3 Health Benefits of Eggs
Eggs are one of the foods with the most health benefits. Even so, for many years, experts incorrectly advised people not to eat them because some biased trials linked this food to increased cholesterol levels. In this article, we’ll talk about the health benefits of eggs.
Before we start, it’s important to note that it’s a myth that people shouldn’t eat more than three or four eggs a week. This food is now considered totally safe and healthy. In fact, nutritionists recommend including it in your diet regularly.
The health benefits of eggs
We’re now going to comment on the main health benefits of eggs, as well as science’s position on the matter.
Eggs help keep muscles healthy
Egg proteins are considered of the highest quality, as they’re nutritionally complete. They contain all the essential amino acids, those that the body can’t produce on its own, and are very digestible. This is why experts recommend consuming eggs.
It should be noted that eating enough proteins is essential to keeping your muscles healthy. A study published in the journal Food & Function states this. In fact, the usual dietary guidelines state that people should eat one gram of protein per pound (2.2 grams per kg) of body weight.
This reduces the risk of developing sarcopenia during adulthood. Likewise, you’ll experience less loss of muscle mass over the years, thanks to protein’s ability to stop catabolism.
This food improves bone density
Many people associate proper calcium intake with bone health. However, another nutrient is also vitally important when it comes to preventing loss of bone density.
We’re talking about vitamin D, a nutrient that many people lack. This is because few foods contain it. But eggs are rich in vitamin D.
According to a study published in the journal Histochemistry and Cell Biology, getting enough vitamin D is key to guaranteeing intestinal calcium absorption. This allows said mineral to reach the bone, which prevents demineralization.
In addition, vitamin D is a key nutrient to controlling internal inflammation. Experts even associate vitamin D deficiency with an increased risk of developing chronic and complex diseases, such as some types of cancer. As sunlight exposure limits its internal synthesis, it’s important for you to incorporate a food source into your diet.
Eggs reduce cardiovascular risk
Despite the fact that experts used to believe the opposite, recent articles associate egg consumption with a reduced cardiovascular risk. An example is the one that was published in the journal Nutrients in 2018.
This study claims that regular egg intake helps to improve the blood lipid profile, which reduces the risk of acute cardiac events that can negatively affect a person’s life. Current studies confirm that including eggs in the diet increases plasma HDL lipoprotein levels, which experts consider beneficial.
In fact, experts say that eggs are much healthier and nutritious than meat. However, this doesn’t mean that you have to cut out meat from your diet but rather that you should prioritize the consumption of eggs over meat.
Egg, a food with many health benefits
Despite the fact that experts discouraged eggs for many years, they now have a completely different opinion on this food. Currently, they recommend and promote their consumption, as they’ve been shown to have health benefits.
In short, eggs are very nutritious foods. Nevertheless, you have to remember that, in order to take advantage of the properties of eggs, you need to cook them.
The proteins inside must be denatured in order for the human body to be able to use them. You can also apply a mechanical treatment to cause a similar effect. For example, beating them.
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
- Wu G. Dietary protein intake and human health. Food Funct. 2016 Mar;7(3):1251-65. doi: 10.1039/c5fo01530h. PMID: 26797090.
- Goltzman D. Functions of vitamin D in bone. Histochem Cell Biol. 2018 Apr;149(4):305-312. doi: 10.1007/s00418-018-1648-y. Epub 2018 Feb 12. PMID: 29435763.
- Blesso CN, Fernandez ML. Dietary Cholesterol, Serum Lipids, and Heart Disease: Are Eggs Working for or Against You? Nutrients. 2018 Mar 29;10(4):426. doi: 10.3390/nu10040426. PMID: 29596318; PMCID: PMC5946211.
