The Truth About Eggs – Happy Easter!

Once shunned as bombs of cholesterol, nutrition experts now see that eggs should be a part of a healthful, balanced diet. Although there really is no such thing as a “perfect food”; eggs come pretty close. An inexpensive source of high-quality protein, eggs are nutritious and versatile. 

For only 70 calories each, eggs are very rich in nutrients. They contain almost every essential vitamin and mineral needed by us humans, among other valuable nutrition. In fact, egg protein is the standard by which other protein sources are measured, and a large egg contains over six grams of pure protein. Each egg has 4.5 grams of fat, which is only 7% of the daily value. Only one-third of this (1.5 grams) is saturated, and 2 grams are mono-unsaturated fat.

Even the American Heart Association has now amended its guidelines on eggs, and there is “no longer a specific recommendation on the number of egg yolks a person may consume in a week.”

Here are some benefits one may experience when eating eggs:

Helps you Concentrate

Starting the day with a healthy breakfast that includes eggs gives you and your family a nutritious start to the day. This is because nearly all the essential nutrients your body needs can be found in an egg. Eggs are packed with 14 essential nutrients that you and your family need to stay healthy and active.

Furthermore, good nutrition also affects a child’s ability to learn. Research has shown that eating a well-balanced breakfast can improve a child’s concentration level and attention span, math and reading skills, behaviour, attendance, as well as test scores.

Tastes Yummy
Eggs are freakin’ delicious! They can be prepared in many different ways, so there is sure to be a way to prep an egg to fit everyone’s taste: boiled, fried, poached, scrambled, or even raw in some cases.

Helps Your Weight
The protein in eggs can help you lose weight. A recent study compared an egg-based breakfast to a bagel-based breakfast, each containing the same number of calories. Those who ate eggs for breakfast consumed 163 fewer calories at lunch, felt less hungry and ate 418 less calories over a 24-hour period. Pretty amazing, huh?

When trying to reduce your weight or simply manage it,, it makes the most sense to choose foods that give you the maximum amount of nutrition for the least amount of calories. Eggs are great nutritional value for those trying to lose or maintain weight, as the calorie count per egg is very low. Plus, eggs are naturally portion-packed, making it easier to manage serving size.

Develops your Brain
Eggs have a wonderful skill; they give us brainpower! Choline, which is found in egg yolks, stimulates both brain development and function.

Choline has been recognized as an essential nutrient by many national health organisations  Since choline is necessary for good health, but is not naturally produced by our body in the needed amounts, a new supply must be provided by our diet. Two eggs provide the needed daily intake of choline.

Protects your Eyesight
Eggs can even help to keep your eyes healthy. The antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin are found in egg yolks and have been seen helping protect eyes against damage from ultraviolet radiation from the sun. Research has also shown that these antioxidants may be very important in reducing the risk of age-related macular degeneration, which is the leading cause of blindness in people over age 65, as well as the risk of cataracts. According to this study, a daily consumption of eggs were less likely to develop cataracts than those who consumed eggs less often.

Gives you Lasting Energy
Including food full of protein, such as – coincidentally – eggs in your meals and snacks does help you keep energy levels more even, keeps you full for longer, gives you less cravings and therefore makes unhealthy snacking unnecessary. Out of the macronutrients we have, protein is the most filling. It also helps control the rate at which energy from food is absorbed by your body.

An egg contains 6 grams of the highest quality protein found in any food. Protein is found in both the egg white and the yolk; just over half is in the white and the rest is in the yolk. Eat the whole egg to benefit from the full energy boost!

Eggs are one of the few foods considered to be a complete protein, meaning that it contains the nine essential amino acids your body is unable to produce naturally. Regarded as the “building blocks” of the body, amino acids are used to build hormones, enzymes, muscles, cells, muscles, organs, skin and hair, antibodies, repairing tissue and keeping your body strong…Protein also helps in fighting infections, to keep body fluids in balance and aids your body maintain a healthy metabolism. It is completely vital to your health!

