There really is a lot of confusion out there when it comes to eggs. Mainly the difference between egg whites and the yolk. Most people believe, and have been told time and time again that egg yolks are bad for you. They’re loaded with cholesterol, and increase your risk for heart disease, stroke, and other bad things.

Well, I’m here to tell you differently. Eggs are one of my favorite foods. They are probably the world’s most perfect food. As a natural food item they pack the best protein source in the world. And without a shadow of a doubt are extremely healthy for you. And the yolk is actually the healthiest part of the egg.

If you throw out the yolk, you’re pretty much throwing out the nutrition. The egg white is almost completely devoid of any vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. You get calcium, iron, riboflavin, B12, selenium (huge cancer fighter), phosphorous, zinc, thiamin, B6, folate, all the fat soluble vitamins, and a whole lot more super powerful nutrients.

But what about the cholesterol? Before I get into that, let’s talk about an essential nutrient that eggs are a superstar provider of—Choline. It’s an essential nutrient because you must obtain it from the diet, much like essential fatty acids. It is essential for brain, cell membranes, and cardiovascular function. It’s part of a phospholipid that I can’t pronounce and you need not worry about knowing the name of. But without adequate amounts of it, both cholesterol and fat will accumulate in the liver. So the choline in eggs actually stops the accumulation of fat and cholesterol in the liver!

Many studies have come out saying that dietary cholesterol doesn’t raise cholesterol levels significantly. It is much more affected by saturated and trans fats. You should be getting less than 10% of your total calories from saturated fats, and 0% from trans fats—Yes, they are that evil!

Many people don’t know this but the body actually makes cholesterol in the body. If you don’t eat enough cholesterol in your diet, the body produces more. If you do eat foods high in cholesterol, like whole eggs, then the body lessens the amount it will produce. Cholesterol plays a hand in many important functions in the body. You actually can’t live without it.

So don’t be afraid of the yolk. It’s good for you. Each large egg contains 70 calories and 6.3 grams of protein. So add some vegetables, or fruit, and it makes a great snack. You should be getting protein with each of your meals throughout the day anyway, and there is no natural food item protein better than whole eggs.

Another great thing about eggs is the variety you can use them with. There are so many different ways to prepare eggs. I must confess I do eat my eggs raw some time. Rocky! Rocky! The question of salmonella comes up then. Actually a study done by the USDA found that of 69 billion eggs produced annually only .3 percent are contaminated at all. Salmonella appears only when the eggs come from sick birds. If you’re buying your eggs from a reputable company the chances are super slim of getting bad eggs.

Back to egg whites. These are fine if you are trying to watch your fat intake or calorie intake. But unless you’re a professional body builder preparing for a show, you don’t need 100% egg whites. You’re missing out on super important brain, eye, and overall health food nutrition. Plus it tastes a whole lot better.

Jason Yun, a certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and Sports Nutritionist, is a Columbus fitness bootcamp and weight management teacher. To book him to speak at your local Columbus organization please contact him by email at jyun@yunbootcamps.com or by phone at 614-432-9703. For a free 2-week trial to his Bootcamps go to: http://www.yunbootcamps.com/specialoffer.html or http://www.yunnutrition.com

Peppers are growing in popularity nowadays. They are fruits eaten as vegetables.

Peppers can be very flexible in any food combinations, be it barbecues, baking, steaming, stir-frying with any vegetables, nuts, seeds or legumes. They can even be eaten raw as snacks or in salads. It’s no wonder they are the favourites of the vegetarians and vegans.

They come from the colorful Capsicum family which can be split into two main categories – sweet bell peppers and the spicy chillies, such as jalapenos. The difference arises from the presence of capsaicin in chillies (which is explained later) but not in sweet bell peppers.

Sweet bell peppers are also known as capsicums, sweet peppers or green/red peppers.

You cannot differentiate the sweet bell peppers varieties when they are still young because they are all green. As they ripen, they will change color. Depending on the stage of ripeness and their variety, their colors range from orange, yellow, red, purple, brown, black, ivory or green and so do their sweetness.

But green bell peppers remain green throughout the ripening process. Thus, it can be challenging to differentiate the other bell peppers from the green variety before they ripen.

All peppers are an excellent source of vitamin C. Green bell peppers contain as much as two times of vitamin C as oranges while red or yellow pepper pack three or four times the daily value of vitamin C.

Besides power-packed with vitamin C, bell peppers also provide vitamin B6, phytochemicals such as lycopene and beta-carotene (the precursor for vitamin A), folate, potassium and plenty of fiber. The only difference between sweet peppers and chilli peppers is the presence of capsaicin in chilli peppers. Capsaicin itself holds numerous health benefits:

• Effective treatment and natural pain relief for inflammation such as arthritis, psoriasis, diabetic neuropathy.
• Reduce risk of heart attack and stroke as it helps to reduce cholesterol levels and formation of blood clots.
• Clear blocked nose and congested lungs.
• Prevent prostate cancer by inhibiting growth of cancerous cells · Prevent stomach ulcers by killing bacteria in the stomach and stimulate more protective stomach juices.
• Help to lose weight as it speeds up the body’s metabolism rate, suppresses appetite and cravings for sweet foods.
• Lower risk of Type 2 diabetes by controlling the blood sugar.

Capsaicin is what makes the chillies hot as it produces a strong burning sensation in the mouth. The seeds are not the main culprits for causing the hotness. The truth is capsaicin can be found mostly in the white layer which hold the seeds.

Thus, you should be careful when handling the chilli peppers so as not to let them come in contact with your skin or eyes such as rubbing your eyes with your hands after touching the chillies. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water after handling the chillies.

Should you eat a really hot chilli which causes an unbearable burning sensation in your mouth, drink milk or eat yogurt, rice or bread instead of water to ease the pain.

Here are a few tips on how to handle the chillies skillfully:

• Wear gloves.
• To remove the seeds without touching them, hold the chilli stem and cut open with a paring knife. Cut away the membranes and seeds with the knife. Using a melon baller can also do the trick. Soak the chillies in water for another 15 minutes before cutting them. Note that this will only reduce but will not fully remove the "hotness" of the chillies.
• If you do not need to remove the seeds, just hold the chili by the stem and cut the chillies into rings. Asians like to eat the raw chillies as a dip in this manner, with the chillies soaked in lime juice or soy sauce.

Chilli peppers come in different sizes, shapes and degrees of heat or spiciness. The more mature the pepper, the hotter it will be. To measure the heat level in chillies, the Scoville Scale is often used. The Scoville Scale converts the amount of capsaicin in parts per million into Scoville heat units. So the greater the number of Scoville Scale, the hotter the pepper. A sweet bell pepper measures 0 Scoville unit and a habaneros or scotch bonnet, the hottest known chilli peppers, records at around 300,000 units.

Peppers are not seasonal fruits, meaning you can find them in supermarkets any day during the year. Choose well-shaped, firm and glossy peppers which feel heavy for their size. Look out for unhealthy peppers with soft or wrinkled areas, cracks, slashes or black spots. Except for jalapeño which you will see some tiny cracks at the end of their stems, fresh chilli peppers should not have any cracks at all.

It’s best to wrap the peppers in paper bags or paper towels and store in the refrigerator to keep their freshness, up to 5 days for bell peppers and up to 3 weeks for chilli peppers.

Remember to wash the peppers before cooking so as to remove the wax on their surfaces.

Do you like the above article written by Laura Ng? Laura is passionate in providing quality nutritional facts and health tips, plus recommending 100% toxic-free vegan recipes to
anyone who cares about his/her health. She has more quality health information to offer at
http://www.ionehealth.com. Visit it now.