Reasons not to eat eggs

Someone asked about reasons to not to eat eggs and reasons why some people do eat them, and I wrote up a reply, but that post was closed for comments before I had a chance to post my reply, so I am posting it separately here. It is important for people to know the arguments both ways; if we do not allow open discussion of these types of questions, then we will lose people and we will not be able to properly educate people about the advantages of the LFRV diet and lifestyle.

I no longer eat eggs, but I used to eat egg yolks from time to time during my transition, so I can share some arguments both ways, but I'll start with the reasons not to:

Reasons not to eat eggs:

Egg whites are just protein and you can get all the protein you need from vegan sources that are healthier.
Egg yolks do contain some healthy fats and fat-soluble nutrients, but they can also be sourced from a vegan diet. Specifically, Omega 3 fatty acids are found in walnuts, chia seeds, flax seeds, and to a certain extent even in greens (particularly a green herb called purslane, but other greens as well). Saturated fat can be obtained from coconuts. Vitamin A is produced by the body from beta-carotene, which is found in carrots and in greens; eating a little fat with your salad from time to time ensures proper absorption of beta-carotene, but a lot of fat is not required for absorption. On an 80-10-10 diet, your body becomes very efficient in general, including with respect to absorbing nutrients. Other vitamins and minerals found in the egg are also found in vegan sources.
Eggs are sticky and clogging, and they slow down digestion, making it harder to maintain a high-fruit diet, although eating just an egg yolk occassionally should be OK. Egg whites should be avoided entirely, though, as they are are particularly clogging and hard to digest.
If you start from a LFRV diet and start adding eggs, you may notice your body starting to produce mucus, in addition to a possible slowdown in your digestion and elimination, and a feeling of being clogged; this can be mitigated somewhat by eating just the yolk.
There are plenty of healthier vegan options for feeling grounded and balanced. For example, have you tried black sesame seed butter (black sesame tahini)? You can find black sesame seeds online or in certain health food stores, and ground them up in a coffee grinder or food processor. They are very grounding and helpful. When I was transitioning, black sesame seed butter was like my meat. Nowadays, I still eat it, but in very small amounts, and not every day. Sea salt (or himalayan salt) is also grounding and balancing, as is coconut oil (or coconut meat/flakes), pumkin seeds, brazil nuts, walnuts, almonds and avocado.
If you feel you need more fat, it's probably better to have vegan fat if you can, as it is less clogging to the physical and energetic body - it keeps the prana flowing through the body better, whereas eggs slow down the flow of prana through the body. I realize that this comment is a bit metaphysical and perhaps unscientific, in the sense that science hasn't yet figured out precisely how to measure this, but yogis and spiritual people have recognized this for thousands of years, which is why in many religions, refraining from eating animal-based food (or fasting entirely) from time to time is a regular practice or a part of certain holidays.
In the long run, you will feel happier and more in-tune with the universe if you can evolve your diet and lifestyle to the point where you avoid eating animal products. Indeed, if you can manage this transition successfully, however long it takes, the rewards are great. Many of us on this website feel phenomenal and are very happy, in a manner that goes beyond just the ordinary feeling of health that people can achieve just through the combination of an ordinary "healthy diet" and exercise. That's why this site exists in the first place and that's why people come to it.

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by neuron on April 24, 2012 at 1:22am

Thank you so much for your post. I was following the other discussion but it was abruptly closed. It is important to get information on the different reasons and extremely important to not be closed minded specially when no one was offensive or even promoted animal cruelty. You make good points, thanks :)

Permalink Reply by Martin T on April 24, 2012 at 3:36am

No problem SlimGinn, but in fairness to the managers of the site, there is a actually certain logic to their rules also, in the sense that this site is really meant to serve and promote a very specific diet and lifestyle that the founders of the site, and the practitioners of this diet and lifestyle, have found to lead to extraordinary health and vitality.

