In the inaugural episode of our new podcast series, we will be cracking open a topic that's as nutritious as it is controversial: EGGS. Eggs are "superfoods" since they are an excellent source of high quality protein, lipids, and 13 micronutrients essential for health and development. They still remain, however, one of the most under-consumed foods in many Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) where the need for such energy-dense, long shelf-life foods is highest.
In the inaugural episode of our new podcast series, we will be cracking open a topic that's as nutritious as it is controversial: EGGS.
Eggs are "superfoods" since they are an excellent source of high quality protein, lipids, and 13 micronutrients essential for health and development. They still remain, however, one of the most under-consumed foods in many Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) where the need for such energy-dense, long shelf-life foods is highest.
In this first part, we delve into the nutrition science and unravel the egg-citing debates surrounding this versatile food. From cholesterol conundrums to protein-packed goodness, we break down the facts, myths, and nutritional benefits of the egg.
Moderators
Kesso Gabrielle van Zutphen-Küffer, Director of Science, Sight and Life
Jordie Fischer, Research Associate, Sight and Life
Mathilda Freymond, Nutrition intern, Sight and Life
Speakers
Lora Iannotti: Professor (Brown School, Washington University in St. Louis); Director (E3 Nutrition Lab); Director (Planetary Health, Center for the Environment)
Nelly Zavaleta: Senior Researcher, Director of Services at the Nutritional Research Institute (Instituto de Investigación Nutricional), Lima - Perú
Podcast Team
Kesso Gabrielle van Zutphen-Küffer, Director of Science, Sight and Life
Rachel Natali, Communications Manager, Sight and Life
Jimena Monroy Gomez, Nutrition Associate, Sight and Life
Jordie Fischer, Research Associate, Sight and Life
Mathilda Freymond, Nutrition intern, Sight and Life
00:00 Introduction
03:52 Question of the day ❓
07:42 3 Key nutrients and health benefits of Eggs
08:10 Eggs and "bad" cholesterol
13:36 Conclusion
Kesso Gabrielle van Zutphen: [00:00:00] Hello and welcome back to a brand new season of Brain Food by Sight and Life, the show where science meets critical thinking. I'm Kesso Gabrielle van Zutphen van Zutphen and I'm delighted to be your host as we crack into a fresh series titled Extraordinary Eggs. Our previous series delved into the realm of plant based meats, but this time we're broadening our scope to explore more nutritious wonders. With a special focus on the unique challenges and needs of low and middle income countries. In the inaugural episode of our new podcast series, we will be cracking open a topic that is as nutritious as it is controversial: Eggs. Eggs are superfoods. They are an excellent source of high quality protein, lipids, and contain all 13 essential micronutrients. They remain, however, one of the most under consumed foods in many low and middle income countries where the need for such nutrients and energy dense foods are highest. in this first part, we will delve into the nutrition science and unravel [00:01:00] the exciting debates surrounding this food. And in the second part of this episode, we scramble the fascinating potential of eggs to come up with solutions to tackle malnutrition in LMICs. So without further ado, let's get started! And I am absolutely delighted to have two eminent experts join us on this exciting journey. It's an honor to introduce Dr Lora Iannotti. Dr Lora, you are a public health professor and the pioneering director of the E3 Nutrition Lab at Washington University in St Louis. Dr Lora, you are globally recognized for your work in maternal and child nutrition, especially in low resource settings across Haiti, Ecuador, Kenya, and Madagascar. You also lead notable roles at the WHO, FAO, providing expertise on nutrition solutions and sustainable food systems. Your dedication extends as the Director of Planetary Health at the newly established Center for the Environment at your university. And according to you, Lora, eggs provide a comprehensive [00:02:00] set of nutrients and bioactive factors critical for early growth and brain development and evidence supports regular dietary intake of eggs during early childhood in some contexts to prevent stunting and improve nutritional status. It's wonderful to have you here with us, Lora.
Welcome.
