What Happens To Your Body If You Eat 3 Eggs Every Day?
Remember that one time when scientists claimed that eating eggs was harmful to your health since they contain cholesterol that can clog your arteries? It seems that eggs, just like avocados, coconut oil, and butter in the past, have fallen victim to false allegations. In reality, eating eggs is not harmful at all (unless you are planning to turn into Rocky Balboa, well then, hello Salmonella infection.) Medical experts now claim that eating foods containing cholesterol stimulates your liver to reduce its own production. In other words, you are simply replacing your body’s natural cholesterol with the type found in eggs. On the bright side, eggs are extremely important for your body. The yolk of an egg is packed with vitamins such as iron and calcium while egg white is an excellent source of protein.
Below are six reasons why eggs are a must-have staple in your diet:
- Eggs are a Great Source of Nutrients Both the egg yolk and egg white are equally beneficial for you. Egg yolk contains over 90% of the egg’s iron and calcium whereas the white of an egg possesses more than half of the egg’s protein. A single egg contains all the essential nutrients that your body requires on a daily basis, with the exception of vitamin C. A breakfast consisting of eggs, bread, and a glass of citrus juice is enough to provide you with all the nutrition you need to help your body perform at its optimum level.
2. Eggs can help you Lose Weight Deemed the ‘perfect protein,’ eggs rank highly on the satiety index, which means that eating eggs makes you feel fuller than most other foods (1). A study conducted by researchers at the University of Washington discovered that people who eat a 30% protein diet ate much lesser calories lesser than people who eat a 15% protein diet. This means that eating high protein foods such as eggs make you feel less hungry, thereby helping you lose weight.
3. Eggs are ‘Brain Food’ Eggs are a rich source of the nutrient choline. Choline is an essential nutrient required for improving the brain development in fetuses and newborns. This nutrient helps improve and maintain brain function even at an old age, thus proving to be extremely valuable to the body. It is said that a single egg can provide 28% of a pregnant women’s daily requirement of the nutrient choline. Since choline is a crucial nutrient to develop the fetal brain, you must never forget to eat your eggs, especially if you are pregnant!
4. Eggs help keep your Body ‘Alive’ Eggs are an excellent source of the mineral iron. Iron is considered to be an essential nutrient because it plays a major role in the production of hemoglobin – a part of red blood cells. Without hemoglobin, your blood cannot transport oxygen from your lungs to the rest of your body. Cells deprived of oxygen cannot perform their functions and end up dying. Therefore, it is extremely important to have a diet that is rich in iron. A single boiled egg contains more than 12% of the daily iron required by a pregnant woman. Not only are eggs a rich source of iron, but the iron found in eggs exists in the form of heme iron – the most absorbable form of iron that exists naturally
5. Eggs help prevent Cataracts and protect your Eyesight Medical experts claim that consumption of foods such as eggs, spinach, and broccoli help reduce the risk of developing cataract by up to 20% (2). Eggs are loaded with antioxidants and other essential nutrients. They are a great source of carotenoids such as zeaxanthin and lutein that are essential for your vision. Together, these carotenoids help reduce macular degeneration that is the leading cause of blindness in old age. Carotenoids also protect your eyes from harsh sunlight, help improve your vision in the dark, and reduce the risk of cataracts by approximately 50%.
6. Eggs do not increase the Risk of Coronary Heart Disease
During the 1990s, eggs had become extremely infamous for the levels of cholesterol found in them (a single egg contains 124% of the daily value of cholesterol your body needs). Ever since then, many studies have indicated that there is no correlation between the intake of eggs and coronary heart disease. Furthermore, your heart’s health is put at greater risk by trans and saturated fats found in ‘junk food’ as compared to cholesterol found in eggs. Not only are eggs extremely beneficial to the human body, but they are also the most cost-effective method of obtaining your daily protein requirements. Now you have no reason to feel guilty for enjoying that devilled eggs breakfast anymore!
How many eggs is it safe to eat?
The Cholesterol Issue
In the past, we were told to restrict the number of eggs we eat in a day, because people thought that foods high in cholesterol raised blood cholesterol, leading to heart disease. In fact, in most healthy people, eating more dietary cholesterol has little effect on blood cholesterol levels. Most cholesterol in the blood is actually made by the liver. The liver has a clever way of balancing how much cholesterol is in your blood by producing more or less depending on how much is coming from your food. Saturated and trans-fats in the diet have a bigger impact on blood cholesterol. An egg contains only about 1.5 g of saturated fat and no trans-fat at all.
How many eggs are safe?
The CSIRO in Australia (1), has shown that if eggs are eaten daily (2 eggs a day over 12 weeks) as part of a kilojoule controlled weight loss diet there are no negative effects on cholesterol levels. Similarly, a number of US studies (2) have shown that when 3 eggs a day are included in the diet there is even an improvement in blood cholesterol profiles because of the healthy omega 3 fat content. There have been some questions around egg intake for people with Type 2 Diabetes. A new study published in December last year (3) showed that for people with Type 2 Diabetes, including two eggs a day in the diet over twelve weeks had no negative impact on cholesterol levels.
So it looks like at least 2-3 eggs per day is safe to eat. Eggs are a wonderful source of nutrition. Two to three eggs a day can be safely eaten as long as they are eaten as part of a healthy diet
Compiled & Shared by- Team, LITD (Livestock Institute of Training & Development)
Image-Courtesy-Google
Reference-On Request.
