Eggs are a great source of essential nutrients, they help you lose weight, and they give you a boost of antioxidants. These are only a few of the many reasons why you should eat eggs for breakfast. You can learn many others from the huge work containing many current eggs-related studies, Egg and Egg-Derived Foods: Effects on Human Health and Use as Functional Foods. However, you should never forget that to enjoy health benefits of eggs, you need to cook them right. Otherwise, added fats, carbs, and sodium might negate all the precious positive effects.
Why You Should Eat Eggs for Breakfast: Top 3 Benefits
1. Protein Boost
Eggs are rich in complete protein. This means they provide you with all essential amino acids. As they contain many other essential nutrients as well, this food is one of the best things you can find nutrition-wise.
Egg protein is easy to digest if eggs are cooked. Note that eating raw eggs means you’ll be getting only a half of the protein at best. There will also be a risk of contracting salmonella, so raw eggs are a definite taboo.
2. Weight Loss
Eggs are rather effective appetite suppressants. The Independent reports that a study from Tel Aviv University proved that if you eat eggs for breakfast, followed by a filling medium lunch and a light dinner, you’ll be able to feel comfortably full during the day.
This trick will be most effective for people trying to get used to a new weight loss diet. It will help you manage hunger that’s sure to come when you cut the calories.
3. Antioxidant Boost
Few people realize that eggs are rich in antioxidants, zeaxanthin in particular. This means that this food benefits your health as a whole, due to helping the body fight the destructive effects of oxidation.
Due to zeaxanthin and lutein, eggs are good for eye health. These antioxidants accumulate in the retinas, protecting them and reducing the risk of degenerative eye conditions.
Want to Eat Eggs for Breakfast? Cook Them Right
To enjoy health benefits of eggs, you have to cook them, as high temperature treatment is essential for releasing many of the nutrients and making egg proteins more digestible. However, some cooking methods will destroy too many nutrients or add substances that will reduce health value of the food.
To avoid this you should:
- Use a cooking method that doesn’t add many calories.
Boiling or poaching will always be best, as opposed to frying. - Don’t cook too long.
The longer eggs are exposed to heat, the more nutrients they lose, so baking isn’t a good option. - If frying, use a ‘good’ oil.
Coconut and extra-virgin olive oils are best for frying because they don’t oxidize as regular cooking oil does. However, even with this advantage, you should only use the bare minimum of oil with your eggs and don’t fry them to a crisp.
Serve eggs with vegetables as this will maximize the nutritional value of your breakfast as well as give you some fiber to make the fats in eggs easier for the body to deal with.
Don’t forget that eggs available on the market vary in nutritional value. Organic eggs from chickens that live happy lives on a farm and eat good food are the best, but also most expensive. Choose the highest quality option you can afford.
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