LifeStyle Fitness Solutions

Omega-3’s are one of the most important natural supplements that you can add to your daily diet plan.  The problem is that most people don’t eat enough fish or Omega-3 enriched foods on a regular basis to get the full benefits of Omega-3’s.  Omega-3’s come from wild foods like fish, flax, and some types of nuts.  Omega-3’s are good fats and can actually help turn on your fat burning genes by interacting with your PPAR’s.  They bind with your PPAR’s (peroxisome proliferator activated receptors) and increase your metabolism, help you burn fat, and make you more insulin sensitive.  When you consume an abundance of bad fats they also bind to your PPAR’s but they shut them down.  That is why a diet high in Omega-3’s can help you put a halt to fat gain and reverse it.  This is one of the big reasons that Fish Oil has become more and more popular, but if you aren’t a fan of fish and you don’t like taking fish oil capsules there is an alternative in the form of eggs that have been enriched with Omega-3’s.

Eggs come from chickens.  Yes, you knew that already so I’ll push the envelope of research here and tell you where Omega-3 eggs come from.  Omega-3 eggs come from hens that are fed a diet that is rich in Omega-3 fatty acids.  They are fed flax seeds to enrich their diet which then causes them to produce eggs that are high in alpha linolenic acid.  Each Omega-3 egg contains about 200mg of Omega-3’s.  The Omega-3’s are found in the yolk of the egg so if you are a person that eats a majority of the white only you won’t be gaining the benefit of the added Omega 3 so don’t spend the extra money on them.

Eggs are a great all around protein that can be used to cook up many different types of breakfasts to start the day. They have about 6 grams of quality protein per egg. Eggs have had a bad rap for many years as a food that is high in cholesterol. It’s true. Eggs contain 213mg of cholesterol and the basic recommendations state that you shouldn’t consume more the 300mg of cholesterol per day. This would lead most people to believe that you shouldn’t eat eggs if you are watching your cholesterol. Early research going back as far as 1937 proved that cholesterol that we at has very little effect on cholesterol in the blood. And now we have even newer research by the University of Connecticut, “Eggs Modulate the Inflammatory Response to Carbohydrate Restricted Diets in Overweight Men” by Joseph C. Ratliff that show that eggs are actually anti-inflammatory. They conducted a placebo-controlled study which tracked 28 overweight men who followed a low-carb diet. For 12 weeks 15 of them ate three eggs per day and 12 ate a substitute. The anti-inflammatory effect of the egg-rich diet was “possibly due to the presence of cholesterol” (emphasis added). This diet increased their level of HDL — the “good” — cholesterol and the antioxidant lutein, a potent antioxidant found in egg yolks. Many fitness enthusiasts have proven that as long as the rest of your diet is healthy you can consume a few eggs per day without having any negative impact on your health.

Adding eggs to your diet plan creates many meal possibilities. I use them for a quick egg scramble, hard boiled for on the go, or if I have a little more time I make a frittata or omelet and mix them with chopped veggies and fat free cheese. Most recently I have been able to include them in my daily diet to get a healthy dose of omega-3’s in the morning. Prior to Omega-3 eggs I had to get my omega-3’s from fish oil and flax supplements. Now I have another alternative but I use Omega-3 eggs sparingly due to cost. They are relatively more expensive than your regular chicken eggs. If you are trying to add Omega-3’s to your diet but keep costs low you can get 3 times the amount of Omega-3’s in one double strength fish oil capsule. The double strength capsules typically have 600mg of Omega-3’s. It would take 3 whole omega-3 eggs to get that same amount! So for a cheaper alternative remember that you can still enjoy eggs but add a capsule or two of double strength fish oil to your breakfast to start your day. If you are going to eat eggs but aren’t going to be getting any other sources of Omega-3’s in your diet I would highly suggest spending the extra money on enriched eggs in order to get the benefits they provide by binding to your PPAR’s causing you to lose fat rather than gain it. Whatever you decide I suggest making sure you consistently have a steady amount of Omega-3’s for optimal health and fat loss.