Health Benefits of Eggs

Protein is known as the building block of life because this nutrient is needed to build, strengthen, maintain and repair tissues, including muscle tissues. Eggs are among the cheapest sources of high-quality protein - they contain all the nine essential amino acids your body needs for proper growth. Many other foods, like chicken and fish, might have more protein content than eggs, but the quality of proteins in eggs wins hands down.

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Eggs are rich in folate, omega-3 fatty acids, and compounds like lutein, zeaxanthin, riboflavin, etc. This apart, eggs also have a very high concentration of essential minerals like phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and zinc. All these nutrients are necessary to improve and maintain cognitive function. Eggs are also exceptionally rich in choline, which your body can use to create acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter that boosts mood and memory.

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You might have been told to eat just the egg whites and leave the yolks because the latter are packed with cholesterol. While that is true, the fatty acids in question are omega-3 fatty acids, monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats - healthy fats, in short.

The yolks also have a high concentration of minerals like zinc and selenium, which can help boost the immune system.

Eggs, as a whole, contain enough vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates and proteins to give your immunity a good boost.

Eggs are packed with healthy fats which can keep your LDL cholesterol levels low, and increase your HDL cholesterol levels. This can improve blood circulation and keep the heart healthy. The omega-3 fatty acids, choline and antioxidants like lutein in eggs also improve heart health. The choline, in particular, helps break down a type of amino acid called homocysteine, which is known to improve heart health.

Eggs are nutrient-dense foods which can help you lose and maintain a healthy weight as well. Eggs help you feel full for longer, thereby curbing the urge to eat too much - eggs especially help to manage unhealthy cravings. Eggs also help reduce the variations in glucose and insulin levels in the body, making you feel energetic and active for longer periods of time.

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Eating adequate amounts of eggs can reduce the degeneration of eyesight with age. Eggs contain high amounts of antioxidants like lutein and zeaxanthin, which boost eyesight and keep eye infections and diseases like cataracts and macular degeneration away. The vitamin A and omega-3 fatty acid content in eggs also play a role in maintaining good retinal health.

Folate (vitamin B9) is a nutrient that is recommended to all women who are either trying to have a baby or are already pregnant. Pregnant women are also given folic acid tablets because it is crucial for the development of your baby.

Folic acid is needed during the early stages of a pregnancy for the growth of the foetus, particularly to avoid the occurrence of congenital defects like spina bifida.

Eggs are chock full of folate, and adding eggs to your pregnancy diet can boost the health of both the foetus and the mother. That said, please do not discontinue the use of folic acid tablets just before and during your pregnancy - the idea is to add more cooked eggs to your diet, not remove or replace the folic acid tablets.

Read more: Don't have raw eggs or raw fish during pregnancy

Eggs were once considered harmful for the heart due to their high dietary cholesterol content. However, researchers have not yet found any direct link between dietary cholesterol and high blood cholesterol level. Hence, the idea that eating eggs can cause heart diseases was disproved in general. Indeed research published in the journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology in October 1996, argued that increasing dietary cholesterol intake from healthy foods suppresses the production of cholesterol (biogenesis of cholesterol) in the body!

Yet, a study published in the Journal of American Medical Association in 2019 has once again linked eating eggs to increased heart disease risks. The study followed nearly 30,000 Americans for over 17 years and found that those who ate an extra 300 mg of dietary cholesterol daily were more prone to cardiovascular disease and had a higher chance of death (all-cause mortality) than those who didn't. (An egg yolk can contain 200-250 mg of dietary cholesterol.) Additionally, the study said that adding just half an extra egg a day increased the chances of heart disease in these participants.

To be sure, the mechanism of how dietary fat does or does not get converted into blood cholesterol is still unknown. But the fact that a long-term study found a link between regular egg eaters and heart disease may be concerning for some. So it may be a good idea for people with high cholesterol to eat eggs in moderation, and check with their doctor for the proper diet for high cholesterol.

Any type of raw protein, whether it’s in the form of sushi (raw fish) or undercooked red meat (example, tartare), can be contaminated with salmonella and listeria bacteria, which in turn can cause salmonella infection and listeriosis. Eating raw eggs can also cause biotin depletion, which in turn can lead to seborrheic dermatitis.

Eggs are a great source of nutrition and have a low glycaemic index, too. So it’s believed that you can have eggs if you have diabetes. But a number of studies, including one published in Atherosclerosis - a peer-reviewed journal - in 2013, claim that eating more than three eggs in a week increases the risk of diabetes. Two studies published in the American Journal of Epidemiology also indicate that eating eggs can increase the risk of gestational diabetes.

Some studies have suggested that eating even one or two eggs in a week can increase the risk of ovarian cancer and prostate cancer by 80%. Consumption of eggs is also linked to colorectal cancer. However, a lot can cause cancer, and the link between eggs and different types of cancer are not as firmly established by science yet.