To experience this, people have to be willing to give up their pre-conceived notions and attachments to other types of food; at the end of the day, people have to be willing to dive in and give this a try, and potentially suffer through certain transition difficulties in order to achieve the end result.

I think that's why the founders don't encourage a lot of debate about foods that are not a part of this diet. Basically, the debate can be viewed as a distraction, an excuse to continue holding on to hold patterns. We can debate back and forth all day long about the merits of different foods, and that might be helpful for people who are just trying to make marginal changes to their health, but to experience the magic of the LFRV diet, at some point you have to just do it. There are lots of ways to be "healthy" in a conventional sense with all sorts of diets (such as a macrobiotic diet, for example), but our goal here is really to go beyond conventional health, experience extraordinary health, and ultimately stop thinking about (and stop debating) foods that don't really fit into that approach. And we have that opportunity - which prior generations of humans, and even many humans nowadays, don't really have - because we live in a modern society in which we actually have access, all year around, to a sufficient abundance and variety of fresh fruits to form the core of our diet, as well as a sufficient amount of leafy greens and other foods that we need in much smaller amounts (or trace amounts), such as nuts and seeds, so that we can get all of the macro-nutrients and micro-nutrients (such as trace minerals and essential fats) that we need....so we might as well just go out and take advantage of that good fortune, rather than sitting around debating foods that we really don't need....

Permalink Reply by Casey on April 24, 2012 at 6:20am

Seriously, if you were out in the wild, all conditioning aside, without tools or even clothing, and there were fruit trees and ground plants, wild animals, and various birds lying eggs around you, what would you be inclined to do when you got hungry? I believe this sort of simple instinctual question will provide the answer to any dietary question authoritatively, and you don't need any of the science behind it. The science has been used for a long time to convince people that they need to eat against their instincts, act in strange ways, and believe in artificial concepts. So all well and good to have fodder for intellectual debate if that's your thing, but if people simply followed their own natural instincts, the world would be in a much better, balanced state.

Permalink Reply by Rawbert on April 24, 2012 at 6:45am

Sorry Martin, but the second part of the post had to be removed.

You guys can talk about why eggs are bad all day long here, but you're going to have to take your pro egg comments somewhere else.

Thank you for the understanding and playing by the rules.

Permalink Reply by Jon Fergus on April 24, 2012 at 8:11am

Hi everyone. I want to address a misconception embodied in this statement from the OP:

It is important for people to know the arguments both ways; if we do not allow open discussion of these types of questions, then we will lose people and we will not be able to properly educate people about the advantages of the LFRV diet and lifestyle.

While I agree that it is important for people to do their homework, 30BaD isn't here as a forum in which to make these arguments. 30BaD is for those who have already passed through this stage of investigation, have already decided that consuming animal products is unhealthy/immoral/destructive and are seeking advice on how to live an HCRV lifestyle. There are many places online where people can go to find information on animal products, and to engage in discussions about them and the supposed pros and cons, in order to make up their mind about the practice (and many 30BaD members participate in those sites as well). So then, if a person makes up their mind that animal products have no part to play in a healthy, moral humanity, then they're ready to learn how to live the vegan lifestyle, and that's where and when 30BaD comes in.

So, you see, we're not here to present both sides of the argument (enough websites do that already), nor to discuss the pros and cons of them. We're here to learn how to live HCRV and to mutually support each other in that endeavor. This is the true reason for 30BaD's existence.

It's a little like university, in a sense. One must pass through first year, in which numerous subjects are discussed/debated and a foundation is laid. Then, one passes into second year, in which those subjects are left behind. One does not continue discussing first year problems in second year. Similarly, on 30BaD, we have left the debates on animal products in the past and are on to second year problems (like how to be successful and healthy as a vegan, how to engage in animal rights activities, etc.). No reason to continue hashing out the old first year issues. ;)

When someone asks if an animal product is healthy/good the answer is an emphatic no! on all counts. There is absolutely no need for them as a human being, and such is the stance of 30BaD, as a community. Additionally, 30BaD doesn't promote transitioning to HCRV even for a cooked vegan, and certainly does not promote any continued use of animal products through a so-called transition period.

