The egg and I and you
YOUR HEALTH
DR. DONOHUE

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: My wife and I eat two or three eggs a week. We have heard that eggs are not good for your cholesterol. What do you say? We love eggs. I boil mine, and she scrambles hers. Which is better? -- Anon.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: Is a diet of eggs every morning for a 13-year-old boy detrimental to his health? -- L.T.

ANSWER: When the medical world woke up to the potential hazards of cholesterol, it waged an all-out war on it. That started many years ago, when cholesterol information was not great. At that time, the medical community set a low daily limit on cholesterol to protect people from artery hardening, heart attacks and strokes. Since those early days, information has been obtained that clears much of cholesterol foods (not blood cholesterol) from the accusations made against them. Cholesterol foods don't raise blood cholesterol all that much; saturated fats do.

A large study of 120,000 men and women who ate an egg every day found no association between such egg eating and heart disease. Another study in 2007, made by the New Jersey School of Medicine and Dentistry, failed to discover any link between the frequency of egg eating and heart disease. Canada and the United Kingdom put no upper limit on the safe amount of daily cholesterol.

The egg is a nutritional bonanza and, even at today's prices, a true bargain. It supplies protein; vitamins A, D and E; some B vitamins; iron; zinc; lutein; and zeaxanthin. The latter two promote eye health. The number of calories in one egg is only 75.

You can't fry eggs in a pool of butter without raising the calorie count and fat consumption. Scrambling and boiling are both good preparation methods. Frying is OK if you don't use tons of butter or other fat.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: Is dementia the beginning of Alzheimer's disease? I have always thought that dementia affects only the mind, and Alzheimer's the mind and body. -- M.B.

ANSWER: "Dementia" is an all-encompassing word that indicates a decline in mental functions -- memory, reasoning, comprehension, alertness and learning. Alzheimer's accounts for the greatest number of dementia cases, but there are many other dementing illnesses: multiple small strokes, Lewy body disease, Binswanger's disease, boxer's brain, Pick's disease, Huntington's disease and others.

Formerly, dementia was called senility.

The booklet on Alzheimer's disease presents this heartbreaking illness in greater depth. Readers can order a copy by writing: Dr. Donohue -- No 903, Box 536475, Orlando, FL32853-6475. Enclose a check or money order for $4.75 U.S./$6 Can. with the recipient's printed name and address. Please allow four weeks for delivery.

Dr. Donohue regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but he will incorporate them in his column whenever possible. Readers may write him or request an order form of available health newsletters at P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL32853-6475. Readers may also order health newsletters from www.rbmamall. com. 2006 North America Syndicate Inc. All Rights Reserved