Nutrition

Nature’s Power Pack

Eggs are a powerhouse food - packed full of natural proteins, vitamins, minerals and other essential elements required for a complete and balanced diet. They are also one of New Zealand's favourite foods, popular across all ages and widely used in a variety of ways.

Eggs are an ideal food for sportspeople, vegetarians, and people who care about their health.

An egg contains the highest quality food protein available. Because it is so near to perfect, egg protein is often the standard by which all other proteins are judged. Based on the essential amino acids it provides, egg protein is second only to mother's milk as the ideal for human nutrition. A moderate amount of fat, about 5 grams, is found in a Large egg yolk - approx 1.5 grams saturated and 2.5 grams unsaturated.

An egg contains varying amounts of 13 vitamins (but no vitamin C) plus many minerals. An egg yolk is one of the few foods that contain vitamin D, the sunshine vitamin.

On a scale of 1-100 this is how the goodness of egg protein stacks up.

*Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The Amino Acid Content of Foods and Biological Data on Proteins. Nutritional Study #24. Rome (1970).

Biotin
Biotin is one of the B vitamins, which play an important role in cell metabolism, and the utilisation of fats, proteins and carbohydrates.

Calcium
One Large egg provides 3% of the Recommended Daily Intake (RDI) for calcium, most of which is contained in the yolk. Calcium's major role is in building and maintaining bones and teeth. It is also essential for many other body functions related to the blood, nerves and muscles. The eggshell is composed largely of calcium carbonate (about 94%) and contains about 2 grams of calcium. It also contains small percentages of magnesium carbonate and calcium phosphate.

Calories
The calorie count for eggs varies with size.

Cephalin
One large egg contains 0.230 gram of Cephalin - a phosphorus-containing lipid found in tissues, especially brain and nerve tissues.

Lecithin
Lecithin is one of the factors in egg yolk that helps to stabilise emulsions such as mayonnaise, salad dressings and Hollandaise sauce. Lecithin contains acetycholine, which has been proven to help brain function.

Vitamins
Eggs contain 13 vitamins in varying amounts, but no vitamin C. An egg yolk is one of the few foods that contain vitamin D, the sunshine vitamin.

Fat
Fat supplies energy, enhances flavours and helps the body absorb certain vitamins. Fatty acids, the basic chemical units of fat, are either saturated, monounsaturated or polyunsaturated. A Large egg contains only about 5 grams of fat – about 1.5 grams saturated and 2.5 grams unsaturated.

Monounsaturated fatty acids are found in fats of both plant and animal origin. They tend to decrease blood cholesterol levels. Polyunsaturated fatty acids are found primarily in fats of plant origin and in fats of fatty fish and also tend to decrease blood cholesterol levels. Saturated fatty acids are found primarily in fats of animal origin (meat and dairy products) and are usually solids at room temperature. Saturated fat increases blood cholesterol.

Cholesterol

Dietary Cholesterol and Plasma Cholesterol: Recent Studies

Clinical studies of the effects of dietary cholesterol on plasma cholesterol levels are complicated by many factors, not the least of which is the wide range of dietary cholesterol levels fed to study subjects. Other factors include the type and amount of dietary fat and whether the studies use a controlled feeding environment or are carried out in free-living subjects. The following outline summarizes the methodology and results of dietary cholesterol - plasma cholesterol studies published between 1994 and 1996. In order to more accurately compare the various cholesterol feeding studies carried out over the past two years, the plasma cholesterol changes (mg/dl) have been normalized per 100 mg per day change in dietary cholesterol to give a dose adjusted value as mg/dl per 100 mg/day.

Additional information can be viewed at http://www.enc-online.org/dietc.htm

Cholesterol is a fat-like substance found in every living cell in the body. It is made in necessary amounts by the body and is stored in the body. Most of the cholesterol found in blood and tissues is the type made by the body itself.

Dietary cholesterol is found in all foods from animals and does not automatically raise blood cholesterol levels. One Large egg contains approx 213 mg cholesterol.

Too many calories, too much fat, saturated fat and high intakes of cholesterol may increase the level in the blood. Saturated Fat has the greatest influence on raising blood cholesterol and elevated blood cholesterol increases the risk of heart disease. You should know your blood cholesterol level and follow your doctor's advice if it is high.

Protein
Protein is a combination of amino acids, some of which are called essential because the human body needs them but can't make them itself. Humans need a regular supply of protein and essential amino acids in their diet and eggs boast them all: histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan and valine. Because egg protein is present in a pattern very close to exactly what the body needs, eggs are often the measuring stick by which other protein foods are measured.  Eggs are also compared with meat in the food categories. One egg = 1 ounce of lean meat, fish or poultry.

Eggs contain nine other amino acids in addition to the essential amino acids, providing a total of 6.25 grams of high-quality complete protein in a large egg.

Egg Yolks
Egg yolks are full of goodness because it is specially designed to be the food source for a baby chick and contains all of the egg’s fat and a little less than half of the protein. All of the egg's vitamins A, D and E are in the yolk and egg yolks are one of the few foods naturally containing vitamin D (the sunshine vitamin).

The only vitamins you’ll find more of in the egg white are riboflavin and niacin. The yolk also contains more phosphorus, manganese, iron, iodine, copper, and calcium than the white, and it contains all of the zinc. The yolk of a Large egg contains about 59 calories.

When eggs are used in cooking, the yolk is responsible for the egg's emulsifying or blending properties.