Welcome to week six of the feed your mental health challenge. You’ve been doing this for now a month and a half, and I hope you’re starting to feel the real benefits in eat to beat depression and anxiety. I talk about six weeks because after six weeks, if you’ve added in a lot of nutrient density, you’ve eliminated a lot of processed foods, I hope you’re starting to feel it in your mental health and your overall energy, things maybe that are surprising you, like better focus, better sleep, better moods.
I hope that’s happening for you. Let’s get into an exciting food for week six, one that gives us a nutrient that we don’t find in a lot of other foods.
Eggs.
Now eggs might not seem particularly exciting, but they’re amazing, affordable, really nutrient dense, and very exciting for one particular nutrient. They’re easy to cook with and they’re easy to integrate into all kinds of different foods, and almost everybody likes eggs.
So, why does your brain like eggs? Well, let’s start with choline. Choline is a like a B vitamin, kind of like folate. It’s really important for learning and memory. It’s an essential part of neurotransmitters like acetylcholine and certain specialized brain fats like phosphatidylcholine. And it’s a nutrient that about 90% of Americans don’t get enough of every day. It’s one of the reasons eggs are a great brain food. They have 50 to 70% of your daily need of choline in just two eggs.
And so when I look at an I’m not seeing wonderful scrambled eggs for breakfast. Well, sometimes I am, but I’m not only seeing that. I’m seeing this lesson of nutrient density that is so important in nutritional psychiatry. And I love ideas like this, that right in front of us, there’s one of the most important brain nutrients. And it’s a food that a lot of people have told not to consume too much of because of concerns about dietary cholesterol or fat. And the latest science and latest research shows us that.
Eggs are really a part of a healthy dietary pattern.
But choline is not the only reason that I love eggs for brain health. They bring a complete protein to the table. You get about six grams of protein in one egg, and it’s a complete protein. All of the essential amino acids that you need, and it’s a high-quality protein. Actually, all other proteins are ranked against eggs. Along with an essential protein, you get.
Lots of lutein, which is this really wonderful molecule that’s very important for brain health and brain aging. Get vitamin D, we all know very important for brain health. You’re getting B12 and folate. It’s actually one of the few foods that contains both of these critical B vitamins. B12 and vitamin B9. Folate are the two B vitamins kind of most length to depression and keeping your mood in a euthymic in a good place. And so
All of these nutrients are present in an egg, and along with a lot of other trace minerals in small quantities, things like zinc. So eggs very, very nutrient dense, just 70 calories in one egg. You’re getting again six grams of complete protein plus all those nutrients I just mentioned. That’s nutrient density. And what I love about eggs, they’re really affordable. You can use them in lots of different ways. You can make a little eggy pie with some potatoes, you can make scrambled eggs with veggies.
You can make a frittata, you can make French toast with extra eggs. There’s lots and lots of ways to get eggs into your diet.
So here’s my take and a couple quick tips. First, don’t throw out the yolk. That’s where all the bean vitamins are, that’s where the minerals are. The science on eggs and the cholesterol and the foods we eat has really changed over my career as a physician. I’ve been doing this for a couple of decades now. And when I first learned medicine, hey, no, no cholesterol, no fat. We’ve really changed both in the science and how we think about foods. And everybody agrees now that dietary cholesterol, eating more eggs, is actually great for your brain health.
But a lot of us were raised in that era where we’re a little scared of eggs, we got rid of the yolk, and it’s time to update your science. I try to eat eggs pretty much most days. I’ll often start my day with a couple of eggs, simply scrambled in olive oil with some salt and pepper. Maybe I’ll throw some fresh herbs on there, some fresh veggies if I have it. it’s just a really filling
Great way to start the day. Again, what do we need to stay full, to be sharp? We need lots of B vitamins. We need complete protein, and we need to feel satiated. We need to feel full. Eggs deliver that.
Nutrients don’t live in isolation, they live in our foods. And when we eat foods with more nutrient density, we’re getting more bang for our buck.
Ultimately, we don’t eat nutrients in isolation, and we don’t usually eat foods in isolation. We use them in wonderful combinations, and that’s really the lesson of this week’s challenge. I want you to think about some of these foods we’ve eaten and how to put them together. Right in the middle of the challenge, the New York Times put out a pumpkin seed and lentil soup. Wow, that was right on point. But we’ve also seen all kinds of great combinations on this list. Right now, I’d be thinking about maybe some eggs with some watercress and a handful of pumpkin seeds.
Or that sardine pasta dish I mentioned, boy, that’s one that I’m really excited to make as fall is coming. The idea here is to build your meals with the most nutrient dense foods, and then you don’t need to worry about anything.
When we build meals out of these nutrient-dense foods, we know we’re getting all of these nutrients that our brain is craving, the omega-3 fats, the B12, the phytonutrients, more fiber, all of these essential nutrients and food categories that make nutritional psychiatry one of the most effective interventions in mental health and brain health.
And that brings us to this week’s challenge. I’d like you to eat two eggs this week. I’d like you to have some fun with them. And please let us know in the comments below how you do it. And remember, every week of the challenge we ask, you know, did you try it? Did you like it? And would you try it again?
we’re almost at the end of our challenge. Just one more week left. And I hope you’re seeing the effect. I hope you’re really feeling these lessons of nutritional psychiatry. I hope as you think about building meals with these nutrient dense foods, you’re feeling more empowered with the information about why these foods are great for mental health, what nutrients they bring to the table, and also ways that we can use them and combine them to make sure we’re getting all the nutrition that we need.
So this week, make yourself some eggs. Remember, eat the whole egg and think about all the amazing choline and protein and B twelve and selenium and iodine that you’re getting with every bite. It’s a real treat to be with you on this brain health journey.
