Enrich the Protein in your Diet with Eggs

Eggs are a nutritious food item as it contains a number of the nutrients that our body requires. Egg contains very good quality protein, fat and also a number of vitamins namely A, B2, B12, D and E. It also contains some minerals, namely iron, calcium and phosphorus.

I would say, it is safe for children 1 year to 18 years of age to consume one whole egg daily. All the nutrients packed into it, make it a wholesome and good food for the growing years.

Adults may consume an egg 2-3 times per week. If however one has a strong family history of high cholesterol levels, one must test your cholesterol level and only if below 170mg/dl then consume whole eggs.

The egg yolk is the part that is dangerous in relation to cholesterol, as one egg yolk contains more than 100mg/dl of cholesterol and must be completely avoided if blood levels are above 200mg/dl cholesterol. After it has been brought down to 170-180mg/dl then one whole egg may be eaten once a week.

Egg white is absolutely safe for consumption. It may be eaten daily and it is one of the best sources of high quality protein for our body. It is very low in calories and at the same time very filling so is a good food for weight reduction diets also.

A whole egg, medium size, is about 80 calories where as an egg white is only 20-22 calories. Therefore, we usually recommend this for young athletes as well as elderly people who feel weak and who are on a weight reduction diet.

Each egg white would give us approximately 4.0 gram of protein. An ideal breakfast I would recommend is 2-3 slices whole wheat bread with 2 egg whites, a sliced tomato and a glass of skimmed milk. This may be eaten up to 5-7 days a week and substituted with cereal and milk or idlies and sambar on the other two days.

Please note egg should not be consumed raw, as raw egg white is not digested properly and will just be eliminated from the body and therefore will be wasted. Egg must be cooked properly to destroy salmonella, which can cause serious digestive tract illness. Therefore, half boiled eggs or raw egg beaten with milk should be strictly avoided. If cooking a fried egg, make sure that both sides are properly cooked and there is no liquid consistency part of the egg while eating it. We do not recommend the use of health eggs or any other special variety of eggs. Please make sure that you are buying from a store which has regular and good sales of eggs so that fresh stocks are available daily