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0r Eggs
Nutritional Profile
Energy value (calories per serving): Moderate
Protein: High
Fat: High
Saturated fat: Moderate
Cholesterol: High
Carbohydrates: Low
Fiber: None
Sodium: Moderate to high
Major vitamin contribution: Vitamin A, riboflavin, vitamin D
Major mineral contribution: Iron, calciumAbout the Nutrients in This Food
An egg is really three separate foods, the whole egg, the white, and the
yolk, each with its own distinct nutritional profile.
A whole egg is a high-fat, high-cholesterol, high-quality protein
food packaged in a high-calcium shell that can be ground and added to any
recipe. The proteins in eggs, with sufficient amounts of all the essential
amino acids, are 99 percent digestible, the standard by which all other
proteins are judged.
The egg white is a high-protein, low-fat food with virtually no
cholesterol. Its only important vitamin is riboflavin (vitamin B 2 ), a vis-
ible vitamin that gives egg white a slightly greenish cast. Raw egg whites
contain avidin, an antinutrient that binds biotin a B complex vitamin for-
merly known as vitamin H, into an insoluble compound. Cooking the egg
inactivates avidin.
An egg yolk is a high-fat, high-cholesterol, high-protein food, a
good source of vitamin A derived from carotenes eaten by the laying hen,
plus vitamin D, B vitamins, and heme iron, the form of iron most easily
absorbed by your body.
One large whole egg (50 g/1.8 ounce) has five grams fat (1.5 g satu-
rated fat, 1.9 g monounsaturated fat, 0.7 g polyunsaturated fat), 212 mg cho-
lesterol, 244 IU vitamin A (11 percent of the RDA for a woman, 9 percent* Values are for a whole egg.