Have you ever ordered an egg-white omelet in a restaurant and felt like you are making a healthy choice? Me too!
The weight loss industry has done a very good job convincing us to choose foods that are low in fat and low in calories. Egg-whites are tooted as being high in lean protein without the added (bad) fats of the yolks. Low fat dairy products are presented as healthier than their full fat versions. No fat condiments like fat-free mayonnaise, fat-free salad dressings and fat-free sauces are encouraged. And no-calorie artificial sweeteners are the norm.
So we choose fat-free and low-fat yogurts, cheese and milk, we buy 100 calorie snack packs, we treat ourselves to sugar-free candy and we eat egg-white omelets. And we feel virtuous. And we don’t understand why our diets are failing.
In my low-fat, low-calorie dieting days I experiences many unhealthy side affects:
• Intense cravings for sugary baked goods
• Intense cravings for butter
• Low energy
• Low and erratic mood
• Being irritated
• Being hungry even though I ate a lot
• A feeling of dissatisfaction
I could not stay on my diet for any length of time without breaking out of it with a high-sugar, high-fat binge. I felt like a failure. I felt like I needed to try harder. I thought I had no will power. I didn’t realize it was the diet that was the problem.
Lets look at egg whites!
Nature is very smart. It creates foods that are supposed to work as a unit, together, intact. When we start separating it, fragmenting it, processing it, adding chemicals and artificial additives, our body will react as if something is missing and will try to balance our system. So when you are removing the yolk from the egg, your body will send you a signal of dissatisfaction, hunger and cravings for fat. When you eat a whole egg your body reacts as if you got a whole food, complete and satisfying.
So many of our food choices today do not resemble the food in it’s original state.
Let’s look at another food; fat-free mayonnaise. Traditionally, mayo is made with eggs (whole, or yolks) and oil and it’s very high in fat. Adding a tablespoon of natural, homemade mayo to a salad, can be very flavorful and satisfying. When you use FF mayo, it is no longer mayo, it is an artificial, high sugar, high chemical products.
Here is the ingredient list in a famous brand fat-free mayonnaise: Water, Vinegar, Modified Cornstarch, Sugar, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Soybean Oil, contains less than 2% of Salt, Natural Flavor, Cellulose Gel, Artificial Color, Xanthan Gum, Egg Yolks, Mustard Flour, Lactic Acid, Phosphoric Acid, Cellulose Gum, Vitamin E Acetate, Lemon Juice Concentrate, Dried Garlic, Dried Onions, Spice, Yellow 6, Beta-Carotene (color), Blue 1, with Potassium Sorbate as a preservative and Calcium Disodium EDTA as preservatives.
I invite you to play food detective, start noticing your food choices and ask yourself the following questions:
Are they whole?
Are they natural?
Has anything been removed from the original, intact food?
Have any artificial ingredients been added?
How do you feel after you eat whole, natural foods?
How do you feel after you eat processed, fragmented foods?
To help you transition to whole food choices that are healing and satisfying I invite you to go on a seasonal cleanse with my Cleanse For All Seasons. It is the door-way to eating and living your most radiant life!
Since I became a vegan, I no longer eat eggs. However, when I did eat them, I never liked egg-white omelets. Being raised in an Italian kitchen, omelets with veggies was a staple of Friday night meatless meals growing up … and you used the whole egg!
Eating the whole food is always best, whether it’s the whole egg or a whole apple.
As I don’t eat eggs as i had an allergy as a child i din’t have this challenge- i cook my husband eggs on a Sunday and i do make things with them in So in my whole life an omelet has not passed my lips xxx
I think our fat-free obsession in the United States has led us to some very unhealthy choices in the name of being more healthy. I am very conscious of the ingredients in the food I eat and think this article is a wonderful example that eating whole foods is the best choice for our bodies. Thank you so much!
I totally connect to what you are saying about the integrity (and wisdom) of whole foods!
Love the Louise Hay quote – so true! Thanks for sharing your food wisdom!
Rachel, love this. Makes so much sense why one would feel so unsatisfied after eating a food that has been separated from its other natural parts.
Great great great Rachel. Now I understand a lot more 🙂 I need to learn how to eat whole and healthy.
Thank you so much for this. I don’t think I have ever had an egg-white omelette and never thought of it this way. Thank you for the new perspective! I am super conscious about what I eat and what is in my food–my daughter has had known food allergies for 19 of her 21 years and I have been a label reader ever since! It is truly shocking what they put in our food! Knowledge IS power!!
Finding the right diet and foods is a continually shifting challenge. Happy that you make me think about the complimentary aspects of food. I like the whole egg!
I eat farm fresh organic whole eggs almost every day. The protein is complete, as it should be. Our bodies need good fats. When we eat fresh in season produce and locally sourced fresh food – our bodies respond with health and well-being. Bravo Rachel, great article!
Great information Rachel! I love learning about healthy eating from you. I wanted to stop by and let you know I nominated you for the Liebster award. You can read about it here: https://connectingempathichelpersandartiststospirit.wordpress.com/2017/11/02/the-liebster-award/