4 Food Safety Tips Everyone Should Know




If you take driving safety seriously, you should take food safety just as seriously. Unless you are a professional driver, you probably spend less time driving than eating on your average day.

In a typical year, roughly one out of every six Americans gets food poisoning. That's about 48 million people. 

In most cases, it will be minor and they will recover on their own. But, more than 100,000 Americans end up needing medical care every year due to food borne illnesses. Some of them will have permanent adverse health effects and about 3000 people die every year. About 88 percent of such deaths are caused by just five organisms.

1. Keep It Clean
Food safety begins with cleanliness. The culprit here is bacteria that can grow on your hands, kitchen surfaces and on the things you consume. You want to wash your hands both before and after handling items. You need to also wash cutting boards, knives and other utensils. Kitchen counters, sinks, pots and pots and pans also need to be kept clean. 

Anything that can come in contact with the things you eat needs to be kept as germ-free as possible. Otherwise, those germs will get consumed when you eat and you can get sick from them, potentially very sick. You should wash produce, in other words fruits and vegetables. You should not wash poultry, meat or eggs.

2. Handle With Care
Meat, poultry, seafood and eggs are the primary source of dangerous bacteria. They need be kept separate from produce and other items from the start. This means you need to keep them separate while shopping at the grocery store. It means you need to keep them separate in the refrigerator. It also means you should have separate cutting boards for meats and produce. 

Produce or ready-to-eat items, like bread or snacks, tend to not grow the bacteria in question, but they can become contaminated due to exposure at the store or at home. It is important that poultry, seafood, meat and eggs be kept separate from other edibles at all times.

3. Cook It Properly
The Danger Zone is above 40 degrees and below 140 degrees Fahrenheit. This is the range in which bacteria thrive and multiply. In cool weather, you can only keep items for up to two hours in this temperature range. In hot weather, above 90 degrees, you window of safety is a mere hour. In order to be safe to eat, things need to be cooked thoroughly and kept above 140 degrees until served. A thermometer is the best way to make sure items have been properly cooked. 

4. Keep It Chill
If you aren't cooking it or eating it, you should be keeping it cold. This means it needs to be refrigerated or frozen. There are no exceptions. It isn't okay to marinate meats on the kitchen counter at room temperature, nor to defrost them this way.

If you are marinating meat, keep it in the refrigerator while doing so. Thaw items over night in the refrigerator or quick thaw in the microwave or in a Ziploc bag left in a bowl or sink of water. Warm water can thaw items rapidly for prompt cooking.

When you get home from grocery shopping, cold items need to be put away promptly. After a meal is done, leftovers also need to be put in the refrigerator within one to two hours, depending upon the ambient temperature. In hot summer months, you have less wiggle room on this.

You are what you eat, and if it contains high levels of infectious bacteria, what you can be is seriously ill. Make sure to keep it safe by keeping everything in the kitchen clean, keeping meat, fish, poultry and eggs separate from other produce and other items, cooking everything properly and chilling everything both properly and promptly.

3 Best Vegetarian Lasagna Recipes




Most of us know that receiving the proper nutrients on a daily basis will ensure overall great health. However, consuming the right foods isn't always easy. These three simple vegetarian lasagna recipes feature creative ways to incorporate key nutrients into your diet. 

Vegetarian Lasagna Recipe #1

Ingredients 

1 diced onion 
About 9 no-boil lasagna noodles
2 cups cottage cheese
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 red or green bell pepper 
2 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
2 1/2 cups marinara pasta sauce
1 egg
1 sliced zucchini or squash
2 tablespoon parsley 
2 tablespoon basil
1/2 Parmesan cheese 
2 sliced mushrooms 

Instructions 

After preheating your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit, completely cover a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. 

Use the oil to sauté the mushrooms, bell pepper, onion, garlic, and zucchini in a large skillet over medium heat. Gradually stir in the marinara sauce when the veggies are finished cooking. This process should take about five minutes. 

