Health Benefits of Egg

About Egg

Eggs are naturally loaded with the minerals, vitamins and other nutrients required by the body and helps body to function well and remain healthy.

Eggs, covered by the protective eggshell, are generally laid by the females of any species whether they are birds, amphibians, fish, reptiles and etc. It consists of a hard shell, albumen (also known as egg white), vitellus (also known as egg yolk) and thin membranes. Eggs which are generally eaten by the people are of chicken. However, eggs of quail, roe, duck and caviar are also preferred by the people.

Benefits of Egg

Eggs play big role in our life by providing lots of nutritious elements and nourishing our body for better growth and development. They have a variety of health benefits which I have mentioned below:

Prevents Eye Disorders

• It is considered that eating an egg on daily basis prevents our eyes from the age related macular degeneration because of its carotenoid content.

Reduces Risk of Cataract

• The carotenoid contents found in the egg like lutein and zeaxanthin helps in lowering the risk of cataracts.

Source of Protein and Amino Acids

• An egg a day provides approximately 6 grams of high quality protein including 9 essential amino acids.

Reduces Risk of Heart Diseases

• Regular use of it in the daily routine prevents from the blood clots formation, strokes and various heart diseases.

Maintains Cardiovascular and Nervous System Healthy

• It contains approximately 300 micrograms of the choline per egg which makes the brain, cardiovascular system and nervous system functioning well and healthy.

Source of Vitamin D

• It is considered that the eggs are one of the great nutritious foods which naturally have vitamin D.

Reduces Risk of Breast Cancer

• Eating eggs regularly reduces the risk of occurrence of the breast cancer.

Improves Red Blood Cells Production

• Its folate content aids in producing and maintaining the new cells in the body (particularly the red blood cells).

Improves Haemoglobin Level

• Its iron content helps the body cells to carry more oxygen as well as maintains the haemoglobin level.

Promotes Normal Functioning of Nerve

• It has niacin, a vitamin which promotes the healthy and normal functioning of the nerve as well as release more energy.

Prevents from Alzheimer’s Disease

• Omega-3 fatty acids found in the egg lessens the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

Delays Aging Process

• Vitamin A found in it prevents the body from variety of cancer and aging process.

Prevents Osteoporosis and Tooth Decay

• Vitamin D found in it maintains the health of bones and teeth thus prevents from the osteoporosis and tooth decay.

Prevents from Free Radicals

• Vitamin E found in it works as an antioxidant which protects the body cells from cancer. It prevents from the free radicals and thus tissue and cell damage which leads to the early ageing.

Boosts Immunity

• Zinc, a most essential mineral found in the egg helps in maintaining the body immune system.

Improves Concentration Level

• Eggs are considered to improve the mind concentration level and attention span among the children.

Loaded with Essential Nutrients

• Eating egg is fine to start your day and your family by taking them in the breakfast as it contains all the essential nutrients.

Keeps Body Active

• It helps in keeping us strong, healthy and active whole day and life.

Enhances Memory Power

• Choline found in the egg yolks helps in stimulating the brain functioning and development as well as enhances the memory power.

Prevents Eye Damage

• Antioxidants (lutein and zeaxanthin) found in the egg yolks prevents the eye damage from ultraviolet radiation.

Egg

Benefits of Egg for Hair

Promotes Hair Growth

• It promotes the growth of the healthy hair and nails as it contains high amount of the sulphur and vitamins and minerals.

Benefits of Egg for Weight Management

Control Weight

• Eggs are high protein diet thus it aids in the weight control strategy. The person eating eggs consumes less than the 163 calories in the lunch as he felts less hungry.
• An egg provides just 70 calories but loaded with all the required nutrients by the body.

Benefits of Egg for Skin

Repairs Body Tissues

• It has quality protein which is very important for building and repairing the body tissues. It makes muscles healthy and provides glow to the skin. It also assists in the formation of enzymes, antibodies and hormones in the body.

Nourishes Skin

• It acts as a multivitamin pill as it contains a range of vitamins which are required by the body to nourish the skin.

Prevents Skin from Wrinkles

• As it is a high quality protein diet, it prevents the skin from getting wrinkled.

