Eggs are a cheap food but extremely nutritious .
They are low in calories but are rich in protein, vitamins, minerals, healthy fats and various nutrients.
However, the way you prepare an egg may affect the nutrient content contained therein.
This article explores how to process and enjoy the healthiest eggs.
Review the different cooking methods
Eggs are delicious and extremely handy.
They can be cooked in different ways and easily combined with other healthy foods such as vegetables.
Cooking eggs also helps kill any dangerous bacteria, making them safer to enjoy.
Here is a list of the most popular cooking methods:
Boiled
Boiled eggs are cooked in the shell in a pot of boiling water for 6-10 minutes, depending on the maturity of the yolk you want.
The longer you cook, the harder the egg yolk will become.
Blanching
Blanched eggs cooked in water have slightly lower temperatures.
They are peeled and blanched in a pot of boiling water between 160-180 ° F (71-82 ° C) and cooked for 2.5-3 minutes.
Fried
Fried eggs are separated into a hot pan containing a thin layer of fat.
You can then cook them in a "peach," meaning the eggs are fried on one side, or "as easy as the hands," which means the eggs are fried on both sides.
Grilled
The eggs are placed in a flat dish and cooked in an oven until the egg is reclaimed.
Uncle
Eggs are beaten up in a bowl, poured into a hot pan and stirred over low heat until they hunt again.
Coated
To make an omelette, whisk eggs and pour them into a hot pan and cook slowly over a low heat until they hunt again.
Unlike scrambled eggs, omelets are not stirred when put into a pan.
Cook with a microwave
Microwaves can be used to cook eggs in different ways. Cooking eggs in a microwave takes much less time than cooking on a stove.
However, keeping the eggs intact on microwaves is always a bad idea. Due to the rapid pressure increase in eggs and they can explode .
Summary: Eggs can be cooked in a variety of ways including boiling, blanching, frying, baking and uncle.
Cooking eggs makes some nutrients easier to digest
Cooking eggs makes them safer to enjoy, and also makes some nutrients easier to digest. An example is that protein in eggs.
Studies show that it becomes easier to digest when heated .
In fact, a study showed that the human body can use 91% of protein in cooked eggs, also raw eggs only 51% .
Digestive changes occur because heat causes structural changes in egg proteins.
In raw eggs, large protein compounds are separated from each other and curled in complex twisted structures.
When the protein is cooked, heat breaks down the weak bonds keeping them in shape.
The proteins then form new bonds with other proteins around them. New links in cooked eggs will be easier to digest.
You can see these changes occur when the whites and yolks change from solid glue to rubbery and firm.
Proteins in raw eggs also reduce the value of micro-nutrients biotin.
Eggs are a good source of biotin, which is an important nutrient used in fat metabolism and sugar. It is also known as vitamin B7, or vitamin H.
In raw eggs, a protein in egg whites called avidin binds to biotin, making the body able to absorb biotin.
However, when the eggs are cooked, the heat changes the structure of making its biotin binding activity less effective. This makes biotin more easily absorbed .
Summary: Cooking eggs makes the protein in eggs easier to digest. It also increases the amount of vitamin biotin used by the body.
Cooking at high temperatures can reduce other nutrients
Although cooking eggs makes some nutrients easier to digest, it can be harmful to other nutrients.
This is no wonder. Cooking most foods will reduce some nutrients, especially if they are cooked at high temperatures for a long time.
Studies have examined this phenomenon in eggs.
One study found that egg cooking reduced about 17-20% of vitamin A content .
Cooking also significantly reduces the amount of antioxidants in eggs .
One study found that conventional cooking methods, including microwave cooking, boiling and frying eggs reduced antioxidant levels by 6-18% .
In general, short cooking times (even at high temperatures) also show that more nutrients are kept.
Research shows that when eggs are baked for 40 minutes, they can lose up to 61% of vitamin D, compared to 18% when fried or boiled for a shorter time .
However, although cooking eggs reduces nutrients, eggs are still a rich source of vitamins and antioxidants .
Summary: Cooking eggs can reduce vitamin and antioxidant content. However, they still contain lots of nutrients.
Cooking eggs at high temperatures oxidizes cholesterol in eggs
Egg yolk has High cholesterol .
In fact, a large egg contains about 212 mg of cholesterol, ie 71% of the 30 mg previously recommended .
Currently, there is no upper limit on daily cholesterol consumption in the United States.
However, when eggs are cooked at high temperatures, their cholesterol can be oxidized and produce compounds known as .
This is a concern for some people, because oxidized and oxysterol cholesterol in the blood is associated with an increased risk of heart disease .
Oxidized and oxysterol-containing foods are believed to contribute to these compounds in the blood .
The main food sources of oxidized cholesterol can be commercial fried foods such as fried chicken, fish and chips .
It should also be noted that oxidized cholesterol in the body is thought to be more harmful than the oxidized cholesterol you eat .
Most importantly, studies do not show an association between egg consumption and an increased risk of heart disease in healthy people .
Summary: Cooking at high temperatures can oxidize cholesterol in eggs. However, eating eggs is not associated with the risk of heart disease in healthy people.
5 super healthy egg cooking tips
Nutritious eggs but you can make eggs even more healthy.
1. Choose a low calorie cooking method
If you are trying to reduce the amount calories , choose poached or boiled eggs.
These cooking methods do not add any fat calories, so meals are less calories than fried eggs, scrambled eggs or omelet.
2. Combine with vegetables
Eggs are really good to eat with vegetables.
This means that eating eggs is a great opportunity to increase vegetable consumption and add fiber and vitamins to your diet.
Some simple ideas include adding selected vegetables to omelet or scrambled eggs, just like in this recipe.
Or simply cook eggs in any way you want and have vegetables included.
3. Fry the eggs in a stable oil at high temperatures
The best oils to cook at high temperatures, like when fried In a pan, it is stable at high temperatures and is not easily oxidized to form harmful free radicals.
Examples of good options include Pure olive oil and butter. Coconut oil It is also a good choice for cooking at high temperatures, but some people may not like its taste when frying eggs.
4. Choose the most nutritious egg possible
Nutritional quality of eggs may be affected by a number of factors, including culture methods and chicken diets .
In general, grazing eggs and organic eggs are thought to be of better quality than eggs raised in cages and eggs are produced according to standards.
This article provides details about nutritional differences between eggs produced by different methods.
5. Do not overcook
The longer you cook eggs and the more heat you use, the more nutrients you will lose.
Using higher heat for longer periods may also increase the amount of oxidized cholesterol in eggs. This is especially true with fried frying pan.
Summary: To make the egg as healthy as possible, choose a low-calorie cooking method, combined with vegetables, fry them in a stable and non-cooked oil.
Main message
In general, quick cooking at lower temperatures will reduce oxidation of cholesterol and help retain most of the nutrients in eggs.
For this reason, blanching and boiled eggs (hard or soft) can be the healthiest dish to enjoy. These methods also do not add any unnecessary calories.
However, eating eggs is generally super healthy no matter how you cook them.
So you just need to cook and enjoy the way you like best and don't be obsessed with small details.
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