Combine the egg, cottage cheese, parsley, basil, 1/4 cup of Parmesan, and 1 1/4 cup mozzarella in a medium bowl. 

Grab the prepared baking dish and spread about a quarter of the veggie-marinara sauce at the bottom. The next layer should be 3 no-boil lasagna noodles followed by a third of the cottage cheese mixture. Lastly, add another layer of veggie-marinara sauce. Repeat these four layers about three more times. 

Top the lasagna off with the remaining Parmesan cheese and mozzarella and then cover the baking dish with foil that is coated with cooking spray. 

The veggie lasagna should be baked for 40 minutes with the foil. After 40 minutes, remove the foil and then bake for another 10 minutes. 

Vegetarian Lasagna Recipe #2 


Ingredients 

2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese 

1 pound mashed tofu

3 cups steamed vegetables 

1 jar pasta sauce 

8 ounces no-boil lasagna noodles 


Instructions 

Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

The layers of this vegetarian lasagna dish are as follows: 

1. A thin layer pasta sauce
2. no-boil noodles
3. A third of soft tofu
4. A third of pasta sauce
5. A third of steamed vegetables 
6. A third of mozzarella 

Repeat these layers twice starting with the no-boil noodles and ending with the mozzarella. Place for over the baking dish and bake for 40 minutes. This delicious entree serves six to eight people. 

Vegetarian Lasagna Recipe #3


Ingredients 
Two minced garlic cloves 
1 chopped yellow onion
1 egg
5 cups marinara sauce
1 package no-boil lasagna noodles 
1/2 teaspoon salt
Vegetable cooking spray 
1 chopped yellow bell pepper 
1 1/2 cup Riscotta cheese 
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese 
1 red bell pepper chopped 
4 sliced zucchini 
5 sliced mushrooms 

Instructions 

First, preheat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the zucchini, onions, bell peppers, mushrooms, and garlic in a pan coated with cooking spray for about 14 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit after the vegetables have browned.

Combine the egg, ricotta, 1 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. 

Begin the layering process by spreading 1 cup of marinara sauce in the pan. Next, add the no-boil noodles, marinara sauce, 1/3 ricotta mixture, and 1/3 of the vegetables mixture. Repeat this layering process twice. Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan and mozzarella cheese on top. 

These three vegetable lasagna recipes are great for people who may have trouble receiving the proper intake of veggies on a daily basis. The benefit of these recipes is that you can customize the ingredients to your liking.

Have You Tried Salmon and Asparagus Salads? You Should



Caesar, chef and Chinese salads may be the top mixtures at most restaurants, but there are so many other variations that you should consider. Although the combination sounds unusual, creating a salmon and asparagus salad gives you a world of different nutrients to benefit from. If you haven't tried this salad before, it's time to retreat into the kitchen as you discover its incredible features.

A Basic Recipe

Chop up several of your favorite veggies, including green onions, mushrooms and tomatoes. Mix them up with a handful of asparagus, garlic and ginger. Drizzle walnut oil, lime juice and honey onto the mixture. Toss the salad to combine everything. Grill or broil your salmon before placing it carefully on top of the salad. This meal has complex flavors that will only leave you feeling full and satisfied. You can always alter some of the ingredients to your taste, such as adding in different vegetables. As long as you're happy with the mixture, you'll eat it on a regular basis.

Omega-3 Perks

You'll find omega-3 fatty acids in the salmon. By eating this dish once or twice a week, you can consume a fair amount of omega-3 nutrients to keep your good cholesterol high while fighting off the bad type. Because omega-3 fatty acids improve your cholesterol numbers, the cardiovascular system becomes protected with fewer occurrences of heart disease in people who consume these nutrients on a frequent basis. In addition, salmon also offers a metabolism boost that's critical to weight control as you grow older. 