Benefits of Egg Yolk

Nourishes Body

• Egg yolk is the rich source of the vitamins, calcium, iron and other nutrients which nourishes the body and helps its organs to function well and in proper manner.

Reduces Inflammation

• It contains choline (B-complex vitamin) which makes neurological function better and reduces the inflammation.

Produces Happiness Hormones

• Choline makes bethane after breaking down to be used in the methylation cycle and helps in producing happiness hormones such as dopamine, norephinephrine and serotonin.

Prevents from Vision Problems

• It has lutein and zeaxanthin which prevents from all the vision problems.

Benefits of Egg White

Prevents from Malnutrition

• Egg white contains high quality protein known as albumin which nourishes the body and prevents from the malnutrition.

Prevents from Infection

• It provides ability to the body to fight with infections and maintains body fluids balance as well as healthy metabolism.

Benefits of Egg during Pregnancy

Promotes Brain Development

• Egg yolk has choline which promotes the brain development in the fetus when eaten by the pregnant women during pregnancy.

Nutritional Benefits of Chicken Egg (boiled) per 100 g

(Source: USDA Nutrient database)
Energy: 155 kcal

Water: 75 g

Carbohydrate: 1.12 g

Fat: 10.6 g

Protein: 12.6 g

Amino Acids

Isoleucine 0.686 g

Lysine 0.904 g

Methionine 0.392 g

Threonine 0.604 g

Arginine 0.755 g

Histidine 0.298 g

Cystine 0.292 g

Aspartic acid 1.264 g

Valine 0.767 g

Leucine 1.075 g

Glutamic acid 1.644 g

Alanine 0.700 g

Tryptophan 0.153 g

Phenylalanine 0.668 g

Glycine 0.423 g

Tyrosine 0.513 g

Serine 0.936 g

Proline 0.501 g

Vitamins

Thiamine: 0.066 mg

Riboflavin: 0.5 mg

Pantothenic acid: 1.4 mg

Folate: 44 μg

Vitamin B12: 1.11 μg

Vitamin A: 149 μg

Vitamin D: 87 IU

Vitamin E: 1.03 mg

Choline: 294 mg

Electrolyte

Potassium: 126 mg

Minerals

Calcium: 50 mg

Iron: 1.2 mg

Magnesium: 10 mg

Phosphorus: 172 mg

Zinc: 1.0 mg

Cholesterol: 424 mg

Selection and Storage of Eggs

Always try to buy the organic eggs from the market as it has low risk of contamination and contains high nutrient quality from others. Consider buying the eggs from the local farms. Always buy small quantity and fresh eggs instead of buying a heap. Do not store it for long time as it may spoil and harm to the health and cause food poisoning. Inspect eggs for any breaks or cracks while purchasing.

It can be stored at room temperature but in the refrigerator it can be stored for longer period. Do not use it after it’s expire date. Keep them in refrigerator with the sharp end facing downward to prevent yolk and air chamber from displacement.

How to Enjoy Eggs

Eating eggs is very simple as it can be prepared in various dishes within less time and effort. Boiled eggs are loved by everyone at anytime and anywhere. It can be made more tasty and delicious by chopping with lemon, olive oil, salt and some black pepper. Boiled egg can be added in salad or fried as well. Some other recipes which can be enjoyed are egg bhujua, egg curry, palak egg curry, egg bread, egg omlet, sliced egg salad, egg poach and etc.
Disadvantages of Egg

• It is high calorie diet as it contains fat and cholesterol. It may cause some serious problems if eaten daily by the people at heart disease and diabetes risk as it increases the blood cholesterol levels.
• Its high calorie value may cause some weight gain if eaten more than limit.
• Saturated fat found in it may lead to the risk of heart diseases.
• It may cause food borne illness as it contains bacterium (salmonella) which lead to the diarrhea, fever, abdominal cramps and etc.

How Many Eggs to Eat Per Day
An egg provides around 187 mg of the cholesterol whereas daily recommended limit of the cholesterol is 300 mg per day (200 mg for people at risk of diabetes or heart disease). So, having an egg on daily basis is good for the health however two eggs can also be eaten.