Lora Iannotti: Thank you, Kesso. I appreciate the invitation to be part of this podcast and talk about one of my favorite subjects of eggs.
Kesso Gabrielle van Zutphen: Wonderful. And next we have Dr. Nelly Zavaleta. Nelly, you are an expert in maternal and infant health and nutrition, focused on interventions to tackle micronutrient deficiencies. You are Senior Researcher and Director of Services at the Nutritional Research Institute in Lima, Peru. You have over 80 peer reviewed publications and are a member of the National Expert Committee on Nutrition for Reducing Childhood Malnutrition and Anemia. And Nelly, according to you, eggs are a nutritious and affordable food. Egg consumption brings benefits in terms of nutrition, [00:03:00] development, and the economy. In addition to that, they are well accepted and are consumed worldwide. We are so happy to have you on the show, Nelly. Welcome.
Nelly Zavaleta: Thank you. I will recommend eggs for all age groups, but in particular recommend for pregnant women and small children. The benefits are really very, so many for growth, development and for all the life cycles.
Kesso Gabrielle van Zutphen: Fantastic. And we will dive deeper into this a bit later. And of course this show would not be the same without my dear co interviewers. Today, I am joined by Jordie Fisher and Mathilda Freymond from the Sight and Life team, a very warm welcome to Jordie and Mathilda.
Jordie Fischer: Hi Kesso, I'm really excited to participate in today's interesting episode.
Mathilda Freymond: Hi everyone, I'm happy to be here and looking forward to today's topic.
Kesso Gabrielle van Zutphen: Fantastic. And we are kicking off this episode with our question of the day. As is tradition, we've been taking suggestions from our social media audience, and [00:04:00] we've got some great questions lined up for our guest speakers today. Jordie, over to you.
Jordie Fischer: We've received some excellent questions from our listeners, but this question stood out to me as one I would love to learn more about. Our listeners raised the question, are there differences in the nutritional content or taste between backyard raised eggs or commercial eggs? Or for instance, even between brown and white shelled eggs?
So Lora, would you like to respond to this question from our audience?
Lora Iannotti: Sure. Thank you for that question. It's actually a very common question. We hear this in many contexts in many countries around the world. And interestingly, people have a taste preference for backyard chicken eggs. That seems to also be a universal consensus around that. There are differences in the composition of eggs.
It really has to do with the nutrition of the animal. So what the chicken is consuming will [00:05:00] drive the content and the nutritional content of the eggs. And this is particularly true for fatty acids. We have noted some differences in choline concentration in studying eggs in Ecuador from backyard chicken versus industrial produced eggs.
So the bottom line is, yes. There are these differences. Probably not enough to, you know, recommend one over the other. We just want people to eat eggs um, especially vulnerable populations like Nelly has said young children and pregnant women. So, though no nutritional differences don't matter for human biology and health. But there are those differences. So thank you for that question.
Kesso Gabrielle van Zutphen: Thank you, Thank you, Lora. Really interesting. And Nelly, would you like to comment on that?
Nelly Zavaleta: As Lora mentioned, many families prefer chicken eggs that are grown in the backyard. But in general, eggs are a very good source [00:06:00] of nutrients, independent of the color of the eggs. But very important is the feed to the chicken. So the appropriate feed will be provided. So the, the nutrients in the egg are related to the feeding of the chicken of course, but in general, eggs are a good source of nutrients.
Kesso Gabrielle van Zutphen: I like it. And this leads us very nicely into our first round of questions, actually, where we will dig deeper into the nutritional insights that both of you share. So let's explore more about the nutrition of eggs. And Lora, you are up first. So eggs are known to be a real superfood.
They are nature's very own multivitamin. They have low energy to nutrient density ratio with 78 calories per medium egg, and they contain 13 essential vitamins and minerals. So, Lora, I know that you have many years of experience in clinical research health intervention centered around eggs. So could you perhaps highlight three key nutrients that are found in eggs and [00:07:00] discuss their potential health benefits?
