The most important meal of the day is breakfast. If you want to get in shape and have a strong lean body you need to start your day off with eggs.
The egg is one of nature’s most versatile foods available and plays a critical role in the muscle building and dieting process.
They contain great amounts of protein, vitamins, health fats and minerals and are low in calories and fat.
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Furthermore, eggs can be cooked in a variety of ways to ensure that you can get great taste in each meal.
The Main Health Benefits Of Eggs
Eggs are a great choice for a healthy breakfast to keep you going strong throughout the day. Just in the egg white you’ll find lots of high quality protein, along with vital nutrients for your body like B12, zinc, copper, iron, and vitamin D and B6. The yolk has even more great stuff for your body including lots of critical vitamins and good fats. Remember to choose organic cage free eggs, both for the added nutritional value and the great taste!
What’s in the egg?
Each large egg contains about 80 calories and 6 grams of high quality protein. The egg white contains high amounts of protein along with vitamins selenium, vitamin D, B6, B12 and is rich in iron, copper and zinc.
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The egg yolk (yellow part) contains roughly 5g of fat and is a source of cholesterol, and important fat soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K).
Yes, there is fat in the egg. But do not worry. The white part of the egg contains no fat. Although the egg yolk contains 5 grams of fat, it is only a small proportion that is saturated fat (“bad fat”) – about 1.6 grams.
What’s the deal with egg yolk and cholesterol?
For years you may have heard talk about eggs containing cholesterol which may mean you should avoid them. People with high cholesterol can eat eggs.
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There is “good” and “bad” cholesterol. Eggs contain plenty of the good cholesterol that you need for important cell functions. However, it is saturated fat, not dietary cholesterol that greatly influences the blood cholesterol levels.
So if you consume a lot of saturated fat then can get higher cholesterol putting you at risk for heart disease.
So calm down! You do not need to fear ingesting 1.6g of saturated fat from a single egg yolk. You can eat that egg.
If you cut the yolk you lose out on the benefits of the egg since the yolk contains 80% of the overall vitamins and minerals!Relax. The benefits outweigh the harm since the amount of saturated fat is so low in a single egg yolk.
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How to Pick Your Egg
Picking an egg should not be too complicated. You will want to choose organic free range eggs because they are naturally made without any alterations to the chicken themselves.
Furthermore, inspect the egg carton to ensure all the eggs are intact and not broken.
If you choose to purchase eggs with omega-3 fatty acids, eat them sooner so that the oils do not spoil. Try to buy in a bulk to save money.
Stay Safe with Your Egg Consumption
Eggs if improperly cooked will put you at high risk for Salmonella food poisoning. Symptoms of salmonellosis include diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps which typically occur 12 to 72 hours after infection, and the illness lasts 4 to 7 days.
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While the symptoms resolve typically on their own, if the diarrhea is severe enough it can lead to dehydration and hospitalization.
In order to avoid getting salmonellosis make sure you cook your eggs so that they are well cooked at a high temperature. If you have an egg allergy avoid any egg products and discuss it with your primary care physician.
Benefits for Your Heart and Bones
Eggs play a key role in keeping your heart healthy since they reduce your risk for cardiovascular disease and improve your heart function.
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Eggs contain omega-3 fatty acids, which can also lower blood triglycerides and lower overall cholesterol levels.
By lowering blood triglyceride levels this decreases the risk of someone developing heart disease. Eggs can also reduce the risk of developing metabolic syndrome in adults over the age of 40.
Metabolic syndrome is diagnosed when one has 3 of the 5 criteria: abdominal (central) obesity, hypertension (elevated blood pressure), elevated fasting plasma glucose (risk for diabetes), high serum triglycerides, or low high-density lipoprotein (hdl) levels.
Vitamin D is in eggs as well which plays a strong role in multiple biological processes. Vitamin D maintains the health of bones and teeth, and supports the immune system.
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It also plays a prominent role in regulating insulin levels and aids in diabetes management. Vitamin D also reduces depression, and boosts weight loss.
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How to Eat your Eggs
Let’s face it. When you are eating eggs every day you want to ensure you do not get bored of the taste.
