Eggs are a great food to incorporate at any time of day. They can be delicious scrambled up with some toast and bacon, hard-boiled and sliced as a Cobb salad topping, or thrown into a fried rice dish for dinner. You can also take a hard-boiled egg on the go when you’re in need of a quick snack. Regardless of how you enjoy eating them, it’s hard to deny the fact that the nutritional value of this food has been the subject of debate for quite some time. For instance, eggs have been known as a cholesterol-raising snack for decades, which has had many people wondering if eggs are even good for you at all.
Although it’s been a subject of debate in the past, recent researchers and medical experts have concluded that eggs not only don’t raise cholesterol, but they are in fact good for you! Eating an egg will give you a boost of helpful vitamins, nutrients, and minerals that can contribute to a variety of positive health outcomes.
For more information on how eggs are good for you, read on to learn TK effects of eating them. Then, for more healthy eating tips, check out Is Canned Tuna Healthy? 5 Side Effects of Eating It.
Egg nutrition information
Eggs are also a lean protein, meaning they don’t carry a lot of saturated fat. With just 1.6 grams of saturated fat per egg, getting your protein from an egg can help keep your saturated fat at bay when compared to other protein sources like steak, beef, lamb, pork, etc.
Eggs are a source of dietary cholesterol, which is one of the reasons many people assume that eating eggs will raise your body’s cholesterol levels. However, eggs have actually been found to do the exact opposite.
10 health benefits of eating eggs
For one, just because a food is high in cholesterol doesn’t mean it will raise your cholesterol levels. Not only that, but it’s actually foods that are high in trans fats, saturated fat, and added sugars that are linked to higher levels of cholesterol.
One study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that eating a lot of dietary cholesterol and having one egg per day were not associated with high cholesterol or coronary heart disease. Another study found that eggs were actually able to improve HDL cholesterol, which is considered to the the “good” kind of cholesterol. Having enough HDL cholesterol is crucial for absorbing LDL cholesterol and removing it from the bloodstream.
If you swap your carb-heavy breakfast for some eggs, you can support your body’s ability to burn fat and lose weight. In one 8-week study published in the International Journal of Obesity, people ate a breakfast of either two eggs or a bagel, which contained the same amount of calories. The egg group lost 65% more body weight, 16% more body fat, experienced a 61% greater reduction in BMI, and saw a 34% greater reduction in waist circumference compared to those who consumed the bagel breakfast.
While not incredibly high in protein at 6 grams per large egg, eggs can be a healthy part of a high-protein diet that can support muscle gain.
If you want to build muscle from exercising, your body needs protein to repair the tears in your muscle tissue, which increases your metabolism, according to a study published by the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism. The amino acids in the egg can help provide your body with the protein it needs to build that muscle you desire!
Whisk two eggs into a veggie omelet or pack two hard-boiled eggs in your snack box, and you have the perfect meal or snack for getting lean and toned.
You can increase your vitamin D intake by stepping out into the sun or by including vitamin D-rich foods, such as eggs, to your diet. Eggs contain 6% of your daily intake of vitamin D, a vitamin that is found in very few food products. Vitamin D plays roles in both immune health and calcium absorption, which can support bone health.
Eggs are one of the richest dietary sources of choline, a nutrient found in many types of food. For example, there are about 147 milligrams of choline in one egg, which is about 27% of your recommended daily value. This is more choline than what is found in beef, chicken, fish, potatoes, beans, milk, and yogurt.
