Eggs are (even) better than before

Eggs are (even) better than before


Sunny side up, scrambled, baked, fried, hard-boiled, poached and deviled; huevos rancheros, omelets, benedict, frittatas and tortillas. Any way you eat them, and whatever you call them, eggs are one handy and inexpensive way — both in calories and dollars — to get a daily dose of protein, vitamins and minerals.

They’re nature’s most easily absorbed protein and deliver a lot of bang for your buck as far as nutrition. One egg contains just seventy calories each, five grams of fat, less than two grams of saturated fat and a whopping six grams of protein. What’s more, the sunny yellow yolk boasts a load of vitamin D, iron, carotenoids that fight macular degeneration, and choline, which could boost brain development.

But the same nutritional nucleus that gives your body good vitamins can also serve up over half a day’s worth of artery-clogging cholesterol. Or so we thought.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently reevaluated the egg and found that it has fourteen percent less cholesterol and sixty-four percent more vitamin D than it did in 2002 — thanks in part to farmers feeding their hens vitamin D-enhanced feed. The upgraded egg contains one-hundred-eighty-five milligrams of cholesterol and forty-one international units of vitamin D, down from two hundred-twelve milligrams of cholesterol and up from eighteen units of vitamin D.

The U-S-D-A advises no more than three-hundred milligrams of cholesterol a day, and the upgraded egg still contains over half of the daily recommended amount. So what’s a cholesterol-conscious egg-lover to do?

Experts encourage moderation, as with all foods. An egg every now and then is OK.

So whatever kind of eggs you choose, and however you have them, you can take heart knowing upgraded eggs are now even better for you. That’s something to crow about.

 

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