As every adult who wants to have good health knows, taking care of your diet is one of the essential steps to feeling well physically and mentally as we age. Combined with a good rest, avoiding stress and doing some physical activity, we can keep us healthy and even prevent ailments or diseases.
Among the thousands of products that we can include in our diet, today we focus on the eggpresent in Spanish gastronomy but also in many others around the world such as Italian, French or Japanese, being an almost universal food.
Scrambled, boiled, fried, poached, in an omelette, boiled, baked, grilled, raw, in sauces… Eggs can be prepared in many different ways, which makes them a versatile and easy to incorporate into any dietin addition to not being a very economically expensive food.
However, for years there have been popular beliefs in which it is thought that eggs are not entirely healthy and that taking them every day can even be harmful to health. According to this idea, they indicate that raises cholesterol ‘bad’, but is this true?
What happens if I eat eggs every day?
From the Spanish Heart Foundation indicate that the egg is a recommended food to include in our diet since it has good quality proteinsvitamins A and B, as well as minerals of animal origin that allow easy absorption.
Even so, they recommend an intake of between three and five eggs a week, so it is advisable to take them several days a week for healthy adults. Besides, cardiologist Francisco López-Jiménez from the Mayo Clinic, indicates that a healthy person could perfectly eat seven eggs a week without health risks. By taking the recommended intake, we will get the following nutrients:
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They have proteins of very good quality and high biological value. It also includes vitamins from groups A and B. Finally, it contains minerals, among which iron stands out, whose animal origin allows easy absorption.
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The egg white is mainly composed of albumin, the protein with the highest biological quality. In order for the egg white to be fully used, it must be cooked, since it contains some antinutrients (avidin and ovomucoid) that are inactivated by heat.
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The yolk contains fat (lecithin), protein, iron, sulfur and vitamins A, B, D and E. It is rich in fat and cholesterol.
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The nutritional composition of the egg does not depend on the color of the shell. It is a good alternative to meat or fish. Easy to digest and chew, eggs are ideal for children, the elderly and people with high protein needs.
How does eggs affect cholesterol?
Myths and ambiguous information about the cholesterol contributions of eggs to the human body have led many people to believe that eating eggs is negative for cholesterol. When asked if this food is good or bad in this sense, cardiologist Francisco López-Jiménez de Mayo Clinicexplained the following: «They are naturally high in cholesterol. “But the cholesterol in eggs does not appear to raise cholesterol levels the way other foods do, such as those high in trans fats and saturated fats.”
To this, he adds: “Although some studies have found a link between egg consumption and heart diseasesthere could be other reasons for these findings. Foods commonly eaten with eggs, such as bacon, sausages, and ham, may contribute more to increasing the risk of heart disease than eggs. Besides, the way eggs are cooked and other foods, especially if they are fried in oil or butter, could be more influential in increasing the risk of heart disease than eggs themselves.
“The cholesterol in eggs does not appear to raise cholesterol levels like other foods do, such as those high in trans fats and saturated fats.”
Francisco López-Jimenez
Cardiologist
The doctor, specialized in cardiovascular medicine, points out that experts suggest taking an intake below 300 milligrams (mg) per day, and a large egg has about 186 mg of cholesteroll, specifically in the yolk.
«If your diet contains little cholesterol, according to some studies, eating up to one egg a day could be a good option. If you like eggs, but don’t want the cholesterol, use only the whites. Egg white does not contain cholesterol, but it does contain protein. Likewise, you can use cholesterol-free egg substitutes, which are made with egg whites,” explains the cardiologist.
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