataracts. Among women, 259 would need to be treated for each case of myopathy; among men, the number was only 91.
The risk of developing all conditions was highest during the first year of treatment, but continued throughout the course of the study. Risk of liver and kidney problems increased proportionally with the dose of statins being taken.
All drugs appeared to pose a similar risk of all conditions, with the exception of fluvastatin, which increased the risk of liver dysfunction more than its competitors. Men taking fluvastatin were twice as likely to develop liver dysfunction as those not taking statins, while women's risk increased by 2.5 times.
The researchers did find, however, that the risk of cataracts returned to normal within one year of stopping statin treatment, while the risk of liver and kidney problems returned to normal within one to three years. Additionally, they found no connection between statin use and the risk of dementia, osteoporotic fracture, Parkinson's disease, rheumatoid arthritis or venous thromboembolism.
Examining the purported benefits of the drugs, researchers found that they did in fact lower the risk of heart_disease, averting 271 cases for every 10,000 high-risk patients treated. Put another way, 33 high-risk men or 37 high-risk women would need to be treated with the drugs to avert one case of the disease.
