Make eggs a part of your daily diet: It will increase muscle power and boost cognition too

Eggs come packed with essential vitamins and minerals. A perfect breakfast option, this food can boost your overall health and make you fit.

By: Editorial Team | | Updated: December 12, 2019 11:03 am

From giving you strong bones to helping you lose weight, eggs can do this and more. © Shutterstock

Eggs are a good source of almost all the essential nutrients. Adding these to your daily diet will help you plan more balanced and nutritious meals. Eggs are a great breakfast option but can be included in other meals as well. It all depends on your preference. Also Read - Have blackcurrants daily to control your diabetes: A few interesting ways of adding it to your diet

Eggs are inexpensive, tasty and very, very nutritious. These are packed with protein and contain very less calories. An egg yolk is a rich source of zinc, iron, vitamins A, B and D, riboflavin, calcium, iron, phosphorous, lutein (a phytochemical that researchers say is good for the eyes), choline (needed for brain development) and cholesterol. The whites of an egg contain protein and, contrary to popular believe, it can also reduce blood pressure levels. One egg can fulfill about 11 per cent of a man’s daily requirement of protein and 14 per cent of women’s daily requirement. No wonder, many people around the world favour this food to stat their day with. Also Read - Black raisins: Just a handful every day will keep the doctor away this winter

A study published in Metabolism says that having an egg for breakfast can keep you full for a longer period and help you lose weight faster. A classic example of a healthy eggetarian breakfast is deviled eggs. Just two deviled eggs come packed with all the goodness of eggs plus vitamin K from the mayonnaise. It can fulfill 23 per cent of your recommended daily intake of vitamin B-12 and 5 per cent of your daily folate and vitamin B-6. Watch the video to know how to make deviled eggs. Also Read - Can eating applesauce protect against chronic disease?

Superfood for health and fitness

Eggs are loaded with nutrients. You can easily call this a superfood that can put you on the path to good health and fitness. From giving you strong bones to helping you lose weight, eggs can do this and more. According to researchers from the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, co-consuming cooked whole eggs with your veggies can increase carotenoids absorption. They studied 16 healthy young men for the purpose. They were divided into three groups and each group was asked to eat a version of salad – one with no egg, one with 1.5 scrambled whole eggs and another with 3 scrambled whole eggs.

Researchers saw that those who ate the highest amount of eggs with the salad of tomatoes, shredded carrots, baby spinach, romaine lettuce and Chinese wolf berry had an increased absorption of carotenoids 3- to 9-fold. The carotenoids found in the salad include beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, lycopene, lutein, and zeaxanthin. The last two are also present in egg yolk.

Eggs are a rich source of almost all essential dietary nutrient

Eggs contain vitamins A, B-12 and selenium. These are important nutrients for the proper functioning of the immune system. Lutein and zeaxanthin help to prevent macular degeneration, the leading cause of age-related blindness. These and other vitamins found in this food item promote good vision. It is also a protein rich food that increases satiety and prevents overeating. Hence, it is good for weight loss. This is a rich source of vitamins and minerals that are important for a radiant skin. These nutrients prevent the breakdown of body tissues and make the immune system strong. Let us take a look at why you must make eggs a part of your daily diet.

Eggs make your muscles strong

These are rich in protein and this is need for muscle health. Contrary to popular belief, having it whole is better than just having the whites. Researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign say that people who consume 18 grams of protein from whole eggs or from the whites after doing intense resistance exercises differ dramatically in how their muscles build protein, a process called protein synthesis, during the post-workout period. They found that post-workout muscle-building response in those eating it whole is 40 per cent greater than in those consuming an equivalent amount of protein from just the whites.

The study, carried in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, says that the widespread practice of throwing away the yolks to maximise one’s dietary protein intake from this food item is counterproductive. The yolks are a rich source of protein. It also contains many essential nutrients and food components not found in the whites.

It improves brain health

The vitamins and minerals in eggs are essential for healthy brain function. It stimulates the cells and improve the functions of the brain and nervous system. A study in Washington University in St. Louis found that feeding eggs to infants could provide them with key nutrients for better brains. Infants who ate eggs 6 months after birth showed significantly higher blood concentrations of choline, other biomarkers in choline pathways and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), according to researchers.

They believe that choline (a nutrient that acts like vitamin B) and DHA (an omega-3 fatty acid that serves as a structural component of the brain) play vital roles in infant brain development and function. Both these nutrients are there in this food. In fact, another study at the University of North Carolina found that if pregnant women added eggs to their diet, it improved regions in foetal brains associated with memory. This was published in the FASEB Journal.

It reduces your risk of cardiovascular diseases

People who consume an egg a day could significantly reduce their risk of cardiovascular diseases compared with eating no eggs, says a study carried out in China. This study, published in the journal Heart, says that this food is a prominent source of dietary cholesterol, but they also contain high-quality protein, many vitamins and bioactive components such as phospholipids and carotenoids. This is beneficial for cardiovascular health.

Eggs are good for diabetic patients

A study has linked eggs to a blood metabolite profile that is related to a lower risk of type 2 diabetes. This study is from the University of Eastern Finland. It says that having a egg every day can lower your risk of diabetes. The Molecular Nutrition and Food Research published this study. In another study, researchers saw that egg consumption may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes. This study is from the University of Eastern Finland. Type 2 diabetes is today assuming epidemic proportions in the world.

Exercise and nutrition are important to prevent the disease. But researchers say that together with that, people prone to type 2 diabetes as should also have an egg every day. Researchers say that men who ate approximately four eggs per week had a 37 per cent lower risk of type 2 diabetes. This was in comparison to men who only ate approximately one egg per week. They say that this association was there even after taking into consideration other factors like physical activity, body mass index, smoking and consumption of fruits and vegetables.

Published : December 11, 2019 8:36 pm | Updated:December 12, 2019 11:03 am

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