Assalamu alaikum, ya nesan!

The humble egg is a food that we cannot afford to ignore. It is packed with many different Vitamins and other nutrients that we need to maintain our health. Its cost-effective, convenient and easily available, and therefore should be a part of our regular diet. Hard boiled or soft-boiled eggs are preferred, as these methods make the nutrients within the egg easier to absorb in the body, in other words the nutrients become more bio-available.

Eggs fell out of favor in the 1960’s when a researcher named Ancel Keys, a physiologist at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, made the revelation that eggs contain a high level of cholesterol, and that it should be avoided to prevent heart attacks and strokes. He was faithful in admitting that his research was non conclusive, but at the time, heart disease and strokes were on the rise, and people were quick to misinterpret his work. Cholesterol in eggs are not bio-available as much as other types of fat, and therefore consuming eggs does not really increase blood cholesterol, and thereby cause heart disease as much as people believed. However, this misunderstanding brought a sharp decline in egg consumption, and that gave rise to other ailments.

Eggs fell out of favor in the 1960’s when a researcher named Ancel Keys, a physiologist at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, made the revelation that eggs contain a high level of cholesterol

Eggs are important for eye health, and reduced consumption for fear of heart attacks contributed to weakening eyesight. They are one of the few common foods that provide us with Choline, a nutrient essential in preventing the degeneration of the eye muscles, that help our eye lenses focus on objects we see. The sudden decline in egg consumption caused by the “cholesterol scare”, coincided with the sharp increase in poor eye sight amongst the population. People began developing vision problems at younger ages than ever before, because not only were the population not nourishing their eyes, they were also straining them more and more, with reading, computers, smartphones and video games. The result of this is that spectacles are now quite common among young adults and even children than they have ever been before.

Eggs are one of the few common foods that provide us with Choline, a nutrient essential in preventing the degeneration of the eye muscles ...

Another reason people avoided eggs, was the excessive use of hormones in poultry farming throughout the 1990’s. Hormones that were injected into chickens, to make them fatter, and prevent disease in the farms, were finding its way into the eggs they lay in alarming concentrations. This revelation contributed significantly to the egg’s already tarnished reputation, and triggered a further decline in its consumption.

However, today the egg is very different. Medical research has cleared its reputation as a source of “bad cholesterol”, and urge the public to include it in their diet more frequently. Poultry farming techniques have improved as well, and many farms certify their eggs as “hormone and antibiotic free”. Eggs are a good source of Vitamins A, B2, B5, B12, Phosphorous, and Selenium, all very important nutrients. In addition, it has decent amounts of Vitamin D, E, K and B6 as well as Calcium and Zinc. And more importantly, it is still a good source of Choline, that is essential in protecting our eye muscles from the constant abuse from modern technology. Therefore, Ibn Serendib urges the Saracen to include hard-boiled or soft-boiled eggs in their diets, and that of their children, so we can arrest and even reverse the “spectacle epidemic” plaguing our society.

Ibn Serendib urges the Saracen to include hard-boiled or soft-boiled eggs in their diets, and that of their children, so we can arrest and even reverse the “spectacle epidemic” plaguing our society.

May Allah save our eyes so we can see his might!