If you are confused about eggs, you are not alone. Are eggs healthy to eat, or aren’t they? We’re here to dish out the latest recommendations and help you figure out the best way to work eggs into your meal plan.
Eggs are a natural source of high-quality protein and numerous other nutrients, all for about 70 calories per large egg. The benefits of eating eggs don’t stop there. While the egg white contains most of the high-quality protein (60%) plus riboflavin and selenium, the yolk is nutrient-rich and provides the remaining 40% protein, and nutrients such as:
Research on the science of dietary cholesterol and eggs continues. Studies are scrambled as to whether eating eggs affects one’s chances of getting heart disease.2,3,4 Conflicting research combined with knowing the nutrient benefits of eating eggs has created some confusion as to how to add eggs into a healthy eating pattern.
So, can you eat eggs or not? The answer may depend on one’s personal health history and lifestyle choices. The key is to know your risk factors and assess your individual situation. In addition to maintaining a healthy, active lifestyle, people at risk for heart disease need to pay close attention to all foods they are eating and the portions they choose, especially those that contain cholesterol and saturated fats. If you maintain a balanced diet with fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins and low-fat dairy, with few high-cholesterol foods, eggs may fit into your meal plan nicely. A healthy, moderate suggestion is to limit eggs to 3 whole eggs per week.
Eggs are versatile and can be used at any meal or snack. Just Crack an Egg breakfast bowls make breakfast easy to prepare in less than 2 minutes and are free of artificial flavors, dyes or preservatives. Try a new way of cooking eggs by checking out the Cheese and Pepper Omelet plus other Healthy Living recipes that use eggs. Whether you decide to have your egg sunny-side up, scrambled, poached, or boiled, you will be making a tasty decision.
1 Egg Nutrition Center. Credible Science, Incredible Egg. https://www.eggnutritioncenter.org. Accessed July 27, 2020.
2 Zhong VW, et al. Associations of Dietary Cholesterol or Egg Consumption with Incident Cardiovascular Disease and Mortality. JAMA. 2019; 321(11): 1081-1095. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2019.1572
3 Clayton ZS, et al. Egg Consumption and Heart Health: A Review. Nutrition. 2017; 37:79-85. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nut.2016.12.014
4 Astrup A. Goodbye to the egg-white omelet – welcome back to the whole-egg omelet. The Am J Clin Nutr. 2018; 107(6):853-854. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/nqy106