Eggs have been embroiled in numerous controversies for a long time, leaving us confused about whether or not they should be a part of our daily diet. A recent study has once again vilified eggs, which I will throw light on next Wednesday in the context of what I will say now. Let’s begin by examining the nutritive profile of eggs.
Eggs are an excellent source of protein, and one large egg gives you 6-7 grams of it. They are also good sources of A, D and many of the B vitamins and minerals such as potassium and phosphorus. Eggs are loaded with protective nutrients-lutein and zeaxanthin, which prevent age-related degeneration of the macula and preserve your visual field. Choline, another important nutrient that keeps your nervous system healthy, is concentrated in the egg yolk.
One egg contains only 72 calories (without any added oil for frying), 5g of fat, which is mostly unsaturated (the good kind), very little carbohydrates, and low amounts of sodium (71 mg). This is the profile of a food conducive for good health. What becomes important now is how we prepare the eggs. Dunking the egg in oil or butter as commonly done is not a wise thing to do when we have such a healthy food to begin with.
When trying to plan what to eat, it’s important to look at your overall diet rather than judging the intake of eggs in isolation. A single egg does contain 200mg of cholesterol, but very little saturated fat (the one we need to keep within limits). Keep in mind, cholesterol is essential for our bodies and a very low cholesterol diet has its drawbacks. Moreover, it is important to understand that everyone does not respond to food and nutrients in the same way.
Take the instance of a person who does not eat much yet puts on weight, and of someone who eats a lot yet stays skinny effortlessly. Personalised nutrition and medicine has therefore become an important area of study. Speaking of cholesterol, it is crucial to assess how your body handles it. If you are a hyper-responder to cholesterol (as opposed to being a hypo-responder), then you surely need to be watchful. Assessing your response to cholesterol can be done by simply getting a blood check before and after eating eggs for a reasonable period of time (four weeks).
A comprehensive review of research done in 2017 shows that eating two eggs per day for 12 weeks did not increase any of the cardiovascular risk factors; in fact, it lowered one of them, which is triglycerides. So, don’t junk the yolk and quit eating eggs before understanding how your body responds to it. Eggs are a very easy-to-digest, good-quality protein, and yet so affordable. It is difficult to find another food to match its worth!