Glutathione

Within the asparagus component is glutathione, which is an antioxidant. It's found in many plants, and it contributes to cellular repair and protection. With this fact in mind, glutathione is often associated with cancer-fighting properties. If you're entering retirement, you want to ward off every disease, including cancer of any type. Glutathione operates in the body as a free-radical eliminator as it fights oxidation across the tissues.

Critical Vitamins

Asparagus may appear benign, but it has an amazing amount of vitamins packed into those stalks. With one serving, you'll benefit from chromium, vitamins A, C, E, K and folate. When you combine asparagus's nutrients to the rest of your meals in a given day, this vegetable is one of the most dense foods on the table.

Additional Ingredient Benefits

Garlic and ginger are often used together in many cuisines, such as Chinese meals. Their taste combination is alluring, and they also offer important health benefits. Both of these ingredients fight off inflammation. Your body wants to avoid inflammation because that reaction can trigger more issues to arise, such as pain and poor flexibility. Ginger and garlic are also contributors to cancer fights and infection control. Enjoying retirement is much easier when you have garlic and ginger in your system to combat any ailments.

Be sure to pick a salmon fillet that's completely devoid of bones. Most salmon is sold without bones, but it's possible to pick the wrong cut at some point. Your salad should be easy to eat with a forkful of salmon, veggies and dressing all at once. After trying a salmon and asparagus salad one time, you'll be hooked on its taste and health benefits.

3 Tricks to Get Yourself Exercising



At any age, you might find it difficult to exercise on a regular basis. Work, family and other responsibilities simply take priority in life. During the retirement years, you have more time on your hands that can be dedicated to exercising. Ideally, working out for about 150 minutes a week is optimal. Get this time in by using these basic tricks and get yourself exercising. Feeling and looking younger than ever is a reward for every 50-something.

1. Do it First Thing

One of the most common reasons why workouts don't happen is the time factor. You promise yourself to exercise in the afternoon, and shopping or babysitting gets in the way. For most of the week, you hope to exercise but nothing occurs. Trick yourself into exercising most days of the week by simply doing it first.

Get up in the morning, brush your teeth and head to the gym. When you make exercise a priority with breakfast and dressing yourself, there are no other excuses to create and miss that workout. You'll feel energized afterward, which helps with every other task during the day. It might be necessary to wake up a little bit earlier than normal, but the effort is worth the rewards. As you grow into the senior years, exercise becomes a critical activity for your overall health. Add in aerobic and resistance training to round out your morning regimen.

2. Make it Social

By nature, humans are social animals. Every task in life can be social, from cooking dinner to solving a problem. Exercising is another activity that definitely benefits you from a social perspective. Find a friend that encourages and inspires you. Commit to a weekly workout goal together. It's much harder to skip a workout when your friend is urging you to join him or her. 

During the buddy workout, each person offers their own challenges to the other participant. The faster person inspires the other one to pedal harder on the bike or to run faster on the treadmill. These small challenges make each workout more fun than the next one. Because you'll notice a more toned body as a result of the challenges, you'll want to exercise even more with the friend. This scenario continues on its cyclical pattern as you get healthier each day.

3. Create a Reward System

You may have heard of reward systems before and wondered about their value. Many people perceive a reward as a fatty snack or food, which negates the health benefits of the workout in the first place. Think of a reward that's not food based, such as watching a favorite movie or buying art supplies for a project. These rewards cannot be achieved in any other way besides working out on a regular basis. 

As soon as you complete the workout, reward yourself. The brain responds to this situation by associating exercise with a positive outcome. Although a healthier body should be the reward, it helps to have a more tangible prize to focus on. Continue to reward yourself so that a pattern emerges in your mind. The workout habit will be ingrained in the mind after only a few sessions.

Don't forget that household chores can count toward your exercise goals. Vacuuming the entire house is essentially an aerobic routine. Consider all of the activities that you perform in a given day so that you can add up the exercise time. You may be more active than you first thought.

