a wae Le TV Moms Help Spread The News: Eggs Are Good For You (NAPSA)—There’s a lot of good news about eggs—and a half dozen of America’s favorite televi- sion momsare helping to spread the news. Barbara Billingsley (Leave It To Beaver), Betty Buckley (Hight is Enough), Beverly Garland (My Three Sons), Shirley Jones (Par- tridge Family), June Lockhart (Lassie/Lost in Space) and Marion Ross (Happy Days) are joining forces to promote one of America’s favorite foods, the egg. Egg consumption is up a healthy 11 percent, a wealth of new research and scientific studies have prompted changesin the American Heart Association’s (AHA) 30-year stance on eggs, and new research points to nutrients contained in eggs that have important health benefits. The AHA now says it’s okay for healthy Americansto eat an egg a day. “Maybe mom really did know best when she told her TV families, ‘eat your eggs, theyre good for you,” quipped Shirley Jones. “Eggs are back, and, like us, they're better than ever.” This year, egg consumption in America will be an estimated 259.4 eggs per person, an 11 percent increase since a low of 233.5 in 1991. The high point of per capita consumption was in 1945 with 402 eggs. In 1972, when the AHA guidelines restricting eggs in the diet werefirst issued, per capita egg consumption was 304. “Americans have never really abandonedtheir love affair with the ege—whetherit’s scrambled, fried or sunny side up,” said Dolph Baker, chairman of the American Egg An abundance of research now vindicates eggs’ role in a healthy diet. Board. “Eggs taste good, they’re affordable, easy to digest and easy to prepare. Now the latest research not only vindicates eggs but shows they may even have more health benefits than previously thought.” “Rather than avoiding eggs, consumers can now include more eggs in their diet if they limit the amount of other foods containing dietary cholesterol,” says Rebecca Mullis, Ph.D., R.D., chair, Food and Nutrition Department, University of Georgia, and a memberof the AHA nutrition committee. “With high-quality protein, 13 essential vitamins and minerals, significant amountsof vitamin B-12, vitamin D and folate, eggs makea nutri- tious and valuable contribution to the American diet. New research showsthat eggs contain compounds that may help reduce age-related macular degeneration and improve long-term memory function. A com- pound found in eggs may even con- tribute to reducing the risk for heart disease.” For more information about eggs, visit the American Egg Board at www.aeb.org.
