Who said you should throw the yolk when eating eggs？ Beware of missing most of the nutrition!
Recently, due to the epidemic, everyone has raised their awareness of storing food at home. Eggs are one of the fastest and most convenient food materials, and they have also become a must-have food for every household. A friend asked: I can’t go out to eat at home recently, and it’s also troublesome to make big fish and meat. There are quite a lot of eggs at home. Can I eat five every day? I heard that it has high cholesterol and is harmful to eat?
What nutrition does an egg have?
Choline in eggs is very important to children
Egg is a kind of food with high nutritional value. An egg weighs about 50g. Its main ingredient is water, accounting for about 75%. In addition, protein and fat are the main ingredients, as well as some minerals and vitamins (such as A, D and B groups). Eggs can provide us with these aspects of nutrition:
protein
Protein in an egg is about 7 grams, and the amino acid pattern of protein in the egg is very balanced, which is very suitable for human absorption and utilization, and is a good source of protein intake.
lecithin
Lecithin in eggs is an important component of high-density lipoprotein, which can help regulate blood lipids and play an important role in nerve tissues such as brain.
vitamin
Eggs are rich in vitamins, which can provide 10%-20% folic acid and 20%-30% vitamins A, D and E in the diet. For vegetarians, eggs are also an important source of vitamin B12.
choline
There is also a rich nutrition in eggs — — Choline. The choline content in 100 grams of eggs is about 251 mg, and a shelled egg weighs about 50 grams, which can provide 176 mg of choline.
Choline is also an important nutrient for children. It is found that when DHA and choline are sufficient, it is most beneficial to the development of fetal brain, and the cognitive level of infants in the future is the highest; Babies who get enough choline during pregnancy have less stress response after birth, and the risk of suffering from various chronic diseases in the future may be reduced.
Will eating eggs raise cholesterol?
Don’t worry too much, it’s much better than big fish and big meat
Many people are afraid to eat more eggs, mainly for fear of raising cholesterol. The yolk of an egg contains more than 180 milligrams of cholesterol, which is really high. Previous dietary guidelines generally suggested that cholesterol should not exceed 300 mg per day, so this became the reason why many people thought that eggs should not be eaten too much.
However, in recent years, the academic circles have summarized the results of various studies and concluded that there is no direct causal relationship between cholesterol intake and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. In fact, cholesterol in human blood is not exactly the same as cholesterol in food. There are two sources of cholesterol in human body — — About 70%-80% is synthesized by the liver, and only a small part comes from dietary cholesterol. Some cholesterol ingested through food cannot be absorbed by the body and will be excreted with feces. Therefore, we really don’t have to worry too much about cholesterol in food.
Moreover, eggs are much better than cholesterol in big fish and meat. Because in addition to cholesterol, there are many nutrients in eggs that can offset the risks associated with excessive cholesterol intake. And big fish and meat are not only high in cholesterol, but more importantly, their fat content (saturated fat in some red meat) is high, which is more harmful to cardiovascular system.
How many eggs is best to eat every day?
One a day is fine, and it doesn’t matter if you overdo it occasionally.
Since there is no problem with cholesterol in eggs, is it ok to eat five eggs every day? Actually, it is not.
Eggs are really nutritious, but no matter how nutritious they are, they are just a kind of food. For a healthy diet, it is important to diversify food and balance nutrition, rather than being superstitious about a certain food and eating too much.
For example, the main ingredient in eggs is protein. Although eggs are a good source of protein intake, they are not the only source. Bean products, meat and dairy products can also provide us with protein. You know, one third of soybeans are from protein, and drinking a glass of milk a day can also provide about 10 grams of protein.
Eating one egg a day is ok, and occasionally eating five eggs a day may not be a big problem. However, if you eat five every day, it will inevitably lead to eating less other foods and reducing other nutrient intake, which will lead to imbalance in nutrient intake and eventually lead to malnutrition, which is not recommended. Besides, during the period of isolation, most people exercise less.
Do you want to eat egg yolk?
Vitamins and minerals in egg yolk are higher than those in egg white.
Most of the vitamins and minerals in eggs are in the yolk, and their contents are higher than those in egg whites, which almost only provide protein. Moreover, egg yolk is rich in lecithin and choline. Dietary Guidelines for China Residents (2022) recommends eating 300-350g eggs a week (about one egg a day), and eating eggs without discarding the yolk.
The American Heart Association’s scientific advice on dietary cholesterol and cardiovascular risk suggests that healthy people eat a whole egg every day.
How to eat eggs is healthier?
Frying may affect cardiovascular system.
Need to remind everyone that how to eat eggs is also very important. Whether an egg is fried or boiled, whether it is fried in a lot of oil or splashed with water, or whether it is custard or egg drop soup, their effects on human health will be very different.
Studies have found that after eggs are improperly cooked (such as frying), fat and cholesterol are oxidized, and may generate advanced glycation end products through Maillard reaction, which may promote the damage of human vascular endothelium and arteriosclerosis, which is not conducive to cardiovascular health. However, there is no such problem with steamed eggs and boiled eggs. I suggest you try to eat steamed eggs and boiled eggs.
What’s the difference between different people in eating eggs?
Healthy adults: people who have no dyslipidemia and are healthy in liver, kidney, pancreas and gallbladder can eat 1-2 eggs a day without excessive fish and seafood.
Healthy egg-milk vegetarian: It doesn’t matter if you eat two eggs a day, but it’s still not recommended to eat like this every day.
Expectant mothers during pregnancy, nursing mothers, bodybuilders, people who do a lot of exercise, teenagers’ long period of physical development and hunger/food shortage: If you are healthy and have no abnormal blood sugar and blood lipids, you can eat 2-3 eggs every day for a period of time, but it is not recommended to do so all the time.
Middle-aged and elderly people, people with hyperlipidemia, patients with gallbladder disease and diabetics: It is not recommended to eat several eggs every day.
If there is a shortage of food and there is no big fish and meat for ten days in a row, it is not a big problem to eat five eggs today. However, it is not recommended to eat like this all the time after the food supply keeps up.
Text/Yan Guangfeng
(Director of Science and Technology Department of Food and Nutrition Information Exchange Center, Master of Nutrition and Food Safety of China Agricultural University)