You can try eating chicken eggs, duck eggs or even quail eggs to mix up the taste. But you still need some recipes to keep it interesting. Here are my top 10 ways to eat my eggs
Scrambled Eggs – If you can eat this every day that is impressive. However, if you get bored (and you probably will), then try the other recipes below.
The Omelet – This is an easy one to do. Just make a regular fried egg and throw in a healthy mix of vegetables to add in some healthy vitamins and minerals.
Microwave Eggs – Yes. I do this. When I am in a rush I throw in the eggs into a microwave and it is easy to cook in 1 minute flat! If you have cut up some peppers the night before, throw it in the cup so you can eat it as an omelet
Sunny Side Up –If you don’t like to make fried eggs try this mix!
Benedict Arnold – If you got more time on the weekends then try this recipe!
Egg Muffin – You do not need to go to McDonald’s anymore. Here’s a recipe we use to enjoy this delicious meal at home. Relive your childhood!
Egg Pizza – Yes, you can enjoy pizza and keep it healthy!
Egg Frittata – This is a great brunch or a quick weeknight dinner
Hard Boiled Eggs – When you want to make it simple and eat on the go
Crisp Parmesan Omelet – Mix up how long you cook it for to make it crispier
Rajiv M Mallipudi, md, mhs is an internal medicine resident physician, personal trainer, athlete and author. He has over a decade of personal training experience and helped hundreds of clients of all levels achieve their weight loss and fitness goals. This inspired him to work as a clinical researcher at the nationally recognized, Johns Hopkins Hospital Weight Management Center. During medical school he and his classmates created the health and wellness organization, med fit, which provided personal training and nutrition counseling to the medical student body. In his spare time, Dr. Mallipudi enjoys playing ice hockey, dancing, and training for his next bodybuilding and powerlifting competitions. Dr. Mallipudi serves as a contributing writer for the Diet and Fitness sections.
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good to know that eggs contain more of the good cholesterol. i used to believe i can’t eat more than 3 eggs in a week. thank you for this information.
i love eggs and my family too. i always try to get organic eggs though. i want to make sure i’m feeding my family the best and healthiest foods as much as possible.
there’s so much more about eggs i didn’t know about. i’m glad i was able to catch this post, i’m learning a lot that could help me with the best foods i need to achieve my weight loss program in no time.
i used to believe that eggs aren’t too healthy but i was wrong. i know its protein content but with fat, i was wrong.
i love eggs, i have them almost daily and they’re a great source of protein that helps me keep the energy level i need for the day. i love them scrambled and eggs benedict.
i can’t live without eggs!
this is very true! a lot of us have been misled about bad cholesterol and stuff.
eggs indeed have lots of nutritional benefits as opposed to what we used to believe
i’m one of those who believed that eggs can be harmful.
eggs are packed with so many nutrients, just be careful how you handle and cook them.
i love egg frittata! :)
i enjoyed this because i didn’t think eggs had this much benefits
eggs are really full of nutrients and even good cholesterol
i also thought that eggs aren’t supposed to be eaten everyday. good thing you explained this here.
i love eggs and all the good things it does for the body
for many years we’ve avoided eating too much eggs. now it’s good to know it contains more of the good cholesterol
it’s important to start your day right with the right amount of nutrients on your food. add eggs to your breakfast, it’s really good for you.
i love eggs and knowing this makes me feel happy to get all the good things from eating them.
what seems to be so simple, ends up a lot more to offer in the end.
eggs have more of the good cholesterol so it’s definitely fine and safe to eat them
eggs indeed contain good cholesterol so don’t worry about it.
eggs are ,y favorite for breakfast. they keep me perked up and feeling full too.
wow, indeed eggs have lots of benefits we didn’t even realize.
i love eggs and i have them usually for breakfast. thanks for this post, i learned a lot more about their health benefits.
i want my eggs hard boiled. that way, there’s not even a bit of oil
eggs are the best because they’re healthy and you can do so many things with them
definitely more reasons to love eggs!
good thing i like eggs and my family too. i serve them every morning.
indeed, eggs have loads of vitamins!
this is the reason why i love eggs especially in the morning.