Lora Iannotti: Ah, I can't believe I'm limited to three, but I will speak to three very important nutrients where there is evidence. And I think, you know, Nelly will agree with me that we, especially in this current environment, we need to speak to the evidence. What do we know based on experimental studies and strong, rigorous evidence base? And what we found in terms of the nutrient value as you were suggesting for human nutrition?
The three nutrients that we found important are choline. So eggs are concentrated in the nutrient of choline, which is really important for neuro transmission, for cell membrane integrity for child growth. And so people are not always aware of that nutrient, but we know it's a very important one in eggs.
The second nutrient that we [00:08:00] found improved when children were consuming eggs, which was a little bit of a surprise. But really important was the long-chain fatty acid um, called –usually it's abbreviated as DHA– but the long name for it is docosahexaenoic acid. And this is the primary long-chain fatty acid in the brain.
Again. So this, we found that one egg per day, in our trial, improved the DHA status of children and that was an important finding. And then I would say just the sort of package of proteins are really critical in eggs and really important in terms of the sort of constellation of amino acids.
In fact, egg is held up as being a perfect protein and used as the standard against which other foods are measured. So we use a score called DIAAS, which [00:09:00] is digestible, indispensable amino acid score. And essentially that points to how well our body can metabolize the proteins in the egg.
And that is very high for eggs. So I'll leave it at that. I think I have my three nutrients. I could go on and on with the others, but I'll stop there.
Kesso Gabrielle van Zutphen: Don't worry, Lora, we'll come back to that later. And we'll get a chance to discuss these interventions that you've been part of and specifically their effect on cognition. And we'll look at that in the second round of questions. But for now, I'd like to turn to you, Nelly. So of all the foods consumed globally, only one has ever been explicitly singled out with consumption limits to reduce cardiovascular disease risk.
And that is the egg, obviously. And so the egg has been quite controversial. Especially back in 1968, when the American Heart Association recommended consuming less than three whole eggs per week to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. [00:10:00] So this was actually based on the eggs' dietary cholesterol content, which was thought to be unhealthy. However, in 2015, this recommendation was dropped by the FDA due to a lack of evidence. So could you perhaps shed light on the myth that is surrounding this "bad" cholesterol in eggs and perhaps clarify the difference between dietary and serum cholesterol.
Nelly Zavaleta: Okay. Cholesterol is a type of fat that is really uh, important in our body because cholesterol plays an important role for cell membrane, for the integrity of cell membrane to protect our cells. It is also important for the production of hormones, especially steroid hormones. And it's also important for cardiovascular health, so it has many roles. And, it is also important to mention that the [00:11:00] cholesterol is divided, there are types of cholesterol. The cholesterol that is high density lipoprotein, HDL, which is considered as a good cholesterol because of the roles in the protection of cardiovascular health.
And the very low density cholesterol which is considered as a bad cholesterol because this type usually stays in the arteries and forms a plaque that can lead to a trauma, and could produce later a stroke Atherosclerosis disease. So, and that's why people were concerned. But, with the research and evidence, it was shown that this didn't have an evidence to support. And on the opposite, the benefit of consumption of eggs was higher because the content of egg with a high density cholesterol, which is a, a good cholesterol source and also because the egg also has fatty acid, [00:12:00] DHA, which is also good for the cardiovascular health. So this is an important role of cholesterol. So nowadays with a regular consumption of an egg has not, proven any cardiovascular risk.
Kesso Gabrielle van Zutphen: Fantastic. This is really good news. And thank you for this very clear answer. I hope that we have debunked a myth for many of our listeners and that this can help them make more informed dietary choices. So as a quick recap. In this first part of this episode, we discussed the important nutrients that delivered in eggs and their health benefits. And we also uncovered the beginnings of the dietary recommendations restricting egg consumption. And we also saw how half a century of research has slowly put this outdated hypothesis to rest, which is great. Now, stay tuned for part two, where we will explore the uncracked potential of eggs for improving malnutrition in LMIC. [00:13:00]