Nutrition Value of Eggs
When thinking about healthy eating habits, it’s hard to imagine a meal that doesn’t involve eggs. There are so many ways to prepare eggs that it's hard not to love them. Plus, eggs are nutrient-dense, which means that they provide a high level of vitamins and minerals relative to the calories they contain. Eggs are also an excellent source of protein and choline, and they contain several B vitamins, along with vitamins A and D. Whether you boil, scramble, fry, or bake your eggs, they are handy and healthful and won't raise your blood cholesterol levels, as was once feared. However, how healthy eggs are, in the end, depends on how much you are eating. The best amount may be closer to one each day, according to the latest data review from Harvard University's School of Public Health, which analysed data from 215,000 men and women over a 34-year period. A vast majority of those people didn't influence their risk for stroke or cardiovascular disease in general unless they had a previously existing condition, like type 2 diabetes. If you’d like to learn more about the nutrition value of eggs, check all the important information below.
Nutrition Value of Eggs: What do They Contain?
A large egg contains the following:
Calories: 72
Carbohydrates: 0g
Protein: 6g
Total Fat: 5g
Saturated Fat: 1.5g (8% DV)
Fibre: 0g
Sugar: 0g
Potassium: 69mg (1% DV)
Magnesium: 6mg (1% DV)
Calcium: 28mg
Iron: 0.8mg (3% DV)
Phosphorus: 99mg
Vitamin B6: 0.08mg (5% DV)
Vitamin B12: 0.46 mcg (10% DV)
Vitamin A: 270 IU
Vitamin D: 41 IU (11% DV)
Nutrition Value of Eggs: Carbs
Eggs are a low-carb food, providing less than 1 gram of carbohydrates in one large egg. They have a tiny amount of sugar and no fibre. This means, in order to meet your daily value of both carbs and fibre, you should add other ingredients to your meal.
Nutrition Value of Eggs: Fat
There are 5 grams of fat per large egg. About 1.6 grams is saturated fat, and the rest is unsaturated fat, making eggs a healthy option to add to your meal.
Nutrition Value of Eggs: Protein
Eggs are a good source of high-quality, complete protein, containing all 9 essential amino acids necessary to rebuild muscles and tissues in our bodies. And most of it is found in the egg white. In the egg white, there are 4 to 5 grams of protein, 17 calories, and virtually no fat in a single large egg white. Egg whites are also a good source of leucine, an amino acid that may help with weight loss.
Nutrition Value of Eggs: Vitamins and Minerals
Eggs provide important vitamins and minerals. They contain vitamin D, important for the absorption of calcium, phosphorus, vitamin A, for healthy vision, skin, and cell growth, and two B-complex vitamins that your body needs to convert food into energy. Eggs are also a very good source of riboflavin, selenium, and choline, an essential nutrient crucial for healthy memory, mood, and muscle control.
Nutrition Value of Eggs: Health Benefits
Helps Maintain Muscle Mass
Eggs are a good source of protein. Eating foods with protein can help you to build and maintain strong muscles, which can become more difficult as we age. Plus, eggs are one of the few natural sources of vitamin D, which helps with absorbing calcium, maintaining healthy bones, promoting neuromuscular function, and reducing inflammation.
Provides Healthy Fat
While eggs do contain saturated fat, they also provide both polyunsaturated fat and monounsaturated fat, which are considered "good" fats because they have been shown to be helpful in lowering your LDL or "bad" cholesterol and boosting heart health. The American Heart Association recommends limiting saturated fats to about 13 grams per day if you typically consume about 2,000 calories daily.
Promotes Eye Health
Eggs are also high in the carotenoids, lutein and zeaxanthin, which help protect our eyes from macular degeneration, which is age-related loss of vision. Carotenoids are the chemical compounds that produce the yellow, orange, and red colors in fruits and vegetables.
Supports Brain Health and Development
Choline, of which eggs are an excellent source, helps boost cognitive development in utero and may also protect us from age-related memory loss and other cognitive impairment.
Help Manage Weight Loss Overtime
Research has linked meals higher in protein to keep you fuller, longer. Published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, a 2004 review suggests that protein-rich foods, eggs included, is the most filling option available at mealtime, even with smaller portions compared to other nutrients. Plus, lean protein like eggs is lower in calories than higher-fat cuts of meat and poultry.
Nutrition Value of Eggs: Adverse Effects
Some people have concerns about the cholesterol in eggs, but dietary cholesterol and blood cholesterol, which is tested to determine your risk for heart disease, are different. Current medical evidence suggests that eating foods that are high in dietary cholesterol will not significantly impact your risk for heart disease. Instead, reduce your saturated and trans-fat intake to keep blood cholesterol levels at a healthy level.
Nutrition Value of Eggs: Varieties
There is no difference in nutritional quality between brown and white eggs, or any other color shell. There are, however, some eggs that may provide more nutritional value. For example, you'll see "Omega-3 eggs" in some stores. These eggs come from hens that have been fed flax seeds to raise the level of healthy omega-3 fat in their eggs. Additionally, hens that have been allowed to feed on greens, grubs, and other natural foods naturally produce eggs with more omega-3 fat.
Most often, Americans purchase hen eggs. But other poultry eggs are sometimes available, and these have slightly different nutritional profiles. Per 50g (the serving size of one large chicken egg):
Goose egg: 105 calories, 7.8g protein, 7.5g fat (2g saturated), 119mg choline, 481mg cholesterol8.
Duck egg: 105 calories, 7.2g protein, 7.8g fat (2.1g saturated), 119mg choline, 499mg cholesterol.
Quail egg: 79 calories, 6.5g protein, 5.5g fat (1.8g saturated), 132mg choline, 422mg cholesterol.
