Why Eggs are Egg-cellent

The 9th October was World Egg Day. This may sound like an odd thing to celebrate, but read further to see why eggs are worth the fuss.

Cholesterol

In years gone by, dietary recommendations placed a limit on the number of eggs you should consume per week. This was due to now outdated and disproven data on the affect of eggs on your cholesterol. I’m happy to inform you that research in recent years has shown that eggs have no significant impact on your total cholesterol levels.

The only limit on eating eggs is that you should avoid eating more than 17 eggs per day, as this can interfere with your vitamin K absorption! So, you’re most probably safe on that front. And, according to the South African Department of Health’s food-based dietary guidelines, eggs should be eaten every day.

Complete Protein

There are 20 amino acids that make up proteins. Of these 20, 10 are non-essential amino acids (meaning you don’t have to consume them, because your body is able to synthesise them); and 10 are essential (meaning that you have to consume them!)

Eggs are the only naturally occurring food that contains all 10 essential amino acids, which earns it the title of a ‘complete protein’.

Anaemia

If you have a deficiency of vitamin B9, B12 and/or iron, you will have anaemia. Eggs contain all three of these important micronutrients and an egg a day will go a long way to keep anaemia at bay. This is especially important for children, menstruating women and women post-birth.

Pregnancy & Foetal Development

Eggs contain choline. Choline is very often deficient in most people’s diets, but is crucial for the neurocognitive development of babies. Two eggs a day meet about half of the recommended daily requirements for choline in pregnant women, which means that they can go a long way in ensuring the brain development of growing foetuses.

Eye Health

Choline, along with Lutein and Zeaxanthin (which eggs also contain), help prevent the development of age-related eye disease, like macular degeneration.

Vitamin D

One of the most common micronutrient deficiencies in today’s world is vitamin D, with around 1 billion people globally having low vitamin D levels. Vitamin D is very important in preventing heart disease, certain forms of cancer and certain autoimmune diseases. There is also promising research that indicates that vitamin D may reduce your risk of contracting COVID-19. Guess what, the egg yolk contains about a third of your daily vitamin D requirements and is one of the few foods that contains vitamin D naturally.