Recently, due to the impact of the epidemic, everyone has raised the awareness of storing food at home. Eggs are one of the fastest and most convenient food materials, and they have also become the food that every family must hoard. A friend asked: Recently, I can't go out to eat at home. It is also troublesome to make big fish and meat. There are a lot of eggs at home. Can I eat five every day? I heard that it has high cholesterol and is harmful to eat?

What is the nutrition of eggs?

Choline in eggs is important for children

Eggs are a kind of food with high nutritional value. An egg weighs about 50 grams. Its main component is water, which accounts for about 75%. In addition, the main components are protein and fat, as well as some minerals and vitamins (such as A, D and B groups). Eggs can provide us with nutrition in these aspects:

Protein

The protein in an egg is about 7 grams, and the amino acid pattern of the protein in the egg is very balanced, which is very suitable for human body absorption and utilization, and is a good source of protein intake.

lecithin

Lecithin in eggs is an important component of high-density lipoprotein, which can help regulate blood lipids and also plays an important role in nerve tissues such as the brain.

Vitamins

Eggs are rich in vitamins, which can provide 10%-20% folic acid and 20%-30% vitamins A, D and E in the diet. For vegetarians, eggs are also an important source of vitamin B12.

Choline

There is also a rich nutrient in eggs-choline. The choline content in 100 grams of eggs is about 251 milligrams. A shelled egg weighs about 50 grams and can provide 176 milligrams of choline.

Choline is also an important nutrient for children. The study found that when the supply of DHA and choline is sufficient, it is most conducive to the development of the fetal brain, and the cognitive level of the future baby is the highest; the baby who gets sufficient choline during pregnancy has less stress response after birth, and the risk of suffering from various chronic diseases in the future may be reduced.

Eating eggs can raise cholesterol?

Don't worry too much, it's much better than big fish and big meat.

Many people are afraid to eat more eggs, mainly because they are worried about raising cholesterol. The yolk of an egg contains more than 180 milligrams of cholesterol, which is indeed relatively high. Previous dietary guidelines generally recommended that cholesterol should not exceed 300 mg per day, so this has become the reason why many people think that eggs should not be eaten too much.

However, in recent years, the academic community has summarized the results of various studies and concluded that there is no direct causal relationship between cholesterol intake and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. In fact, cholesterol in human blood and cholesterol in food are not exactly the same. Cholesterol in the human body has two sources-about 70%-80% is synthesized by the liver, only a small part is from dietary cholesterol, and some cholesterol ingested through food cannot be absorbed by the body and will be excreted with feces. So, we really don't have to worry too much about cholesterol in our food.

And, relative to the cholesterol in big fish and meat, eggs are much better. Because in addition to cholesterol in eggs, there are many nutrients that can offset the risks associated with excessive cholesterol intake. Big fish and meat are not only high in cholesterol, but more importantly, their fat content (saturated fat in some red meats) is high, and they are more harmful to the cardiovascular system.

How many eggs do you eat every day?

One a day is no problem, and occasionally overdose is no problem.

Since there is no problem with cholesterol in eggs, then, is it possible to eat five eggs a day.

Eggs are indeed very nutritious, but then there is nutrition, are just a kind of food. For a healthy diet, it is important to diversify food and balance nutrition, rather than superstitious about a certain kind of food and eating special food.

For example, the most important ingredient in eggs is protein. Although eggs are a good source of protein intake, they are not the only source of intake. Soy products, meat, and dairy products can also provide us with protein. You know, 1/3 of soybeans are protein, and drinking a glass of milk a day can also provide about 10 grams of protein.

Eating one egg a day is fine, and occasionally eating five eggs a day may not be a big problem. However, if you eat five a day, it will inevitably lead to eating less other foods and reducing other nutritional intake, which will lead to unbalanced nutritional intake and eventually malnutrition, which is not worth recommend. Moreover, during the period of isolation, most people exercise less.

Do you want to eat egg yolk?

Vitamins and minerals in egg yolk are higher than in egg white

Most of the vitamins and minerals of eggs are in the yolk, and the content is higher than that of egg white, which provides almost only protein. Moreover, egg yolk is also rich in lecithin and choline. The Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2022) recommend to eat 300-350g of eggs per week (about one egg per day) and not to abandon egg yolk.

According to the American Heart Association's scientific advice on dietary cholesterol and cardiovascular risk, healthy people eat one whole egg a day.

How to Eat Eggs Healthier?

Possible cardiovascular effects after frying

Need to remind everyone, the way to eat eggs is also very important. Whether eggs are fried or steamed, fried with a lot of oil or splashed with water, custard or egg soup, their effects on human health will be very different.

Studies have found that after improper cooking of eggs (such as frying), fat and cholesterol are oxidized, and advanced glycation end products may be generated through the Maillard reaction, which may promote the damage of human vascular endothelium and promote arteriosclerosis. It is not conducive to cardiovascular health. However, steamed eggs and boiled eggs do not have such problems. I suggest you try to eat steamed eggs, boiled eggs.

What is the difference between different groups of people eating eggs?

Healthy adults: there is no dyslipidemia, liver, kidney, pancreas, gallbladder and other healthy people, in the case of fish and seafood is not excessive, eat 1-2 eggs a day is no problem.

Healthy custard vegetarians: It's okay to eat two eggs a day, but it's still not recommended to eat this every day.

Pregnant mothers-to-be, nursing mothers, people who gain muscle in fitness, people who exercise a lot, teenagers with long physical development period, hunger/food deficiency period: if they are healthy and have no abnormal blood sugar and blood lipid problems, they can eat 2-3 eggs a day for a period of time, but it is not recommended to do so all the time.

Middle-aged and elderly people, people with hyperlipidemia, patients with gallbladder disease and patients with diabetes: it is not recommended to eat several eggs a day.

If there is a shortage of food and there is no big fish or meat for ten consecutive days, eating five eggs today will not be a big problem. However, it is not recommended to eat like this all the time after the food supply keeps up. Wen/Ruan Guangfeng (Director of Science and Technology Department of Food and Nutrition Information Exchange Center, Master of Nutrition and Food Safety, China Agricultural University)