During the epidemic, I can’t eat big fish and meat at home. Is it okay to eat 5 eggs a day?

Eggs are a common sight on the tables of every household. They are affordable, nutritious and easy to prepare.

Recently, due to the impact of the epidemic, food shortages have occurred in some areas. Without fish and meat, eggs have played an important role.

A friend asked me: Recently, there is a shortage of food. I haven't eaten meat for 10 consecutive days, but there are a lot of eggs at home. Can I eat 5 eggs a day? I heard that eggs have high cholesterol and are harmful to me? Today I want to talk to you about eggs.

What nutrients do eggs contain?

An egg weighs about 50 grams. Its main component is water, which accounts for about 75%. The other components are mainly protein and fat, as well as some minerals and vitamins (such as A, D, and B).

Eggs can provide us with the following nutrients:

1

protein

The main component of eggs is protein. There are about 7 grams of protein in one egg. Moreover, the amino acid pattern of the protein in eggs is very balanced, which is very suitable for human absorption and utilization. It is a good source of protein intake.

2

Lecithin

The lecithin in eggs is an important component of high-density lipoprotein, which regulates blood lipids and also plays an important role in nervous tissue such as the brain.

3

Vitamins

Eggs are rich in vitamins and can provide 10%-20% of folic acid in the diet and 20%-30% of vitamins A, D, and E. For vegetarians, eggs are also an important source of vitamin B12.

4

choline

Eggs are also rich in choline. The choline content in 100 grams of eggs is about 251 mg. A shelled egg weighs about 50 grams and can provide 176 mg of choline.

Choline is also a very important nutrient for children. Studies have found that when both DHA and choline are adequately supplied, it is most beneficial to the development of the fetal brain and the cognitive level of the future baby is the highest; babies who get enough choline during pregnancy will have less stress response after birth, and the risk of various chronic diseases in the future may be reduced.

Therefore, eggs are a food with high nutritional value. During the epidemic when food is scarce, eating eggs can be of great help to everyone in obtaining nutrition.

Does eating eggs raise cholesterol?

Although eggs are good, many people are afraid to eat too many of them, mainly because they are worried that eating eggs will increase cholesterol.

The yolk of an egg contains more than 180 mg of cholesterol, which is indeed high. Previous dietary guidelines generally recommended that daily cholesterol should not exceed 300 mg, so this is why many people think that eggs should not be eaten too much.

However, in recent years, the academic community has summarized the results of various studies and believes that there is no direct causal relationship between cholesterol intake and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.

In recent years, both the U.S. Dietary Guidelines and the Chinese Dietary Guidelines have removed their cholesterol limit recommendations. The main reason is that current research shows that eggs do not increase human cholesterol.

In fact, the cholesterol in human blood is not exactly the same as the cholesterol in food. The cholesterol in the human body comes from two sources. About 70-80% is synthesized by the liver, and only a small part comes from dietary cholesterol. Some of the cholesterol ingested through food cannot be absorbed and utilized by the body and will be excreted with feces. Therefore, we really don’t need to worry too much about the cholesterol in food.

Compared with the cholesterol in meat and fish, eggs are much better. Because in addition to cholesterol, eggs also contain many nutrients that can offset the risks associated with excessive cholesterol intake. Meat and fish not only have high cholesterol, but more importantly, their fat content (saturated fat in some red meat) is also high, which is more harmful to the cardiovascular system.

So, overall, you don't have to worry about raising your cholesterol by eating an egg a day.

How many eggs do you eat every day?

Since the cholesterol in eggs is not a problem, is it okay to eat 5 eggs a day?

Actually, that’s not the case.

Eggs are indeed very nutritious, but no matter how nutritious they are, they are just a kind of food. For a healthy diet, it is important to have a variety of foods and a balanced nutrition.

For example, the main component of eggs is protein. Although eggs are a good source of protein, they are not the only source. Soy products, meat, and dairy products can also provide us with protein. You should know that 1/3 of soybeans are protein, and drinking a glass of milk a day can provide about 10 grams of protein.

In fact, nutrition science tells us that a healthy diet is one that is diversified and balanced in nutrition, rather than being superstitious about a certain type of food and eating as much as you want.

Eggs are a food with high nutritional value. It is okay to eat one egg a day, and it may not be a big problem to eat 5 eggs occasionally. However, if you eat 5 eggs a day, it will inevitably lead to eating less other foods and reducing other nutritional intake, which will lead to an imbalance in nutritional intake and ultimately malnutrition. It is not recommended. Moreover, during the quarantine period, most people do not exercise much.

So, if you really want to eat more, how many should you eat?

Healthy adults: Those who do not have abnormal blood lipids and whose liver, kidneys, pancreas, gallbladder, etc. are healthy, it is fine to eat 1-2 pieces of fish and seafood a day as long as they do not consume too much.

Healthy lacto-ovo vegetarians: It is okay to eat 2 eggs a day, but it is not recommended to eat it every day.

Pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, people who work out to gain muscle, people who do a lot of exercise, teenagers in the growth period, and those in the hunger/food shortage period: If you are in good health and have no problems with blood sugar and blood lipids, you can eat 2-3 eggs a day for a period of time, but it is not recommended to do so all the time.

For example, if there is a food shortage and you haven't had any meat or fish for ten consecutive days, it's not a big problem to eat five eggs today. However, it is not recommended to eat like this after the food supply is caught up.

Middle-aged and elderly people, people with hyperlipidemia, patients with gallbladder disease and patients with diabetes: It is not recommended to eat several eggs every day.

Do you want to eat egg yolk?

It’s better to eat the egg yolk.

Most of the vitamins and minerals in eggs are in the yolk, which is higher than the egg white, which almost only provides protein. In addition, the yolk is rich in lecithin and choline.

The American Heart Association (AHA) scientific guide to dietary cholesterol and cardiovascular risk recommends that healthy people eat one whole egg per day.

The Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2016) recommends eating 280g to 350g of eggs per week (about one egg per day), and not discarding the egg yolks.

How to eat eggs more healthily?

We need to remind everyone that the way you eat eggs is also very important.

Whether the eggs are fried or boiled, stir-fried with a lot of oil or poured with water, or made into egg custard or egg drop soup, they will have a huge impact on human health.

Studies have found that when eggs are improperly cooked (such as fried), fat and cholesterol are oxidized and may generate advanced glycation end products (AGEs) through the Maillard reaction, which may promote damage to the human vascular endothelium and promote arteriosclerosis, which is not conducive to cardiovascular health. However, steamed eggs and boiled eggs do not have such problems.

I suggest that you try to eat steamed eggs or boiled eggs.