1. Eggs help to improve performance
Yes, eggs can be a good part of an athlete’s diet! Although eggs have been given a bad rap because the yolk is high in cholesterol and has been thought to elevate blood cholesterol, the majority of healthy active players can enjoy the whole egg, yolk and all! Just go easy on the saturated fat in the accompanying breakfast foods: bacon, buttery toast, and greasy hash browns. They tend to be the bigger health culprits.
Healthy sports players with no family history of heart disease have no need to toss the yolk and eat just the white. That’s like tossing the baby out with the bath water. The yolk is nutrient-dense and an excellent source of vitamins and minerals (including iodine, zinc, iron, and folic acid) as well as many other life-sustaining nutrients.
Many players seek eggs for their high-quality protein. The yolk offers 3 grams of protein and the white another 3 grams. That totals (only) 6 grams for the whole egg. Having two eggs for breakfast almost matches the 14 grams in a serving of Greek yogurt—surprising news to many of my clients who think their two-egg white omelet is a super source of protein. They need to think again; two egg whites offer only 6 grams of protein.
Eggs are also known for being satiating; that is, they contribute to a pleasant feeling of fullness. Hence, eating eggs can be a helpful addition to a weight management program. Obese dieters who ate eggs for breakfast lost more weight than those who ate a bagel for breakfast. (The egg eaters did not experience higher blood cholesterol levels.)
2. Eggs can help to iron out problems
Many people with mild iron deficiency experience vague symptoms of tiredness, headaches and irritability. Iron is the carrier of oxygen in the blood and plays an important role in immunity, energy metabolism and many other functions in the body. The iron in egg yolk is in the form of heme iron, the most readily absorbable and usable form of iron in food and more absorbable than the form of iron in most supplements.
Concerns about cholesterol and the iron content of eggs incorrectly relegate this fine source of nutrition to lists of foods we should avoid or eat less frequently. As for the cholesterol issue, ample evidence exists in defense of the egg as the culprit for wreaking havoc in our arteries. When it comes to iron, however, the relationship with the egg is more complex.
The egg is a cost to benefit bonanza. It is a good source of vitamin A and a great source of protein (considering an egg costs about 10-15 cents and contains roughly 70 calories). The egg also contains iron, but interestingly, a component in the egg impairs absorption of the metal.
A phosphorprotein called phosvitin lowers the bioavailability of iron. One boiled egg can reduce absorption of iron in a meal by as much as 28%. This “egg factor” must be considered when organizing a diet for iron balance. A person with hemochromatosis (too much iron) can enjoy eggs freely since the goal for this patient’s diet is iron reduction. For the iron deficient, bumping up the bioavailability of iron from a meal with eggs might be as simple as adding a tall glass of vitamin C-rich juice. If taking oral iron supplements, choose one with EDTA-bound iron, since this compound is among the few that can release iron bound to phosvitin.
Nature knows the beneficial and destructive capabilities of iron. As such elaborate systems are put into place to assure iron is properly bound, delivered, and impaired from getting free. In the following bullet points Dr. Eugene Weinberg illustrates some of the amazing facts about nature’s ability to control iron.
3. Eggs improve nutrient adequacy of the diet
It is well known that eggs are rich sources of micronutrients including choline, selenium, vitamin B12, and carotenoids. It has not been well assessed, however, how egg consumption contributes to overall nutrient adequacy in the American diet, and how consumption of eggs may affect cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine how egg consumption contributes to nutrient intake and affects blood biomarkers of CVD risk in U. S.
Consumers and non-consumers of whole egg products were identified from two days of 24-hour dietary recalls in the NHANES data, and egg consumers were separated into tertiles of intake level. Approximately 63% were classified as egg consumers with mean intake of 52 g/d. In an adjusted model, men were more likely than women to be high consumers of eggs. Those aged 40–59 years were more likely to be egg consumers than those in other age groups. Differences in egg consumption patterns also existed among ethnicities, with African Americans consuming eggs more frequently than any other group. Egg consumption was associated with greater intakes of protein, saturated fat, mono- and poly-unsaturated fats, magnesium, calcium, selenium, riboflavin, and choline. The odds of meeting the RDA for choline in the highest tertile of egg consumption were 14.8 times that of the non-consumers. Similarly, the odds of achieving the recommended intakes for riboflavin, vitamin A, and vitamin K were 2.0, 1.8, and 1.4 times that of non-consumers, respectively.
Egg intake was positively associated with dietary cholesterol, but not with serum total cholesterol (TC) when adjusted for energy intake, age, gender, ethnicity, BMI category, and multiple lifestyle factors. Triglyceride/HDL-cholesterol ratio was significantly decreased with egg consumption. Egg consumption did not significantly alter triglycerides, apoliporotein B, LDL-cholesterol, TC/HDL-cholesterol ratio, LDL-cholesterol/HDL-cholesterol ratio, fasting glucose, or insulin.
Eggs are important dietary contributors of many essential nutrients, including mono- and poly-unsaturated fats, choline, and several vitamins and minerals. Egg consumption improves triglyceride/HDL-cholesterol ratio and does not alter other important CVD risk biomarkers including TC, LDL-cholesterol, and triglycerides.
4. Eggs do not increase blood cholesterol
In the 1990s, eggs received a lot of bad publicity due to their cholesterol content of 210mg per egg yolk. Numerous studies have clearly demonstrated the lack of a relationship between egg intake and coronary heart disease.