Six Tips For Healthier Hair





Improving your personal appearance can be quite good for your self-esteem, your professional prospects and your personal life. Healthy hair is one of the most important qualities that contributes to pleasing personal aesthetics. Your hair is one of the things that really defines you as a person. Fortunately, there are many things you can do to keep the appearance of your hair within acceptable parameters. If you think that all you have to do to have healthy hair is to wash your hair every day, you've got a lot to learn about this subject. Here are four ways you can keep your hair healthy and lustrous:

1. Trim your hair often to get rid of split ends. Generally speaking, split ends make your hair look sloppier and more unkempt. To keep split ends in check, trim your hair at least a quarter of an inch every six or eight weeks. 

2. Despite what you may think, you shouldn't wash your hair every day. Just because you're showering, that doesn't mean you have to wash your hair as well. If you wash your hair thoroughly every other day, you'll maintain a perfectly clean head of hair. Too much washing strips the natural, healthy oils that keep your hair looking great.

3. These days, people are more conscious than ever about shampoo ingredients. Of the ingredients commonly found in shampoos, sulfates are uniquely controversial. Though sulfates produce a pleasing lather and do clean your hair, sulfates aren't necessary for a great shampoo. Sulfates are the cause of the stinging sensation that occurs when shampoo gets in your eye. More worryingly, sulfates can cause itchy scalp and overly dry hair in sensitive individuals. If you experience any of these issues, simply use sulfate-free shampoo. 

4. Deep condition your hair periodically for an unforgettably lustrous shine. After washing, squeeze all of the water out of your hair and dry your locks with a bath towel. Next, apply a good deal of your favorite conditioner into your roots. With a broad-toothed comb, spread the conditioner through the length of your hair. After pulling up your hair and clipping it, allow the conditioner to soak in for anywhere from 15 to 60 minutes. Now you're ready to rinse the conditioner out of your hair. Afterwards, you'll be amazed at the incredibly silky and lustrous texture of your hair. 

5. Heat is never good for your hair. If you routinely curl, dry or straighten your hair, you will experience hair damage. Fortunately, there are several ways to change the look of your hair that don't involve applying heat in any way. If you must use a curler, use coconut oil, almond oil and conditioner to treat your hair afterwards. 

6. If you want great hair, be sure to eat a hair-healthy diet. Your hair loves foods with complete proteins and plenty of amino acids. Foods and beverages that fit the bill include whole milk, greek or regular yogurt, soy, peas and all types of cheeses. It's a good idea to consume at least 12 mg of iron each day. Studies have shown that it is far better to get your iron from food instead of supplements. Because of how your digestive system works, a lot of the vitamins and minerals in supplement pills are wasted. Foods with lots of iron include leafy green vegetables, pumpkin seed, beans, chickpeas and cereal. Besides providing iron, fish can improve your health in a number of ways.

The Role of Breakfast in Keeping Down Weight Gain



Popular thought in the past used to include skipping meals as an effective way to lose weight. However, this strategy usually backfired as people ate voraciously at subsequent meal times. Science has proven that eating a healthy breakfast is one of the best ways to lose weight and keep it off. As you enter your 50s and beyond, look at the benefits to eating breakfast so that you can prioritize it each day.

Energy After the Fast

The term "breakfast" comes from the concept of breaking an overnight fast. You've slept for six or eight hours, and now it's time to start the day. The body doesn't have any energy at this point. It requires food to jump start your metabolism. By eating within the first, two hours of waking up, you're offering the body key nutrients. You won't feel hungry until well into the late-morning hours, which keeps your weight under control.

Blood-Sugar Control

Unless you have diabetes, being aware of your blood-sugar levels isn't a daily concern. You probably feel the differences as you move from a satisfied sensation to a craving for a favorite food during the day, however. By eating breakfast, you're leveling out your blood-sugar levels. The body feels stabilized as it uses the breakfast energy. When you skip breakfast, the body is suddenly destabilized. You'll crave every fatty and sugary food around you because the body is simply seeking out homeostasis. As a result, you'll probably eat a snack or meal that's high in calories with weight gain on the horizon.

