Eggs

Eggs make a valuable contribution to a healthy, balanced diet. They are nutritious, tasty, versatile and convenient. Eggs are an excellent source of high-quality protein and are far less expensive than most other animal-protein foods. Eggs also provide significant amounts of several vitamins and minerals. Although eggs contain a significant amount of cholesterol, they need not be excluded from the diet. Most people need not be concerned about eating eggs in moderation.  However, all eggs contain Lecithin which emulsifies cholesterol to a large extent so really there is nothing to worry about. A person without  a blood cholesterol problem can safely eat 1-2 eggs per day without problems. It is best to buy Free Range eggs or Organic Eggs. These eggs don’t have hormones added and the chickens are treated with respect and allowed to walk around. They are not kept in tiny cages.

Good Nutrition, Affordable Price.

With all the media attention on cholesterol, consumers often lose sight of the fact that eggs are a nutrient rich, affordable contributor to a healthy diet. Not only do eggs contain the highest quality source of protein available but they also contain almost every essential vitamin and mineral needed by humans [Sorry, no vitamin C in eggs. Chickens, unlike humans, can produce their own vitamin C and don't need to get it from the diet.]. In fact, egg protein is of such high quality that it is used as the standard by which other proteins are compared. Eggs have a biological value (efficacy with which protein is used for growth) of 93.7%. Comparable values are 84.5% for milk, 76% for fish, and 74.3% for beef. Eggs really are the best protein money can buy, and it has all those other valuable vitamins and minerals too.

Nutrient Content of a Large Egg

Nutrient (unit)Whole Egg, Egg  White Egg Yolk

Calories (kcal)75.175

Protein (g)6.253

Total lipid (g)5.01

Total carbohydrate (g)0.60

Fatty acids (g)4.33

Saturated fat (g)1.55

Monounsaturated fat (g)1.91

Polyunsaturated fat (g)0.68

Cholesterol (mg)21.3

Thiamin (mg)0.0310

Riboflavin (mg)0.2540

Niacin (mg)0.0360

Vitamin B6 (mg)0.0700

Folate (mcg)23.51

Vitamin B12 (mcg)0.500

Vitamin A (IU)317.50

Vitamin E (mg)0.7000

Vitamin D (IU)24.50

Choline (mg)215.10

Biotin (mcg)9.982

Calcium, Ca (mg)252.23

Iron, Fe (mg)0.720

Magnesium, Mg (mg)541

Copper, Cu (mg)0.0070

Iodine, I (mg)0.0240

Zinc, Zn (mg)0.5500

Sodium, Na (mg)635.57

Manganese, Mn (mg)0.0120

Do you include eggs in your diet?

Recipe for Simple Stove Top Scrambled Eggs:

1 serving

		eggs	2
		milk	30 mL
		Salt and pepper, to taste
		Cooking spray