Re: MORE Mercola on Eggs
"I recommend raw egg yolks because they have dramatically improved my own health.... The key to using raw eggs is to make sure you cook the whites. If you fail to cook the whites you will eventually develop a severe biotin deficiency that can result in serious neurologic consequences."
from
http://www.mercola.com/2002/jul/6/biotin.htm"
This is a very exaggerated extrapolation from some experimental findings discovered in 1916. A researcher named Bateman fed rats a diet consisting raw eg whites as the sole source of protein in their diet. These rats did develop problems, however, you must note the sole source of protein in the diet was raw eg whites. The average diet provides about 100-300 ug biotin daily and the biotin syntesized by intestinal flora is available for absorbtion. The only way for a human to become deficient in biotin is to eliminate intestinal bacteria and restrict the diet to biotin deficient foods.
"He also says there "Ideally you will want to secure eggs from chickens that were given additional sources of omega-3. Although many are concerned with salmonella infections, it seems to be less of an issue if the eggs are organic and raised properly. Even if one acquires a salmonella infection, they are usually not serious, typically self-limiting and easily treated with good bacteria."
Salmonella is nothing to be nonchalantly treated with "good bacteria".
Also: "When one heats the yolk, changes occur in the fragile elements that serve to support the vital life force within the egg. The most obvious one is cholesterol. The higher the yolk is heated, the more likely oxidation of cholesterol will occur. This is especially true when it is combined with egg white (as in scrambled eggs) because the iron present in the white will further oxidize the cholesterol. Our blood vessels do not have receptors for cholesterol, only for oxidized cholesterol. So, you can eat as many eggs as you like, without worrying about cholesterol, as long as you don't cook the yolks."
This does seem to make sense, because we know that heat damages fats."
ez says:
There is no research or documetation to support this notion of cholesterol oxidation. Cholesterol is not a fat and has no chemical similarities to fats... the analogy is not true and does not make sense.