What's The Healthiest Way To Eat Eggs?

Eggs are one of the nutritious food on earth. This article will explain to you the healthiest way to cook and eat eggs.

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Eggs are packed with healthy fats and high-quality protein with all the amino acids. In addition, egg provides you some important vitamins and minerals too.

Due to these factors, there are several health benefits of eating eggs and I put them in the category of superfood.

But how you consume eggs can make a difference in its nutrient profile and health benefits. So let’s have a look at the healthiest way to eat eggs.

Should You Eat Raw Eggs or Cook Them?

In the Rocky movie, legendary fitness icon, Sylvester Stallone started a trend of consuming raw eggs. Since then, “raw eggs vs cooked eggs” is a hotly debated topic.

Some people have this misconception that raw eggs give more protein. But various researches and studies prove that cooking them is the healthiest way to eat eggs.

Why Cooked Eggs Are Healthier?

Here are some reasons explaining why cooking them is the healthiest way to eat eggs:

1. Kills Bacteria

A very few eggs may contain a harmful bacteria called “Salmonella” that can lead to Salmonellosis. (1).

Eating contaminated eggs can cause this bacterial infection that leads to diarrhea, headache, stomach cramps, and fever.

However, cooking an egg destroys any dangerous bacteria and make it safer to eat.

2. More Protein Absorption

One of the main reasons for eating eggs is that an egg is a complete protein source. That means it contains all the essential amino acids that your body requires to build muscles and function properly.

However, raw eggs contain the same amount of protein as cooked eggs but the digestibility and absorption of protein get reduced.

A study, published in The Journal of Nutrition, shows that “the digestibility of protein is 91% with cooked eggs whereas with raw eggs is only 50%.”

Due to this reason, eating cooked eggs is the healthiest way to eat them.

3. Better Biotin Absorption

Biotin or vitamin B7 is a water-soluble vitamin that helps in the production of fatty acids and glucose in your body (2).

A protein named avidin is present in raw eggs that can block the absorption of biotin in your body (3).

SUMMARY: Cooking an egg destroys harmful bacteria and increases its digestibility and absorption of some important nutrients.

Some Common Cooking Methods Are:

Boiled Eggs

Boiled eggs are cooked in a beaker of boiling water for about 5-10 minutes. The duration of boiling them depends on how hard-boiled you want to eat them.

This is one of the best and healthiest way to eat eggs, especially after the workout. As it doesn’t contain any oil or spices.

Omelet

To make an omelet, beat an egg, pour it into a hot pan, and cook it slowly on a low to medium flame until it gets solid.

Scrambled Eggs

Beat some eggs in a bowl, pour them in the pan and cook them on low heat.

Unlike omelet, keep stirring the eggs while they are in the pan.

Poached Eggs

Unlike boiled eggs, poached eggs are cooked in slightly cooler water.

SUMMARY: Eggs can be cooked in different ways like boiled, omelet, poached, fried, etc.

How Can You Cook & Eat Eggs In The Healthiest Way

Here are some tips to cook and eat eggs in the healthiest way…

Add Some Veggies

Vegetables go really well with eggs. Combining them both increases the nutrition quotient of your meal.

Eggs are a rich source of protein and healthy fats. Adding vegetables in them increases vitamins and adds fiber to your meal.

The best way is to add your favorite vegetables in an omelet or scrambled eggs, as in this recipe.

Use Good Quality Oil

Use a minimum amount of oil and that too of good quality to cook your eggs. For example, extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil are some healthy choices.

These oils remain stable at high temperatures and contain healthy fatty acids.

Use A Low Calory Cooking Method

If you want to reduce your calory intake or you are on a fat loss diet, then consuming boiled or poached eggs are the healthiest way to eat eggs.

While cooking in this way you don’t need to add oil or any extra ingredient with eggs.

Add a Carb Source in your Meal

Eggs are rich in high-quality protein and healthy fats. But they lag in carbohydrates.

Adding a healthy carbohydrate source with eggs makes a complete meal. Eating whole wheat bread with an omelet or scrambled eggs is a delicious example.

Use Good Quality Organic Eggs

The nutrition quotient of an egg depends on various factors like how the chicken is raised, it’s diet, etc. Different types of eggs have different nutritional benefits (4).

Try to eat organic eggs as much as possible. They are healthier than caged eggs.

Read this article to get a detailed insight about the nutritional differences among different types of eggs.

Cook Eggs On Low Heat

Cooking eggs destroys bacteria and make them safer to eat. It also makes some nutrients like biotin and protein more digestible.

But over-cooking of eggs can damage some nutrients. Hence, cook eggs on low to medium flame (8).

How Over-Cooking Can Effect Eggs

High-heat cooking can affect eggs in a negative way. A study shows that cooking eggs can reduce their vitamin content by 17-20% (5).

Studies have also shown that cooking can reduce the number of antioxidants in an egg by up to 18% (6,7).

In short, cooking eggs for a short time or on low flame helps in retaining more nutrients.

Another side effect of overcooking eggs is the oxidation of cholesterol present in the egg yolks. This can produce compounds like oxysterols (11).

This oxidized cholesterol may end up at an increased risk of heart disease (9, 10).

SUMMARY: High heat cooking can reduce the amount of some vitamins and antioxidants. It can also oxidize the cholesterol in them.

Healthiest Way To Eat Eggs – In A Nutshell

No doubt, eating cooked eggs is the healthiest way to eat them. It reduces the risk of bacterial infection and increases the absorption of protein and biotin.

Cook them on a low to medium flame for a short period of time. In this way, the egg will retain most of its nutrients as high heat cooking can destroy some vitamins and antioxidants.

Among various cooking methods, boiled or poached eggs may be the healthiest way to eat eggs. As they don’t contain any extra oil or harmful ingredient.

In short, eggs are super healthy food and you must cook and eat them whichever way you enjoy them the most.

Read more about eggs:

What’s The Healthiest Way To Eat Eggs?

Should You Eat Raw Eggs or Cook Them?