Better Food Choices

Researchers have discovered that people who eat a balanced breakfast will make better food decisions for the rest of the day. These decisions are based on steady, blood-sugar levels. You don't feel deprived of any nutrients so cravings are kept largely at bay. The result of these behaviors is food selections full of fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Fatty and calorie-laden foods are ignored for the most part.

Feeling Fuller For Longer

When you choose foods that are high in fiber or protein, your body needs time to digest those items. Because the digestive system is busy working on those foods, you'll feel fuller for a longer time period. Eating foods that are full of empty calories, such as pancakes with syrup, will only leave you hungry a few hours later. Eggs, oatmeal and vegetables are better choices.

Making the Time

Because you're entering your retirement years, there should be some extra time for a real breakfast each day. Pick out healthy items, such as eggs and whole-grain toast, so that you have enough calories to make it to lunch. Oatmeal is another option that many people enjoy. Ideally, pick foods that require some chewing so that the process takes some time to digest. You'll feel more satisfied afterward.

Keep ample fruits, cereals and oatmeal in the house so that you aren't tempted to skip breakfast. Filling a bowl of cereal, fruit and milk takes only a few minutes. It's possible to make and eat your breakfast in less than 10 minutes. This small commitment works wonders on your body as weight remains controlled through the retirement years.

Gaining Muscle Weight vs Fat




Muscle weighs more than fat. For this reason, the scale may not reflect your real progress as much as you expect it to do. People who take up serious fitness training sometimes report that although they lost several inches around the waistline, they only lost a small amount of actual weight.

But building muscle is not just about working out. A large part of it is about eating right and taking proper care of your body. 

You Need Protein
Muscle is mostly protein, so it takes protein to make muscle. Good sources of protein include lean meats, eggs, milk, cheese and legumes. Egg whites are a source of nearly perfect protein for the human body. This is why competitive body builders used to drink raw eggs to bulk up, before there were protein powders and shakes. You should try to get one gram of protein for every pound of body mass. If you weigh 120 pounds, you should shoot for 120 grams of protein per day. 

You Also Need Carbs
Carbohydrates are a primary source of energy to burn. If you aren't getting enough calories from carbohydrates, your body will use protein for fuel. So, you can only turn protein into muscle if you are making sure the body has enough fuel to burn as well. Healthy carbs come from fruits, vegetables and whole grains. 

You Need a Steady Supply of Fuel
If you go for too long between without eating, your body will start burning internal resources to cope. When it does this, it burns muscle first, not fat. Thus, frequent small meals and healthy snacks are necessary to make sure the protein you consume has a chance to be converted to muscle.

It Takes Down Time
Many critical processes happy while you sleep. This is the body's time for maintenance. It takes a lot of work to build muscle. That work is not happening while you are doing other things. It happens when you are resting. Make sure to sleep a good seven to eight hours a night to help your body build muscle. 

You Need Enough Water
The body is mostly made of water. When you fail to stay adequately hydrated, you interfere with many bodily processes. When trying to put on muscle, you need to get enough to drink before, during and after your workout. For every pound you weigh, you should be drinking one half to one ounce every day. If you weigh 120 pounds, you need 60 to 120 ounces of fluids daily.

Resistance Training is Key
In order to put on muscle, you need to engage in resistance training. Weight lifting is one example of resistance training, but it is not the only way to add muscle. Cardio workouts tend to add long, lean muscle and help with losing fat. They don't tend to add muscle mass. Cardio and resistance training are somewhat in conflict because they lead to different kinds of muscle being formed. To some degree, the body has to choose one or the other. 

If you want to be fit, you need to put on muscle. Some ways to foster muscle gain include getting enough protein, healthy carbs, and water, plus eating frequent small meals and getting enough sleep.

