Eggs have been a popular food for most healthy diets for many years, although they occasionally have a bad connotation for their high cholesterol content. Those criticisms are a bit undeserved, however, as the cholesterol in eggs actually helps regulate the two different types of cholesterol in your body!
Eggs are a very good source of inexpensive, high quality protein. More than half the protein of an egg is found in the egg white along with vitamin B2 and lower amounts of fat and cholesterol than the yolk. The whites are rich sources of selenium, vitamin D, B6, B12 and minerals such as zinc, iron and copper. Egg yolks contain more calories and fat. They are the source of cholesterol, fat soluble vitamins A, D, E and K and lecithin - the compound that enables emulsification in recipes such as hollandaise or mayonnaise.
Some brands of egg now contain omega-3 fatty acids, depending on what the chickens have been fed (always check the box). Eggs are regarded a 'complete' source of protein as they contain all nine essential amino acids; the ones we cannot synthesise in our bodies and must obtain from our diet.
1. Boost your weight loss
Did you know that eating eggs can help you lose weight? This might come as a surprise to those who think of eggs as fattening or unhealthy, but a study carried out by the Rochester Center for Obesity Research found that eating eggs for breakfast helps limit your calorie intake all day, by more than 400 calories. That means you could lose three pounds or more per month.
This is probably because eggs keep you full for longer, meaning you’re less likely to succumb to a mid-morning snack or stuff yourself at lunchtime. And although eggs contain cholesterol, this is ‘dietary cholesterol” is different from the ‘blood cholesterol’ in your body. Despite the health recommendations of the past, there’s no evidence that eating eggs will increase your blood cholesterol levels.
2. Improve Eye Health
Carotenoids aren’t only beneficial for overall health and disease prevention. They also benefit your eye health. Two “oxygenated” carotenoids that are especially important for your eyes are lutein and zeaxanthin.
These two nutrients are found in various places in the body, but they’re the only two of 600 total carotenoids that exist in the eyes — and their concentration is higher there than anywhere else in the body. They function in maintaining eye health by filtering out dangerous high-energy blue spectrums of light and acting as both antioxidants and anti-inflammatories.
The silent blue light filtering that lutein and zeaxanthin perform in your eyes reduces the chances that you’ll develop many common eye diseases, like macular degeneration and glaucoma. (10) All you have to do is feed your body the foods that make it happen, like eggs.
3. Eggs can help to protect our bones
Eggs are one of the few natural food sources of vitamin D, our sunshine vitamin. Vitamin D is essential for calcium absorption and for maintaining optimum bone health. Eggs therefore play a supporting role in the prevention of osteoporosis together with dairy products, our main source of calcium.
4. Maintain Liver Function and Brain Health
Choline is a macronutrient that our bodies produce in very small amounts, but we mostly need to get it from our food. Eggs are a choline-rich food choice, which means they greatly assist in liver function and brain development, among other features.
The liver depends on choline to operate correctly, and one sign of a choline deficiency is poor liver function. Lower than needed choline levels are correlated with fatty liver disease, and there is research to indicate choline deficiency is also linked to some types of cancers.
In proper amounts, choline has also been found to treat some neurological issues, such as depression, and improve memory and cognitive function.
5. Eggs do not increase blood cholesterol
In the 1990s, eggs received a lot of bad publicity due to their cholesterol content of 210mg per egg yolk. Numerous studies have clearly demonstrated the lack of a relationship between egg intake and coronary heart disease.
To put things into perspective, it is important to realise that foods high in fat, especially saturated and trans fatty acids have a far greater impact on heart health than cholesterol in food. Eggs should be recognised as an inexpensive, versatile and easily digestible source of protein.
6. Take in essential minerals
Eggs are packed with iron, zinc and phosphorus, which minerals that are vital for your body. Women need plenty of iron due to menstruation, and not getting enough could leave you feeling tired, run down and grumpy. Zinc keeps your immune system in top form and helps your body turn food into energy. Phosphorus is important for healthy bones and teeth.
And, as a bonus, there are some trace elements (minerals you need in small amounts) in eggs: iodine, required to make thyroid hormones, and selenium, an antioxidant that can help cut your risk of cancer.
7. Eggs can help to iron out problems
Many people with mild iron deficiency experience vague symptoms of tiredness, headaches and irritability. Iron is the carrier of oxygen in the blood and plays an important role in immunity, energy metabolism and many other functions in the body. The iron in egg yolk is in the form of heme iron, the most readily absorbable and usable form of iron in food and more absorbable than the form of iron in most supplements.
8. Get your vitamins
One little egg is packed with several vitamins essential to your health:
- Vitamin B2 (riboflavin), which helps your body to break down food into energy
- Vitamin B12 (cobalamin), vital for producing red blood cells
- Vitamin A (retinol), which is great for your eyesight
- Vitamin E (tocopherol), which fights off the free radicals that can cause tissue and cellular damage, which may lead to cancer
- Vitamins A and B2 are also important for growth, so make sure your kids are eating eggs regularly, too.
Like and share. Don't forget to like our page for latest health tips and knowledge.
Comments
Post a Comment