The yolk of an egg is 50% water, 34% lipids, and 16% protein. The yolk contains most of the cholesterol, three-fourths of the calories, and most of the vitamin A, thiamine, and iron. The yolk is the source of nutrients for a chick before it hatches. The egg white is mostly water, but about 10% of it is protein, with traces of minerals, glucose, and lipids. The white's primary purpose is to serve as a barrier against bacteria for the developing chick. Eggs should be stored with the tapered end down in order to maximize the distance between the yolk and the air pocket, which may contain bacteria. The yolk is more perishable than the white, and even though it is more or less centered in the egg, the yolk can shift slightly and will move away from possible contamination if stored in this manner. If an egg cracks while boiling, remove it from the water and, while it is still wet, pour salt over the crack. Let the egg stand for about twenty seconds, then place it back in the boiling water. You might be able to prevent boiled eggs from cracking by rubbing a cut lemon on the shells before cooking them. If you have used egg whites for a recipe and want to save the yolks for another use, slide them into a bowl of water, cover with plastic wrap, and it will keep in the refrigerator for a day or two. Do not place peeled hard-boiled eggs in cool water. Eggs have a thin protective membrane that may be lost or damaged when they are peeled. If the eggs are then placed in water, bacteria may begin to form.
Most people eat more eggs when they are scrambled. People who are satisfied with two eggs, when fried or poached, will want three if they are scrambled, unless other ingredients, like cheese, are added.
White and brown eggs are identical in nutritional value and taste. Because of its high-fat content, it takes about four hours to digest an egg. Eggshells make an excellent mineral plant fertilizer. Aluminum bowls and cookware tend to darken an egg due to a chemical reaction with the egg protein. The twisted strands of egg white are called chalazae cords. They hold the yolk in place and are more prominent in fresh eggs.
For years the authorities tried to make eggs bad for you since the yolk contains so much cholesterol. I believe it was a study at UC San Diego that broke that myth. The did cholesterol levels and lipid panels on several thousand people, then divided them into three groups: group one ate NO eggs, group two ate four eggs daily, group three ate eight eggs daily for a period (I believe six weeks) then re-assayed everybody's lipids. The result was that all lipids were essentially the same as they were at the beginning of the study. Even eating eight eggs a day didn't raise the cholesterol level. The assumption was that the lecithin in the eggs affected the levels as much as the cholesterol and fat did, but there was no experimental evidence for or against this.
After my youth, eggs were "bad for you". Last few years, eggs are "good for you". As a kid in grammar school, I ate 3-egg omelets before leaving for school in the morning perhaps 3 days a week. Other egg preps the other 2. Never had cheese in the omelets, don't know why, but my Mother oftenm fried onions in, YUM! I am going on 76. B.P. runs around 114/74, pulse rate always 60 or so. Never had any kind of chest pain, no heart attack I'm aware of, CBC shows most everything within range except "GGT", elevated due to my proclivity to drink my homemade wine. After the fact, yes, but screw the medical "experts" who have made impressionable predictions about our future health, based on scanty scientific evidence, pressure from special interest groups, politicians making names for themselves. Close to the end of the gamut, yes, I am. Studied the facts, had Biology I, understood as best I could, had no computer to investigate validity of propaganda (can we now?), have always believed in my own Mother's dictums regarding healthfullness........and she was not even born here, amongst the propagandists...... Frank
It sounds like you understand more than Biology I, Frank. GGT isn't part of a Complete Blood Count, however. It is a chemistry test for liver tubule damage among other things. Could be wine if you drink a lot of it especially with acetaminophen, but could be other stuff also. I'm not as healthy as you and I am a little younger. I have difficulty being as active as I once was and in the cold climate it is hard to do a lot outside when it gets really cold. Hope you live a good, long life and enjoy it.
@Don Alaska True, GGT is not automatically included on CBC tests. However, I don't know if requesting a "liver panel' automatically includes it or not. The form my doctor uses to write a prescription for bloodwork has a separate check-box for GGT. After my recent month-long bout of fever daily of unknown origin, the ER having done two blood-workups, brain CT scan, 2 chest X-rays, gave me Cipro first visit, ordered to come back if no improvement 3-4 days, there wasn't, first diagnosis was Communityn Acquired Pneumonia, 2nd. visit diagnosis Sinusitis. Then went to my Dr., who ordered specific added blood tests: Valley Fever, IgG, IgM, LH, ACTH, human growth. Meanwhile I asked him about dropping Cipro, how about Bactrim? He gave it to me, 20 tabs. 3rd. day on it, fever ceased, gone. Blood work revealed only GGT high at 100 (60 max), Lactate Dehydrogenase high, 322 (245 max). That one worried me, he seemed unconcerned. Your thoughts, please? Thanks! Frank
LD (LDH) is another liver enzyme that is non-specific (It can be related to other organ systems as well, such as lungs. It sounds as if you had quite a shotgun panel of tests. I have no idea why LH and ACTH would be ordered. I would have to have some idea why those tests were ordered. Do you know? I also don't know why the Bactrim worked and the Cipro did not. Cipro usually penetrates tissues that the Bactrim doesn't, so Cipro is given for prostatitis, etc. HGH has me baffled a bit as well. I guess there must have been some reason to order those tests. It looks like your provider suspects some kind of endocrine problem. I wouldn't worry too much about the GGT and LDH. They are a little high, but that could be do in part to some of the meds you are on. GGT is not on a standard liver panel, but it can be added to any blood draw involving chemistry tests. A Valley Fever test would make sense for you in Arizona and I assume the IgG and IgM are related to that.
@Don Alaska Again, thank you for sharing knowledge. One of the Ig tests, can't recall how they are inter-related, is for Rheumatoid Factor, I think. BTW, Bactrim has worked when I had a bladder infection, where Cipro, tried first, did not. Much concern was being expressed over a decade ago about many micro-organisms developing resistance to Cipro......it was being recommended it only be used in extreme cases. I suspect the long-term fever I had WAS bacterial in cause, and the organism responsible resisted Cipro. Where that infection was located, no one really determined. The head scan failed to show sinus involvement, as well as possible tumor activity Pituitary or Hypothalamus. Chest X-rays were clear.
Well, I hope you get to the bottom of it all. It seems odd that the doc would have to differentiate between RA and a pituitary tumor. Bladder infection and sinus infection is usually different in the bacterial profile. Although it is possible to get a gram-negative sinus infection, it is unusual--it is usually Staph or Strep--whereas the bladder infections are usually gram negative but it is possible to get a gram positive infection there (again unusual) unless you self-cath, in which case Staph infections are fairly common.
Soft-boiled eggs should be cooked for at least four minutes in order to kill any bacteria that may be present. The whites should be hard, although the yolk may be soft. Eggs are considered safe at 160 degrees F. When an eggshell contains cracks, harmful bacteria may have entered the egg. In order to determine whether an egg is hard-boiled, spin it. If it wobbles, it's raw; the wobble is due to the yolk sloshing from one end of the egg to the other. A hard-boiled egg should spin evenly because the yolk is held in place by the cooked egg white.
We candled eggs when we were raising chickens. One of my sons has built a nifty little candling station. It allows him to see the embryos inside the eggs to determine if they are developing. He can then take the eggs that are not fertile out of the incubator to make room for more.