Nutrition-packed eggs for a healthy Filipino

MANILA, Philippines - It is said that as technology advances, so do ailments. At present, many ailments and other diseases have become way too advanced that sometimes, even advancements in technology can’t keep up. Thus, it is important to have a nutrition-packed diet so that one won’t get sick.

And what better way to start than to introduce a daily consumption of eggs to promote good health. Yes, eggs. The National Nutrition Council (NNC), an agency under the Department of Health, encourages the public to consume eggs.

In an article published on www.worldpoultry.net, nutritionist and NNC executive director Maria Bernardita Flores said an egg “contains a remarkable nutrition profile and is a nutrient-dense food,” adding that the “consumption of eggs is contained in the fourth Nutritional Guidelines for Filipinos” to address nutrient deficiencies in the Filipino diet.

Flores mentioned that eggs are the “cheapest source of high-quality protein and a considerable amount of essential vitamins and minerals that are in general, in a form that the body can use easily.”

Though many people are still led to believe that eating eggs is bad due to its cholesterol content, Flores, in the article, said eggs are a good source of vitamin A and iron, and that “eating an egg a day is alright as long as an individual watches his overall saturated fat intake.”

This view was supported by a research conducted by a team from the University of Surrey in England. In an article published in the BBC News website, the research said “limiting egg consumption “has little effect on cholesterol levels.”

In the same news item, Prof. Bruce Griffin, part of the research team, continued by saying that eggs “were actually a key part of a healthy diet, as they were particularly packed full of nutrients” and that the “ingrained misconception linking egg consumption to high blood cholesterol and heart disease must be corrected.”

“Eating an egg a day is good for most people,” says US scientist Dr. Donald McNamara, director of the Egg Nutrition Center in Washington, in another article also published at the BBC News website.

He said fears that eggs contributed to heart disease were “unfounded,” and that his research had shown that saturated fat found in read meat and dairy products “was the major contributor to raised cholesterol rather than the dietary cholesterol found in eggs.”

In his study of more than 100,000 adults, he found that people who eat more than an egg a day “are at no greater risk than those eating fewer than one egg a week,” and continued by saying that “an egg a day is fine for most people and can actually be good for them.”

He cited Japan having the world’s highest rate of egg consumption and yet has one of the lowest rates of heart disease.

This is why Bounty Farms Inc., maker of Bounty Fresh Specialty Eggs, is espousing a substantial consumption of eggs among Filipinos, according to marketing manager Edric Chen.

He cited eggs’ numerous benefits, primarily its nutrition-packed qualities, and that is why Bounty Farms brought egg production to the next level by fortifying its brand of eggs with more nutrients.

Recently, Bounty Farms introduced its “specialty eggs” that are enriched with essential vitamins and minerals that make people healthy. Foremost among them are the “Nutri-Filled” eggs, which Chen says come from the first batch of eggs that chickens normally lay, and contain all the necessary nutrients not found in regular eggs.

The Nutri-Filled eggs are a good source of concentrated essential proteins and amino acids, good for kids to help their growing bodies become strong and healthy, Chen says.

Bounty Farms also has eggs enriched with “vitamin E.” Vitamin E, based on several studies done globally, is found to help protect the body’s cells and combat the body’s so-called “free radicals” from harming it and even helps slow down and thus makes our skin emit a natural and healthy glow.

Also available are the “omega-3” enriched eggs. Omega-3 is a type of mineral that is sourced largely from sea creatures, particularly fish. Omega-3 is believed to help lower both blood pressure and blood sugar levels and at the same time, it is also good for the heart since it reduces heart rate and clogging of the arteries.

Lastly, Bounty Fresh also offers what it calls its “organic selenium” enriched eggs, the most popular variant among the four. The “organic selenium” eggs contain organic selenium, a natural antioxidant believed to help prevent many types of cancer and is recommended to be taken by women since organic selenium helps reduce risks of contracting breast cancer.

Bounty Fresh Specialty Eggs come in packs of 10 per tray and available in leading supermarkets and groceries nationwide.