After a morning Huge gym workout followed by a short run, I was fired up to grind a Monkey. Imagine my disappointment when I discovered I was out of Monkey Shakes. "Well, I'll just throw some whey protein in my shake to make do" I thought. Crap! I'm out of that too. As you may know, I sold my Monkey business to a guy named Corey in Wisconsin - such that it was only a matter of time before I'd have to get off my wallet and order from the new guy (BTW, he has a buy 2 get 1 free deal going on now).
Because I forgot to order, I found myself in a precarious place. Maybe you wouldn't find this place precarious - more like just out of my silly shake formula. Well, I'm in danger here. My tired muscles needed some mojo. Wait! I've got it. Oh how I wish I had the technolgy to play the theme song from Rocky. Hold on - we do: Gonna Fly Now.
You know what I did to solve my dilema, don't you? I put a raw egg in my shake. Here's another Rocky piece to demonstrate: Rocky ' "Eggs". I can almost hear my sister-in-law shreiking from 200 miles away as she reads this. She's already convinced that raw milk's gonna kill me some day - raw eggs will get me there sooner.
Before anyone freaks out about the public health threat I'm about to suggest, allow me to share a few facts. While I don't plan to replace my whey protein or Monkey Shakes with eggs, it's comforting to know I have a reliable back-up plan.
What's everyone's #1 concern about eating raw eggs? Yes, you guessed it (very smart audience you are) - salmonella. Yes, there have been some incidences of salmonella in raw eggs. Do you know what the odds are? Here's what Dr. Mercola says about that:
Some may be concerned about the risk of salmonella from raw eggs, but I analyzed the risk in a past article and found most people have a better chance of winning the lottery than contracting salmonella from eggs from healthy chickens. Personally, I consume three raw eggs nearly every morning as part of my breakfast and believe it has enormously contributed to my health.
There have been a number of previous studies that have supported the idea that eggs do not increase your risk of heart disease. So rest assured, you can go ahead have your eggs, for they are one of the healthiest foods in the world.
Knowing what to look for and where to find healthy eggs is the first step to take when selecting your eggs. Here are some important guidelines to follow to ensure you are getting the best quality eggs:
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Check the box to make sure the eggs are free range organic.
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If your eggs have omega-3 added that is a plus, but not necessary as you have to be careful of the source anyway.
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If you can, contact the company providing your healthy eggs and find out what they are feeding their chickens. An egg is considered organic if the chicken was only fed organic food and will not have bioaccumulated high levels of pesticides from the grains (mostly bioengineered corn) fed to typical chickens. If they are using flaxseed to increase the omega-3 fats they won't be as beneficial as if they feed the chickens seaweed or kelp, which have the far more beneficial DHA and EPA.
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I recommend purchasing your eggs from the farmer directly if at all possible; this way you can be certain of the quality. If you cannot find a farmer to sell you eggs directly, then organic eggs from the store would be your next best option. It is also wise NOT to refrigerate your eggs. If you have ever been to Europe or South America and gone into the grocery stores you will know that this is commonly done in those countries.
Just as important as where you buy your eggs is how you prepare them for consumption.
This may come as a shock to you but it is best not to cook your eggs. This helps preserve many of the highly perishable nutrients such as lutein, and zeaxanthin, which are powerful prevention elements of the most common cause of blindness, age related macular degeneration. This also means there is no sense in taking supplements for these incredible antioxidants when you get the nutrients for free from eggs.
So keep some organic, free range eggs in the fridge. And every once in a while, listen to some Rocky theme music and down a few raw ones. You know you'd feel good!
Are you in?