by Christine Dunbar

Created on: June 10, 2008

Did you know that in one egg there are 13 essential nutrients; including protein, folate and zinc? Eggs play a role in healthy pregnancies, weight management, brain function and eye health. I always thought that eggs were bad for you if you have high cholesterol. However research has shown that eating eggs does not significantly alter the ratio of LDL-cholesterol to HDL-cholesterol; and that is recognized as a better indicator of heart disease risk than an individual's total cholesterol number or LDL number.

In the yolk you can find vitamin D, folate, lutein, zeaxanthin and more. The yolk also includes healthy monosaturated and polyunsaturated fats and almost half of the high-quality protein found in eggs. Egg whites contain no fat or cholesterol, protein, calcium, phosphorus, sodium, and potassium. The whole egg is healthy however if you do have high cholesterol you may not want to gorge yourself on eggs. Moderation, as with all things, is the best policy.

Eggs are a wonderful source of nutrition for all ages because of the protein; which is good for growing children and to help preserve muscle in adults. As I mentioned earlier eggs play a role in healthy pregnancies because they contain choline, protein, folate and iron.
Choline contributes to fetal brain development and is important to prevent birth defects.
Eggs also contain lutein and zeaxanthin which contribute to eye health and help prevent common causes of age-related blindness.

Even if you only eat the egg white or the egg yolk you stand to gain a few important nutrients; although if you eat the whole egg studies show eggs contain the highest quality food protein known, second only to mother's milk for human nutrition. Eggs are a nutrient-dense food, which is important for children and older adults and is important to anyone at any age who is trying to lose weight.

When you walk into the dairy isle of the store you'll probably notice that there are different type of eggs; besides the color, grades and the size. Organic eggs are from hens fed rations having ingredients that were grown without pesticides, fungicides, herbicides or commercial fertilizers. It should be noted however that the nutrient content of eggs is not affected by whether or not the ration is organic. Free range eggs are produced by hens raised outdoors or that have daily access to the outdoors. Again it should be noted that the nutrient content of eggs is not affected by whether hens are raised free-range or in floor or cage operations, but rather by the breed of chickens laying the eggs, and what those chickens are fed in their diet.

So, in conclusion, eggs are relatively inexpensive and convenient and nutritious. They are an excellent food for people of all ages and in all stages of life. In addition there is a wide variety of ways to prepare eggs, so there's something for everyone.

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