Egg is bad for health?Much has been said about the benefits of consuming eggs; I’d like to shed some light on its contraindications/ cases when and why human beings shouldn’t eat eggs.
- Poor digestion affects growth: Because of incomplete digestion system, babies often time cannot digest properly. The chance of indigestion, manifested as diarrhea and vomiting, is high when eggs are in their diet. A type of protein, avidin, in the egg, blends with biotin in intestines, causing blockage of nutrients absorption. It results in poorer absorption of vitamins, affecting baby growth. From the point of view of Chinese medicine, eggs are unkind to digestion, leaving behind plenty of phlegm in the stomach/spleen systems which will further jeopardize digestion.
- Allergic reactions: Baby’s digestive tracts are premature.The membrane of the intestines allows more permeability. The ovalbumin in the egg, with smaller molecular sizes, can penetrate the membrane and sips into the baby’s blood. Reaction of baby’s immune system is to generate some antibodies that cause the release of certain chemicals which in turn cause allergic reaction such as wheezing, diarrhea, nausea, headache, stomachache, eczema and itchy hives and so on.
This happens not only to babies; some grown-ups are also affected because of different and weaker body types. For example, chronic dry and itchy skin of elderly shares similar pathology, triggered by sea food, shrimps, eggs and so on. Ever wonder why more and more babies have symptoms mentioned above, that just wouldn’t go away? One of the causes is the egg intake.
- Heat/Feverish concern: From the point of view of traditional Chinese medicine, eggs can produce plenty of warming energy (Conventional interpretation is that its protein produces calories), causing the build-up of internal heat, which is a must-not during feverish cold and cough of the syndromes of wind-heat, phlegm-heat types. Furthermore, feverish patients secrete less digestive enzymes and their activities are low. Taking eggs will cause indigestion that leads to bloatedness, diarrhea and so on. What happens then? The fever and cough linger on with more new problems in stomach wind and diarrhea.
- Consistent cough/asthma: Because of the body’s reaction to the proteins either in the white or yolk, one of the effects is sneezing. This sneezing is a triggering factor of asthma with coughing and wheezing. This is also one of the reasons why some cough/asthma can be so persistent, lasting for a long period of time. It’s simply because of the wrong diet. One of the prohibiting foods for asthmatic babies and children is eggs.
- Lower kidney function: People with chronic kidney function, as in the case of nephritis, coupled with low urination, may have trouble getting rid of metabolite waste of the body. With the intake of eggs, the egg protein causes more urea production, making the kidney system suffer more. If the situation deteriorates, it may lead to renal failure. For cases of babies and young children, their internal organs are premature and therefore have difficult time coping with protein intake of eggs.- Liver burden: The cholesterol and fat in egg yolk are metabolized at liver, posing additional burden to liver and gallbladder systems. Those patients who have liver and gallbladder related diseases should be watchful of eggs.
