A new study that followed more than 400,000 adults in China for a period of about 9 years has revealed that eating an egg a day can lower risk of heart disease and stroke.
An Egg A Day Reduces Risk For Cardiovascular Diseases
In the study published in the journal Heart on May 21, Chenxi Qin, from Peking University Health Science Center in Beijing, China, and colleagues found that people who ate an average of 0.76 eggs per day have 11 percent reduced odds of developing cardiovascular diseases, and 18 percent reduced odds of dying from these conditions compared with people who never ate eggs.
"Among Chinese adults, a moderate level of egg consumption (up to <1 egg/day) was significantly associated with lower risk of CVD, largely independent of other risk factors," the researchers wrote in their study.
Hard-Boiled And Poached Eggs Contain Fewer Calories
Egg in itself is already a healthy food but how it is prepared and cooked also matter.
There is no convincing research data that indicates one egg a day is problematic," said Teresa Fung, from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health."What would be problematic is how the egg is prepared and what else is consumed a day. An egg a day in the form of bacon and egg breakfast sandwich would be problematic.''
Peter Schulman, a cardiologist from the University of Connecticut, said that that hard-boiled eggs are a healthy choice since nothing is added to the eggs.
Those who want to cut back on calories may also go for poached eggs. The meal will have fewer calories compared with fried, omelet, or scrambled eggs.
"Try to avoid butter," he said, "but even a tiny bit of butter is not bad for most people."
Schulman also said to be wary of egg dishes prepared by restaurants as these likely involved larger portions and used less healthy cooking techniques than recommended on a regular basis.
"But even in those situations, I'd rather you choose eggs over a giant bagel or a low-fat muffin that's probably mostly sugar," Schulman said.
Tips On Cooking Eggs
Cooking eggs can make some of their nutrients more digestible but high-heat cooking isn't recommended because it can damage some nutrients such as Vitamin A.
Cooking eggs longer also makes them less healthy. Research, for instance, showed that eggs baked for 40 minutes may lose up to 61 percent of their Vitamin D. In comparison, only up to 18 percent of vitamin D is lost when an egg is fried or boiled for a shorter period of time.
Eggs are also healthier when they are combined with vegetables. Try adding vegetables into scrambled eggs or an omelet or just eat eggs with vegetables on the side.