5 Strangest Effective Workouts in 2017

 

Jazzercise became a household name in the 1970s and 1980s, which practically heralded in the exercise era based out of your living room. As time wore on, gyms and fitness gurus have come and gone. There's always a fitness trend to follow or evaluate. In fact, scientists have gotten into the act in order to find the best exercises for your fitness level. Currently, there are dozens of different workouts that can possibly make a difference in your life. Consider the strangest and most effective workouts for 2017. You might be surprised by several of these choices.

Underwater Spinning

Spin classes have been around for many years. They consist of stationary bikes packed into a small room where a fitness trainer guides your journey. The workout that's defining 2017 is underwater spinning. Picture a standard spin class, but add the bikes to the pool. Adding the water component essentially increases the resistance against your legs as you pedal. Your head remains above water as the rest of your body pushes against the pool's dense volume. Your resulting physique is toned with many calories being burned at one time.

Sand Balancing

You don't have to be near a beach to participate in the newest craze. Sand balancing involves a plank, such as a surfboard, perched atop a mound of sand. It can be located in a sandbox for all intents and purposes because it's the unsteady surface that you're looking for during this exercise. Stand on top of the board placed on the sand, and perform squats or other bodyweight movements. Your muscles compensate for the unsteady surface, which makes the exercise an efficient one for calorie burning.

Yoga Boxing

Picture yourself in a yoga pose with your lower body. Add in a few punches with the upper body, and you have yoga boxing. This workout encourages strength and balance at the same time. Raise your heart rate to an optimal level without creating impacts with your lower body. This particular exercise is addicting once you try it out.

Virtual Workouts

It seems like everyone has a device in their hands during a daily outing. The virtual world is big business, and it can be used to improve your health with online workouts. Log into these workouts, hop onto your exercise machine at home and you're instantly transported to a group-exercise program. You receive all of the benefits associated with a group exercise, but without the commute time to a gym. Remain with the same group or graduate to a different one when you feel ready. Flexibility is part of the virtual world.

Wellness Retreats

A strange and effective workout is one that's based on a vacation getaway. In the past, most people pictured vacations as periods where you do as little as possible. During 2017, many people want to change their lives on vacation. They might take a wellness retreat where they experience different exercise programs and meal choices. Several studies show the benefit of changing habits while in a new location because the mind accepts it better than if you were at home. Expose yourself to any workouts, and you might keep up with the exercise habit when you return home.

Today's trends also include personal observation. It's critical to pay attention to your body, such as noticing soreness and other workout repercussions. Take time out of your schedule to relax if you're experiencing too much stiffness and uncomfortable sensations. Working out should leave you with a positive rush and not a painful souvenir.

Why Is Greek Yogurt So Delicious?




What Is Greek Yogurt?

When you are shopping at a supermarket, there are several varieties of yogurt, including Greek yogurt. This type of yogurt is strained with filtering devices to remove the whey. This process leads to a thicker yogurt that still has a distinctive flavor. Some Greek yogurt manufacturers also add powdered milk, butterfat or other ingredients to this food to give it a thicker texture. A processing plant may boil milk to reduce its moisture content in order to make a thick variety of Greek yogurt. 

Greek Yogurt Contains Less Lactose and Sugar 

There are several additional benefits from Greek yogurt, including a reduction in its lactose. Many individuals are sensitive to lactose, leading to digestive problems or intestinal distress, so they are eager to buy a yogurt that contains less of this ingredient. The straining process will also reduce the yogurt’s sugar content, but some food manufacturers add sugar to certain types of Greek yogurt. 

You Can Use Greek Yogurt As a Substitute Ingredient

It is possible to use Greek yogurt as a substitute ingredient in some recipes that require sour cream. Some varieties of Greek yogurt have reduced amounts of fat, making it an excellent substitute when someone is on a diet. With its lower amount of lactose, anyone who is sensitive to this type of sugar is still able to prepare her favorite recipes. The removal of the whey from this type of yogurt leads to a richer consistency that you might enjoy, and food manufacturers typically add fruit or vanilla to the Greek yogurt products. 

