Furthermore, eggs are good at helping us to feel full. They are 50 percent more satisfying than white bread, according to the satiety index. Likewise, a 2005 study in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, "Short-Term Effect of Eggs on Satiety in Overweight and Obese Subjects," showed that 30 women ate about 686 calories less for lunch after eating either about 760 calories from eggs or the same amount from bagels for breakfast. Even 36 hours after breakfast, the egg eaters consumed fewer calories than the bagel eaters.
Even though this new research on the cholesterol in eggs has set my mind at ease when I eat my eggs for breakfast, I still had some concern about advanced glycoxidation (also called glycation) end products. This bad stuff comes from interactions between glucose and protein or between lipids (fats) and proteins. Whether you call it glycoxidation, glycation or lipoxidation, the accepted abbreviation is appropriately AGEs.
The AGEs in both bacon and fried eggs, like any high-protein food that we cook in any way, aren't to be sneezed at. My favorite Certified Diabetes Educator prefers her eggs cooked "gently." That way their level of AGEs is a fraction of that found in typical fried eggs.
Two fried eggs have an AGEs level of about 2,700. By comparison, two boiled skinless chicken pieces have about a somewhat lower level, about 2,100. This is according to calculations based on tables in "Advanced Glycoxidation End Products in Commonly Consumed Foods." The abstract of that research in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association is online.
I was surprised that the level of AGEs in the two strips of bacon -- about 1,400 -- was considerably less than in the two eggs. And that is considerably less than the AGEs in a handful (about 25) of roasted almonds, almost 2,000.
Dr. Helen Vlassara’s research found that foods cooked at high temperatures dramatically increased the production of AGEs and that they produce inflammation-causing proteins. On the basis of my CDE's advice and Dr. Vlassara's research I now cook both my bacon and eggs at a temperature just above a simmer.
While I hope that this helps to keep the AGEs level of the foods that I enjoy down, I'm not really sure. That's because Dr. Vlassara told me that there is "no major benefit" in cooking for a longer time at a lower temperature. I just hope there is a minor benefit, because I really want to enjoy my bacon and eggs while aging well -- without too many AGEs.
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