Hope this helps clear things up. :)

Permalink Reply by Casey on April 24, 2012 at 8:37am

+1 As Durianrider has said, anybody can join giveittomeraw.com. That's not what 30bananasaday is.

Permalink Reply by Casey on April 24, 2012 at 8:18am

Also see the case against Transitioning here:

http://www.30bananasaday.com/profiles/blogs/30bad-banana-wagon-tour

I really don't believe it is possible to work towards an 811rv goal while continuing to ingest toxic materials. It's not as simple as "your body takes what it needs and discards the rest" or no diet would have harmful effects other than deficiencies. Acid-forming foods will counter whatever supposed benefits. Lots of fruit in conjunction with acid-forming foods can be more harmful than very-little fruit. It's like mopping the floor to try to get it clean, but since you are used to stomping around in dirty boots, you refuse to take them off while mopping. Not only will in not help, but the floor may well look worse when you're finished.

From what I've seen in myself and others, if we are not 100% committed, then it is a slippery slope and very difficult to get to the top and stay there. The more we're trying to justify what benefits might possibly be derived from something off-target, the farther and farther away that target gets. New to the lifestyle and tempted by eggs? Go fruit yourself!!

Permalink Reply by Jon Fergus on April 24, 2012 at 8:22am

Very well said Casey! I particularly like this statement:

The more we're trying to justify what benefits might possibly be derived from something off-target, the farther and farther away that target gets.

True in any endeavor! :)

Permalink Reply by rick on April 24, 2012 at 8:46am

nicely put.

Permalink Reply by Vincent on April 24, 2012 at 11:15pm

I would like to thank each of you for your diverse comments. They always help me.

I realize now that a short background concerning my query would have been helpful:

I am fully on a raw 80/10/10 fruits/vegetable diet and hold the intuition that this way of eating fits me/my activities well.
Yesterday, my aunt came back from the family coconut farm and happily offered me 4 eggs. These were from the 2-3 chicken that freely roam all-day long there. Seems they are just there for no real purpose besides just having a few animals around – it is a pleasant sight to watch them. I presume my aunt kindly offered me these eggs because I mentioned a few weeks ago that I would be curious to try some, only when coming from such “happy” animals.
After eating 2 of these eggs raw, filling neutral about it and noticing that they might help me fine-tune my “cronometer profile” – I am relax about it :) – I thought some persons in 30BAD might have useful insights about the experience of eating “happy chicken eggs”.

I will integrate your insight Martin, that I appreciate and value very much. I am particularly curious about the diet factors affecting the flow of and consciousness about “Prana”, the contexts in which these factors are amplified, weakened, etc.

No need for me to collect more experiences and insight about eggs. I continue appreciating the existence of this community: I have been touched by the kind support provided to many transitioners and continue to find for myself some very precious comments and challenges for which I am deeply grateful.

Permalink Reply by Jon Fergus on April 29, 2012 at 10:30am

After eating 2 of these eggs raw, filling neutral about it and noticing that they might help me fine-tune my “cronometer profile” – I am relax about it :) – I thought some persons in 30BAD might have useful insights about the experience of eating “happy chicken eggs”.

Hi again Vincent. This is where the problem arises. 30BaD just isn't really the place for this. "Happy" or not (a purely human, subjective projection), the consumption of any animal products just isn't part of how we do things here. Perhaps you'll like to check out some other forums for these types of questions. Your HCRV related questions are, of course, welcome here!

It would also be helpful to take just a couple of minutes to review our guidelines again, which explain our policy in regards to animal products.

http://www.30bananasaday.com/forum/topics/please-read-our-forum

Here you'll find the following very telling sentence: