-Beena Arora, Chief Dietician, Dr Peters’ Team Institute of Bariatric, Minimal Access & General Surgery
I love eggs because they are an excellent meal, balanced with nutrition and comfortable, and so it is extremely essential. The egg makes a perfect meal option, especially for those following bariatric surgery or patients looking forward to non-surgical weight loss. You would be astonished to know that India is one of the world’s largest producers of eggs.
An egg weighs 45 to 50g or so. Eggs are rich in ascorbic acid (vitamin C), 80 to 90 Kcal, 6 to 7g of protein, 6g of fat, 30 mg of calcium, 1.1 mg of iron, 210 mcg of vitamin A (retinol) and 40 mcg of folic acid.
All the essential amino acids that make it a complete protein are found in egg protein. Two eggs’ protein content meets almost 25 per cent of the daily protein intake of an adult.
Egg yolk is the richest source of lecithin, an integral part of any cell in the body, and it includes all the fat in the egg. Egg yolk contains essential fatty acids and vitamins such as vitamin A, D and E that are fat-soluble. In egg-yolk, the fat present is in a highly emulsified shape that is quickly digested and absorbed. 250 mg of cholesterol is present in an average-sized egg.
Other water-soluble vitamins, as well as fat-soluble vitamins, occur in large quantities, with the exception of vitamin C, which is entirely absent in the egg. Eggs are also a rich source of zinc that is biologically available, which is essential for good immunity.
Vegetarian eggs
Have you all heard of vegetarian eggs ever before? Yeah, they’re there!! Unfertilized hen eggs are vegetarian eggs and produced without sperm merging. The leghorn birds are genetically improved birds, suitable for egg production, lays only unfertilized eggs as they are not allowed to mate with cocks.
Good news is, nutritionally there is no difference between country breed and leghorn eggs, however, you can check on the following points to distinguish between country bread and leghorn eggs:
- Country eggs are smaller in size and either white cream or pale straw is the colour of their shell
- leghorn eggs are larger in size and often white in colour.
There is little or no effect of cooking on the nutritional value of proteins, minerals or fat-soluble vitamins found in eggs. There are just any vitamin B1 and B2 loss.
If the egg sinks, it is considered nice to have a quality check, whether or not you have bought good quality eggs, place them in a bowl of water, while low-quality eggs either float in the centre, rise to the water surface or float on the top. New eggs have the highest level of protein.
I recommend using eggs in the daily diet, as a weight loss dietician, to get tons of nutrients and health benefits packed in a small shell.