To put things into perspective, it is important to realize that foods high in fat, especially saturated and trans fatty acids have a far greater impact on heart health than cholesterol in food. Eggs should be recognized as an inexpensive, versatile and easily digestible source of protein.
Eggs are low in saturated fats and higher in the ‘heart-healthy’ mono- and poly-unsaturated fats. Healthy people can eat eggs every day, provided they are ingested as part of a balanced diet which is low in saturated fats and trans-fats. People with Familial Hypercholesterolaemia (an inherited form of cholesterol which carries a high risk of heart disease) should restrict their intake to 3 – 4 eggs per week.
5. Eggs can help to promote weight loss
Eggs with toast have a 50% higher satiety index than regular breakfast cereals. Several studies have reported that starting the day with an egg breakfast increases satiety in overweight people and may help with weight loss.
In one study where a breakfast of bagels, cream cheese and yoghurt were compared to a breakfast of two eggs, toast and jam (same number of kilojoules), the latter group stayed fuller for longer and reduced their kilojoule intake at lunch by 29%.
At 315kJ per large egg, eggs actually add few kilojoules for all the nutrients they provide. When teamed up with whole grains (for example whole-wheat bread) and fruit or vegetables they are a complete meal, readily available, easy to prepare and inexpensive, making them a useful tool in weight-loss programs.
6. Eggs help to promote brain health
Choline is a nutrient that facilitates brain development in the fetus and newborn as well as memory function even into old age, as well as a nutrient which is essential for the normal functioning of all cells, for brain and nerve functioning and for the transportation of nutrients throughout the body.
. Eggs are an excellent dietary source of choline, and one egg per day will provide 28% of a pregnant woman’s choline requirement.
Choline is of extreme importance during pregnancy and lactation when the reserves can be depleted. At the same time, it is the critical period for fetal brain development and lifelong memory enhancement. In experiments with rats, memory function in the aged rat was in part determined by what the mother ate. Mothers, the message is clear – make a lifelong investment and eat your eggs!
7. Eggs help to prevent cataracts and to protect eye sight
A good dietary intake of eggs, spinach and broccoli is associated with a significant decrease in cataracts (up to a 20% decrease) and age-related lens and retinal degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in the elderly (up to a 40% decrease).
Eggs are a good source of the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthine, which play an important role in keeping the eyes healthy and helping prevent the most common causes of age-related blindness. These two antioxidants are found in the egg yolk and help to reduce the risk of developing cataracts and age-related macular degeneration, a disease that develops with age and causes blurred or distorted vision. It accumulates in the eye where these nutrients protect against some types of harmful, high-energy wavelengths of light. Lutein and zeaxanthine seem to be more bio-available in eggs than in any other source. Getting enough lutein and zeaxanthine is therefore very important from childhood onwards throughout the life cycle.
8. Eggs provide the best quality protein
Protein is one of the most important elements of our diet. Our bodies use protein to build new and repair old tissue. Eggs are champions at providing high quality protein. Amino acids are the building blocks of protein. Nine of these amino acids cannot be manufactured by the body and must be derived from the diet. A complete protein food contains enough of these nine essential amino acids to promote growth and maintain body tissue.
Egg, milk and meat (including poultry and fish) proteins are all complete proteins, but egg protein is of the highest quality, with a rating of 100. Compared to eggs, milk is rated at 93 and fish and beef at 75. One egg has approximately the same protein content as 30g cooked meat, fish or poultry. And apart from being the most versatile and best source of protein in our diet, it is also the least expensive.
9. Eggs can help to protect our bones
Moms everywhere often encourage their kids to drink milk – the poster child for calcium – to help build strong bones. Calcium and vitamin D have long been documented as important nutrients needed for optimal bone health,1 but does dietary protein play a positive role as well? Or, could protein intake have a harmful effect on bone health?
To try to answer these questions, a group of prestigious bone health researchers, coordinated by the National Osteoporosis Foundation, conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis evaluating 16 randomized controlled trials and 20 prospective cohort studies.2
The analysis demonstrated that protein intake seems to have a positive effect on bone mineral density, particularly for the lumbar spine. The researchers concluded that, “overall, the body of evidence shows that the effect of dietary protein on the skeleton appears to be favorable to a small extent and is not detrimental.”
While more research is needed to better understand the relationship, preliminary data demonstrates that protein may be a nutrient mom should be encouraging to optimize their children’s bone health.
Eggs are one of the few natural food sources of vitamin D, our sunshine vitamin. Vitamin D is essential for calcium absorption and for maintaining optimum bone health. Eggs therefore play a supporting role in the prevention of osteoporosis together with dairy products, our main source of calcium.
10. Eggs promote healthy hair
The hair reflects many biochemical imbalances and shortages in the body. Eggs can help to promote healthy hair because of their high content of Sulphur-containing amino acids and the wide array of vitamins and minerals.
Conditioning your hair with eggs enhances hair growth because eggs contain lots of protein. Hair is composed of 70 percent keratin protein, so egg protein helps rebuild damaged hair by filling in weakened spots along the hair strand, which temporarily strengthens the hair. Eggs contain a large amount of protein--ranging from 3.6 to 6.5 g per egg--which makes egg conditioning an intense protein treatment. Including egg conditioning in your hair regiment can help you maintain strong hair, which is essential for growth.
Even applying eggs to your diet can have a huge impact! Many people report faster growing hair after adding eggs to their diet, especially if they were previously deficient in foods containing zinc, Sulphur, vitamin B12 and vitamin A.
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