Eating Eggs: How Often?
How many times have we heard that eating more than one egg a day is bad for your health? The frequency with which it is healthy to eat eggs has long been a subject of controversy due to the numerous myths that exist around this food. In this article we will give you all the information about it.
Is it healthy to eat eggs often?
To tell how often it is healthy to eat eggs, we must first know the composition and properties of this food. The 2015-2020 Stanutinian Dietary Guidelines indicate that eggs are rich in high-quality nutrients and proteins and can be part of a healthy diet.
In addition to this, they provide few calories, only 78 kcal, the same as a banana. The egg white contains mainly water (88%) and proteins, among which albumin which is the most important. The yolk, on the other hand, is composed of 50% water and the rest is divided between proteins and lipids.
The best diet proteins
The content of essential amino acids and the bioavailability of the egg protein make it a high quality nutrient. In the first stages of life (through the mother’s nutrition), it favors the development of the fetus. The function it performs is equally important in childhood and adolescence.
One of the best known functions of proteins is the formation and maintenance of tissues, including muscles. This is why they are very popular with sportsmen. In adults, high-quality proteins such as egg proteins help counteract the loss of muscle mass associated with age, which helps maintain mobility, physical activity and quality of life.
Due to its nutritional composition, the egg is a food with a great satiating capacity, a particularly interesting quality for people who want to lose weight. The feeling of satiety is prolonged when you eat an egg for breakfast. In the following hours, therefore, you will tend to make fewer snacks. This is thanks to its protein content, as evidenced by an article published in the journal Appetite .
In this case it is better to eat eggs prepared without fat, or with the least amount of additional fat, for example, soft-boiled or boiled.
Egg fat
All egg fats are found in the yolk. Egg is one of the foods of animal origin with less saturated fat and with a better relationship between unsaturated and saturated fatty acids.
Furthermore, it is rich in oleic acid (typical of olive oil), which today is more valued because it acts positively on blood vessels, reducing the risk of cardiovascular and hepatic diseases.
And finally, this food is the best source of choline, an essential nutrient for the development and normal functioning of the body. Generally our body does not synthesize sufficient quantities of choline, for this we must take it through food.
Eat eggs for essential vitamins and minerals
An egg provides significant amounts of a wide range of vitamins such as A, B2, Biotin, B12, D and E. At the same time, it is a source of minerals such as phosphorus, selenium, iron, iodine and zinc. All of these contribute to meeting a large part of the daily nutrient requirement.
Lutein and zeaxanthin
They are pigments of the carotenoid family found in green vegetables and egg yolk. They act as antioxidants that are deposited in the eye and have been shown to protect it and prevent the onset of cataracts.
A study published in The Journal of Nutrition showed that eating 6 eggs per week for 12 weeks increases blood zeanxanthin levels and improves the optical density of macular pigment.
Eating eggs: cholesterol and cardiovascular risks
In the last decades of the last century it was recommended to limit the consumption of eggs due to the high cholesterol content. In 1973, the American Heart Association recommended limiting egg intake to a maximum of 3 per week.
The truth, however, is that the effect that dietary cholesterol has on plasma cholesterol levels in healthy people is minimal and largely depends on individual factors such as genetics, body weight or lifestyle habits. Nowadays, therefore, the aforementioned relationship has been denied by a study published in the journal Nutrients .
Therefore, the old belief that eating plenty of eggs increases cardiovascular risk due to the effects on cholesterol levels has no scientific basis.
Eating one egg a day does not affect the lipid profile or increase the risk of suffering from cardiovascular disease.
So how often is it healthy to eat eggs?
Egg is a very complete food that brings numerous benefits to our body. Don’t be afraid to eat one egg a day, always accompanied by a healthy and varied diet.
Also remember to exercise constantly to improve various health-related aspects, such as the lipid profile.
