The Incredible Edible EGG
Know what I love about waking up? Coffee. But even coffee comes in second to EGGS!
What do you call leftovers with an egg on top? Breakfast!
Eggs are delicious, versatile, and can make any last night’s leftovers magically blossom into breakfast in my book. There are a few things you need to know about eggs and why they’re so good for you, just in case you’re on the fence. Jump over to the egg side of your fence and here’s why:
Eggs are an excellent nutrient-dense whole food source. Eggs packs six to seven grams of protein, vitamin B-12, vitamin E, riboflavin, folic acid, calcium, zinc, iron, and essential fatty acids into a mere 75 calories. Second to the lactalbumin protein in human milk, eggs have the highest quality protein of any food. Choline, found in eggs, beef liver and other animal foods, is metabolized by the bacteria in our gut and converted by the liver into TMAO (trimethylamine N-oxide), which has been linked to better health. (see Mark’s Daily Apple article on TMAO.)
In addition, some studies suggest that eggs may even prevent heart disease. Egg consumption leads to the formation of larger, less dense LDL and HDL particles, which may be protective against atherosclerosis. Eggs are for your heart, people. Eating eggs frequently may lead to lower cholesterol; one study found that those eating four or more eggs per week had lower total serum cholesterol than those eating one or fewer per week. Sunny side up, please!
Now that you’re more knowledgeable about this powerhouse food, let’s talk preparation.
Depending on how you cook the eggs, the levels of nutrients can significantly decrease, so there are favored methods which preserve most of these nutrients.
We will go from the cooking methods that allow for the LEAST amount of nutrient absorption, to the methods that provide you with the MOST nutrient absorption.
5. Raw: Just skip it. The risk of salmonella is to great. Cook your eggs.
4. Egg whites: You're missing out on the deluge of micronutrients and healthy fatty acids found in the nutrient-dense yolk, including selenium, riboflavin, vitamin D, phosphorus, vitamin B12, folate, iron, vitamin A, vitamin B6, and choline: did I mention choline is a B-vitamin that helps prevent the accumulation of belly fat?
3. Hard boiled, over hard, scrambled: With each of these methods, overcooking the eggs can lead to significant nutrient loss.
2. Omelets, poached, over easy, sunny side up: When you use each of these methods, and are careful not to overcook, you retain most of the desirable nutrients to be absorbed in the body. With the methods other than poached, consider an oil with a high oxidation point such as avocado oil or ghee.
1. Drumroll…… SOFT BOILED is the winner! It’s low calorie, cooks the protein-rich whites thoroughly, and preserves the healthy micronutrients in the yolk!
WHICH eggs you choose matters.
You may notice if you crack the yolk of an egg that was the cheapest at the grocery store versus the eggs you bought from the farmer at the Farmer’s Market, the farmer’s yolk is more orangey-golden, around 1.5-2 times larger, and cooks to have that more flavorful, delicious gold yolk. The eggs you choose matters, and here is why you should always choose “Pasture-Raised.”
Cage-free, a term regulated by the USDA, means that the eggs come from hens that, put simply, aren’t caged: They can “freely roam a building, room, or enclosed area with unlimited access to food and fresh water during their production cycle, but [do] not have access to the outdoors.”
Free-range, another USDA term, means that the eggs come from hens that have some sort of access to the outdoors. However, it doesn’t mean that the hens actually go outdoors, or that the outdoor space is more than a small, fenced-in area; it simply implies that a door exists that a farmer could at some point open.
Pasture-raised is not a term regulated by the USDA; however, if the carton says “pasture-raised” and also includes stamps that say “Certified Humane” and/or “Animal Welfare Approved,” it means that each hen was given 108 square feet of outdoor space, as well as barn space indoors. These are the eggs to buy!
