Question: Eggs are cooked in several ways. Is there any difference in nutritional value for these ways? Would eating an egg raw be beneficial?
Answer: Eggs are a nutrient-dense food, which is the biggest compliment that can be given in nutrition speak. Packed with high-quality protein, healthy polyunsaturated fats, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and more, eggs are a cost-effective, nutritious addition to our diet. But when it comes to comparing cooked versus raw eggs, there are real risks and rewards to be had and raw eggs are definitely not the winning option.
For many years, the New Zealand Heart Foundation recommended that people at high risk of heart disease limit their egg intake to three eggs (yolks) per week, due to the high levels of cholesterol in eggs. However, subsequent research affirmed that the levels of cholesterol in eggs had only a small and "clinically insignificant effect" on blood cholesterol levels - saturated fats have a far bigger impact. Hence, the Heart Foundation now advises that most people can eat eggs freely within a balanced heart-healthy diet, while those at high risk of heart disease can safely eat up to six eggs per week.
At a time when food costs are skyrocketing, eggs can provide an inexpensive source of protein. They also contain a helpful punch of carotenoids, vitamin D, B12, selenium and choline, notes the Heart Foundation.
But where do we stand nutritionally with all the variants of cooked versus raw eggs?
Esta historia es de la edición August 27 - September 2, 2022 de New Zealand Listener.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición August 27 - September 2, 2022 de New Zealand Listener.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
Morning songs
On a recent early and glorious Saturday morning - it was 4°C outside I let the complaining chickens out. Chickens never stop complaining.
Upwardly mobile
Climate-friendly e-scooters are proliferating but there are stumbling blocks for users and non-users.
A potent brew
There's a correlation between moderate coffee drinking and reduced risk of colorectal cancer - but evidence of a causal link is still percolating.
Food saviours
A little bit of silliness lightens the mood on the serious topic of food waste.
Ode to old masters
The Polynesian sound and Auckland's ska-punk scene are remembered in new releases.
Weaving Welsh with waiata
Te reo meets Cymraeg in a musical project partly spearheaded by Kawiti Waetford, an opera singer with connections to Wales.
Culture warrior
Activist and scholar Ngahuia te Awek6otuku achieved several firsts in society but had to fight many battles to get there.
An age-old problem
Is our lifespan fixed, or might we be able to slow down or even abolish ageing? And what would we do if we could?
When Jim becomes James
'What would white people do to a slave who had learned to read?' This impressive reimagining of Huckleberry Finn seeks to find out.
Manhattan transfer
A Kiwi movie star led the charge for an Anzac garden atop New York's Rockefeller Centre that's still in use today.