Who remembers the slogan from the 70's, "The incredible edible egg"? And the commercial where the Batman character Egghead, played by Vincent Price, pitched the nutritional value of eggs?
Here's the thing, I cut eggs from my diet for about a week and I felt great. I had lots of energy, I got my housework done, cranked out a bunch of mini-literacy centers, wrote a really long and involved emergency lesson plan, slept well and got stuff done. Now, up until that point, everyday felt like a struggle. All I really wanted to do was to go home and vegetate.
So, I'm felling great, I come home from work and I decided to make millet pancakes with eggs. Big mistake. I made the pancakes and then decided to make some banana bread with eggs for a few of my colleagues and ate a slice. "Boom!" It hit me, that familiar sinking feeling. I could feel myself sliding into a pit of emotional quagmire. Since it occurred immediately after eating the egg laden fair, I put two and two together and did a mental inventory. There was no discernible reason to feel that way, sure there was some drama going on in my life, but it was predictable, dysfunctional family drama that was occurring on the other sided of the world. Nothing to get freaked out about.
Since I've struggled with low grade depression on and off over the years. I always tied it to my circumstances - lack of funds, not being where I had hoped I would be at this stage in my life, and the list goes on and on.
I had one of those light bulb moments.
I remembered all those times it felt like I had food poisoning and I just chalked it up to eating a bad egg. Whew, what a relief! I mentioned it to a close friend of mine and she was amazed that I was so in touch with my body. She made a comment along the lines of, "If you were back home and this happened to you, they would have put you on medication." It made me think. I wonder how may people are on medication for depression that in reality, are only allergic to something in their diet, such as eggs?
While I'm not doctor, it's plain to see that people with allergies often suffer due to lack of information. And, after doing a preliminary search, it's clear to see that the most common side effects for egg allergies include, diarrhea, vomiting and other gastrointestinal issues. I couldn't find anything linking egg allergies to low grade depression, so there you have it. One woman's antidotal experience. If you suspect that eggs may be an issue for you, then by all means do what you have to do in order to find out for yourself.
Here's my top picks for websites that provide multiple options for egg substitutions.
- Love to Know - vegan egg replacements
- The Vegan's Society's suggestions for egg free dining
- PETA's egg replacement tips
- Vegan nutritionista's top choices
- Bryanna Clark Grogan's advice
- Chef in You recommendations - I have this page bookmarked for easy reference.
You may notice that there are all kinds of options for egg replacements, so I suggest you do a little bit of experimenting and see what works best for you.
Personally, I've been using flax seed in my baking endeavors a lot lately. It doesn't get the same rise or consistancy as eggs do, but it's a compromise I can live with.
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