Can Eggs Be Part of a Healthy Diet?

Question: Can Eggs Be Part of a Healthy Diet?

Are eggs a good source of protein? Can they be part of a healthy diet when they have so much cholesterol?

Patrick - About.com User

Answer: Eggs are nutrient dense (lots of vitamins, protein and fats), and they're energy dense, at about 80 calories per egg. That makes sense when you think about how a fertilized egg has to feed a baby chick until it hatches. The eggs you eat are not fertilized, but all of the nutrients are still present.

One egg contains over six grams of protein and several important nutrients. Unfortunately, one eggs also contains about 212 mg of cholesterol, which is quite a lot. Since the recommendation for cholesterol consumption is about 300 mg per day, the large amount of cholesterol in eggs may prevent many people from eating them.

The cholesterol in eggs really shouldn't scare you away from eggs completely. Most of the cholesterol in your body is made by your liver and the amount of cholesterol in your diet may not have as big an impact on your blood cholesterol as people once thought. You can eat one egg every day without harming your cholesterol and other blood-fats.

That's really good news for dieters because the combination of fats and protein means eggs are very satisfying. Eating one egg as part of a healthy breakfast may help you lose weight by keeping you from getting hungry later in the morning.

Egg Nutrition

Eggs contain several important nutrients:

• Choline is necessary for healthy cell membranes in all of your body, and will help your body keep homocysteine levels down. Choline is also good for your mental function and memory.
• Selenium is a mineral that your body needs for a strong immune system and it is a powerful antioxidant.
• B vitamins folate and riboflavin are necessary for your body to convert the foods you eat into energy. Folate also reduces homocysteine levels and is important for prevention of birth defects.
• Vitamin A is important for good night vision, general cell growth and for healthy skin.
• Vitamin E is an antioxidant that works well with vitamin C and selenium to prevent damage to your body from free radicals.
• Lutein and zeaxanthin are related to vitamin A and are found in the yellow pigment of the egg yolk. Lutein and zeaxanthin are concentrated in the retina of your eye and will help prevent macular degeneration.

Eggs and a Healthy Diet

As you can see, eggs contain a lot of good nutrition. One egg has about 80 calories with more than five grams of fat, so keep that in mind if you need to watch your fat and calorie intake. One egg each day is good, but eating three or four eggs every day may add too much fat.

You can reduce fat by using one whole egg and extra egg whites if one egg just isn't enough. You should also poach, hard boil or scramble your eggs, don't fry them in butter. If you want your eggs sunny side up or over-easy, use a non-stick skillet without the extra butter or oil.

Here are some delicious and healthy egg recipes:

• Reduced Fat Deviled Eggs
• Low Fat Eggs Florentine
• Scrambled Eggs and Salmon

Healthier Eggs - the Omega-3 Eggs

Chickens that are fed healthier feeds with seeds containing omega-3 fatty acids actually lay eggs with healthier fats in the yolks. In fact, eating these enriched eggs may improve your cholesterol and blood lipids.

_Sources:

_{Bourre JM, Galea F. "An important source of omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins D and E, carotenoids, iodine and selenium: a new natural multi-enriched egg." J Nutr Health Aging. 2006 Sep-Oct;10(5):371-6.}

_{Goodrow EF, Wilson TA, Houde SC, Vishwanathan R, Scollin PA, Handelman G, Nicolosi RJ. "Consumption of one egg per day increases serum lutein and zeaxanthin concentrations in older adults without altering serum lipid and lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations." J Nutr. 2006 Oct;136(10):2519-24.}

_{Qureshi AI, Suri FK, Ahmed S, Nasar A, Divani AA, Kirmani JF. "Regular egg consumption does not increase the risk of stroke and cardiovascular diseases." Med Sci Monit. 2007 Jan;13(1):CR1-8. Epub 2006 Dec 18.}

_{USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 19 < http://www.ars.usda.gov/Services/docs.htm?docid=8964>}

_{Vander Wal JS, Marth JM, Khosla P, Jen KL, Dhurandhar NV. "Short-term effect of eggs on satiety in overweight and obese subjects." J Am Coll Nutr. 2005 Dec;24(6):510-5.}

_{Zeisel SH, Mar MH, Howe JC, Holden JM. "Concentrations of choline-containing compounds and betaine in common foods." J Nutr. 2003 May;133(5):1302-7}