It’s a Multivitamin Tablet
With the risk of sounding repetitive, with only 70 calories and packed with 14 essential nutrients (which is absolutely necessary for your body), an egg is a highly nutrient-dense food. Nutritionally, eating an egg is like taking a multivitamin pill. The nutrients found in eggs brings along many health benefits:

Choline: Good for brain development, function and memory.
Folate: Aids in producing new cells, especially red blood cells. (To my pregnant readers – super important for you!)
Iron: Brings oxygen to the cells and keeps your blood healthy.
Lutein and Zeaxanthin: Helps keep your vision as awesome as it should be. It also protects your eyes from UV light.
Niacin: Keeps nerve function on par and manages the release of energy.
Omega 3 Fatty Acids: Lowers the harmful cholesterol values, whilst improving the good ones. Amongst other great things, it can also lower the risk of Alzheimer’s. So much can be said about O-3, but that will have to be a separate post!
Protein: Gives you a strong and well functioning body.
Riboflavin: Keeps them body tissues healthy.
Vitamin A: Gives you some cancer protection, and can even slow down the ageing process.
Vitamin B12: Amongst other things, it helps to protect you form heart disease.
Vitamin D: Although it has other properties as well, it keeps your bones healthy and strong. More on this in a later post!
Vitamin E: This is an antioxidant that slows the ageing process and can protect against some cancers.
Zinc: Helps your immune system!

Time to bash a myth: Eating eggs every day does not significantly raise LDL (“bad” cholesterol) levels or contribute to the risk of heart disease for healthy men and women. It is rather saturated and trans fats found in foods, not dietary cholesterol, that increase blood cholesterol and the risk of heart disease. Again, an egg contains only 1.5 grams saturated fat and zero trans fats.

Convenient & Easy
Eggs are a staple ingredient in most fridges, meaning that you can always make a fast, delicious and nutritious meal. Combine eggs with leftovers, and a pinch of creativity, and prepare delicious omelettes, frittatas, scrambled eggs, quiches, stratas and so much more! Also, as mentioned before, eggs are conveniently and naturally portion-packed, each one separately wrapped in its own shell. They need no measuring or weighing. What a convenience!

So Fresh and so Clean
This is an important factor when shopping for groceries. It typically takes 3 to 7 days for eggs to get ‘from farm to table’. The eggs are collected on the farm, washed, graded and packaged at the grading facility, then shipped to the grocery store.

Eggs are one of the few sources of protein that can be kept refrigerated for 4 to 5 weeks without spoiling. The “best before” date indicates how long an egg will stay fresh and maintain its Grade A quality, but can be used for longer. For keeping quality and freshness, you should store eggs in their carton in the refrigerator.

Cheap.
Considering how awesomely nutritious, delicious, convenient, versatile and quick to cook eggs are, you should almost pay more for them! The price of eggs makes them very affordable. Although higher priced specialty eggs and egg products are available, a carton of classic shell eggs is an inexpensive source of high-quality protein that can easily provide a meal for a family or numerous meals and snacks for just one or two.

Versatile
Eggs can be eaten as a snack or for any part of a meal. They can be eaten on the go or as part of a gourmet dinner. Whether cooked quickly or part of a more elaborate recipe, eggs add flavour and variety to many different dishes. There is definitely an egg recipe to suit everyone’s cooking preference or ability.

Quick to Make
It takes just minutes to fry, scramble or microwave an egg. Cooking an egg quickly doesn’t mean sacrificing flavour either. You can create delicious and nutritious meals in just minutes, leaving you more time to do whatever matters.  

So, now that you know the truth about my favorite go-to food, there is nothing else left for me to do, but to wish you all a:

Enjoy those eggs (real and a few chocolate ones, too)!

(Sources: http://www.getcracking.ca, http://www.livestrong.com, http://www.aeb.org)