8 Reasons Why You Should Eat Eggs

From a reasonably long period of time, eggs are always seen with the hatred thanks to its negative publicity by some of the half-baked nutritionists in mainstream health-food industry. Eggs are accused of causing and increasing all sorts of heart-problems (oh please, give me a break) by increasing the cholesterol levels to skyhigh. 

Eggs are demonized by the media upto an extent that an egg-lover considers himself criminal when he consumes it; but hey, I am gonna give you 8 healthy reasons to eat the eggs. All you have to do is read on...

1) Eggs are almost a kind of "Superfood" !!!

Ya, you read it right. Superfood. Just imagine, it contains an embryo which transforms into a fully hatched baby chicken (or the concerned species of which the egg belongs). You can infer how much energy packed it would be to transform an embryo into a baby chicken. Infact I would say that it is one of the most nutritious foods present today on the Earth. But what's so much I am talking about; what it actually contains ?

An average sized chicken egg has following nutritional values:

75 Calories
6 gms of quality protein
5.2 gms of fat
1.3 gms saturated fats
187 mg of cholesterol
Vitamin A
Vitamin D
Vitamin E
Vitamin K
Vitamin B6
Folate
Vitamin B5
Vitamin B12
Vitamin B2
Phosphorus
Selenium

So to say it in a nutshell, eggs are one of the healthiest foods that you can consume. A couple of eggs in a day and your daily requirements of above nutrients will be fulfilled by around 50-70 %.

2) Eggs are excellent reservior of quality protein and amino acids.

 We all learnt during our schools that proteins are building blocks of our body and amino acids are building blocks of protein. Our body is not designed to store protein. So we need to take it on daily basis for optimum performance of the body. Proteins are needed for almost all sorts of activity going on in our body.

Eggs, meat and milk are best quality of protein known to humans. Of these three, eggs are best. As mentioned earlier, a single boiled egg contains about 6 gms of quality protein. In addition, eggs are also loaded with proper amount of essential amino acids so that the protein content of eggs can be utilized on optimum extent. So eat eggs for quality animal protein.

3) Eggs contain cholesterol but doesn't cause any fatal changes to the cholesterol levels.

 Yes, eggs do contain cholesterol; to be precise around 200mg of it. But you need to learn the difference in 'eggs contain cholesterol and eggs adversely affect the cholesterol levels'. Please, for heavens sake; these are two different statements and more importantly later one is not generalized. 

Let me elaborate.Just like other components of diet like carbohydrates, proteins, fibers, etc. cholesterol is also a dietary component that is needed by the body. Normally, liver produces the cholesterol if not provided by the diet. So if the cholesterol is provided by diet (eggs in this case), cholesterol production by liver will decrease which evens up the thing. So please guys think rational, think logic. You can eat eggs..

Cases are also reported that some people are very much responsive to the eggs when it comes to cholesterol; in those persons tend to mild rise in LDL (Low Density Lipoprotein) cholesterol or Bad cholesterol. but these happens very rarely. But in most cases, consumption of eggs doesn't produce any significant adverse effect on cholesterol levels.

However, Pro-Nutritionists have advised the individuals with hypoercholesterolemia to strictly avoid eggs.

4) Eggs tend to raise HDL (High Density Lipoprotein )Levels

 Don't get confused between LDL and HDL. LDL are kind of bad cholesterol; while HDl are good cholesterol. people with higher levels of HDL are known to have low risks of not only cardiovascular diseases but also type 2 diabetes.

5) Eggs help you loose weight.

Eggs are high in satiety index which means that you feel full stomach for a comparatively longer period of time after consuming an egg. This means that you will not develop cravings for food for a longer period of time which will ultimately lead to consumption of less amount of calories in a day. This extraordinary capability of eggs is eggs is more or less due to high protein content in it. In addition protein takes longer time than other macronutrients to get digested; and also it needs comparatively higher calories to digest. So more protein (eggs), more calorie consumption, more fat loss. As simple as that.

6) Eggs take care of your eyes, hairs and nails.

Eggs contain specific antioxidants like lutein and zeaxanthine which are highly responsible for visual health. They  reduce the risk of retinal and lens degeneration which are prime cause of cataract and other eye problems.

In addition to eyes, eggs are also beneficial to our hairs and nails. Eggs are loaded multiple vitamins and minerals. In addition to that it also contains sulphur containing amino acids and zinc which are reported to have direct effect on quality of hairs and nails.

7) Eggs have beneficiary effect on brain.

Choline, an unknown nutrient to many, is extremely essential for healthy brain functions. An adult male or a lactating female needs around 550 mg of choline per day. A single egg contributes to around 100 mg of choline which makes about 20% of RDA.

Importance of choline increases during pregnancy and lactation period. It is critical time because the brain of the foetus is in developmental stage and thus requires higher amount of choline. So all the expecting and lactating mothers should keep their hands on eggs.

8) Stronger and healthier bones.

Eggs are one of the rare food sources of Vitamin D. Vitamin D is essential for absorption of calcium in human body and maintenance of good bone health. With regular and recommended use of eggs in diet, it can protect us from osteoporosis and rickets; in addition maintaining healthy state of bones.

Some practical tips:

1) Try soaking the egg in water before use. A stale egg will float in water while a fresh egg will sink in water.

2) Salmonella poisoning is most common type of safety concern attributed to eggs. So to prevent this, eggs should be cooked or boiled at relatively high temperature.

3) Always prefer chicken eggs than duck eggs as later are high in fats and cholesterol as compared to former.

4) Never refrigerate eggs for more than 20 days.

Thus I gave you 8 healthy reasons to regularly eat eggs. I have done my part. Now its your turn to judge my recommendations and act accordingly.

Stay tuned ! Stay healthy !