Greek Yogurt Has Less Whey Protein 

Some individuals are also sensitive to whey protein, making it impossible to consume regular types of yogurt. Whey protein can cause an assortment of health problems, including: 

• Liver damage
• Kidney dysfunction
• Osteoporosis 
• Risk of diabetes mellitus
• Headaches
• Higher cholesterol levels
• Abnormal heart rhythms 
• Acid reflux

If you can’t consume high levels of whey, then Greek yogurt is a great option to ingest protein, calcium and iron. In addition, Greek yogurt contains probiotics that can improve the health of your digestive tract. Probiotics are helpful bacteria that can increase the health of your immune system to prevent foodborne illnesses, urinary tract infections and inflammatory bowel disease. 

The Health Value of Eggs vs Egg Whites




You do your level best to remain as healthy as you can. You keep track of your calories, exercise on a regular basis and throw away your egg yolks to make a vegetable omelet. Wait, you throw your egg yolks away? Did you know that whole eggs do not necessarily reduce your risk of heart disease? In fact, it may be far worse for your health not to eat your egg yolks. 

Egg yolks and all other sources of saturated fat and cholesterol were first given a bad rap in the early 20th century. Nikolai Anichkov, a Russian pathologist, performed an experiment in which he fed rabbits high levels of pure cholesterol. The arteries of the rabbits became clogged with plaque, leading Anichkov to surmise that cholesterol leads to heart disease. However, it is widely known that the liver makes about 75 percent of the body's cholesterol. This vital nutrient is required by every single one of your 37.2 trillion cells to create their protective membranes. There is a very small flaw in Anichkov's theory: the cholesterol he fed his test subjects was synthetic. Also, rabbits and humans are fundamentally different in their make-up. As vegetarians, rabbits do not consume cholesterol in their natural diet. 

Despite these facts, the research performed by Nikolai Anichkov and Ancel Keys spurred the start of a witch hunt geared toward demonizing foods containing saturated fats. After studying the eating habits of seven different countries, Keys claimed that those who consumed the greatest amounts of animal fat all died from heart disease. Although his data did show a correlation between fat consumption and heart disease, he was unable to prove that the relationship was causal. Also, while mortality rates for heart disease were higher, deaths from nearly every other cause were significantly lower, resulting in longer life expectancies. 

More recent findings regarding egg whites and egg yolks have shed additional light on the subject. A set of 21 studies collected and published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition stated that saturated fat was not associated with an increase in the risk of heart disease. Instead, the true risk comes from the inflammation caused by chronic stress and regular consumption of vegetable oils and processed foods. 

If you have been avoiding egg yolks for fear of endangering your heart, you are missing out on a world of nutrition. Egg yolks are an excellent source of vitamin A, a nutrient that is critical for healthy and vibrant skin. Other nutrients include B vitamins and choline. The saturated fat present in egg yolks is needed for balanced hormone production and vitamin/mineral absorption. 

Egg whites contain the largest percentage of the protein found in an egg. One egg white, on average, contains the following:

  • 4 grams of protein
  • 1.3 micrograms of folate
  • 6.6 micrograms of selenium
  • 2.3 milligrams of calcium
  • 53.8 milligrams of potassium

Egg yolks, on the other hand, contain the following nutrient profile:

  • 2.7 grams of protein
  • 30 micrograms of selenium
  • 21.9 milligrams of calcium
  • 18.5 milligrams of potassium

The yolk itself has more nutrition than the white, but consuming the whole egg will give you a more complete nutrient profile. Eggs are among the most nutritious food on earth. Because eggs provide all the nourishment needed to grow a chick, this statement makes perfect sense.

As long as you maintain the overall number of calories you consume each day, eating whole eggs will not affect your weight. Remember to check with your health care provider or a nutritionist for more information on how to balance fat levels and fitness goals.