How many times have we heard that eating more than one egg a day is bad for our health? There is much concern among consumers about some alarming information about this food. For several decades now the frequency with which it is good to eat eggs has been a controversial dilemma.

There are some myths about the alleged harmful properties of chicken or barnyard eggs, especially in their main composition which is the yolk, yellow and has been the subject of many black legends inherited from parents and grandparents. “If you eat so many eggs, your skin will turn yellow”, our adults used to tell us to be afraid.

The properties of the egg

In order to determine how often the consumption of eggs is recommended, it is necessary to identify the properties and composition of the food . The first piece of information that we will present will be surprising: 80% of the egg is water, and each one provides about 150 kilocalories. In other words, an egg has the same nutritional value as a banana. At first glance it does not seem so harmful, does it?

Another fact to take into account is the zero contribution of sugars by the egg , the opposite of the fruits, cereals or dairy products that we consume for the most important meal of the day, which is breakfast. Thus, the possible appearance of diabetic problems is avoided. Taking into account only these two facts, it seems that the alarmist myth about the egg is beginning to crumble.

The fat content of this food is particularly interesting. No more than 6 or 7 grams of fat are eaten per egg, which is much less than butter or other animal fats that we also consume quite often . More than the egg, in fact.

Finally, the other properties that the egg contains make it a highly healthy food. On the one hand, each egg contains about 6 or 8 grams of albumen a, concentrated in the white and corresponds to the proteins. Vitamins A (basically retinol) and B correspond to potassium, zinc, magnesium or thiamine, which makes it highly recommended especially for high-performance athletes.

Is it healthy to eat eggs often?

At this point in the article, there is little doubt about the suitability of eating eggs frequently. It does not matter if we use it as a condiment during breakfast and during the snack in the same day, as long as we do not abuse the recommended amount, as with any food.

One of the reasons to demystify the “bad press” on eggs is because you don’t put the magnifying glass on the ingredients that are really exceptionally harmful to your health: sugar. It is this last one that is responsible for most of the diseases and health complications that humans suffer from today, since we consume it daily and almost without realizing it.

It is precisely because of the benefits that eggs have for almost the entire body that it is advisable to consume them regularly: they provide us with protein, prevent eye infections, cataracts or the wearing out of the retina; they improve blood circulation (they reduce insulin), provide vegetable fibre, eliminate plasma cholesterol and are extremely necessary for our intestinal flora.

Some recommendations

Taking into account all the benefits that eating eggs produces for the human body, we will see some of the healthiest recommendations for losing weight through the diet of this food. Dietary experts say you can lose up to 15 kilograms in just over three months.

The most effective way to lose weight, according to a 2016 study by the University of Louisiana (USA), is the so-called “hard-boiled egg diet”. This consists of eating two boiled eggs in the morning, supplemented with breakfast, and two boiled eggs for dinner, varying the supplements according to each individual .

With this simple but powerful recipe, people with overweight problems can find a quick solution by applying this type of diet. Likewise, one should not fall into the “self-prescription”, and it is highly recommended that one consults a professional in the matter. We do not all have the same cholesterol level, nor does our organism respond equally to certain generalist diets.

Bibliographic references:

  • Brothwell, Don R.; Patricia Brothwell (1997). Food in Antiquity: A Survey of the Diet of Early Peoples. Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 54-55.
  • Coorey R, Novinda A, Williams H, Jayasena V (2015). “Omega-3 fatty acid profile of eggs from laying hens fed diets supplemented with chia, fish oil, and flaxseed”. J Food Sci. 80 (1): S180-7.