How healthy or unhealthy are chicken eggs or even more exotic Eggs like quail eggs, goose eggs or emu eggs? Eggs are one of the staple foods and are used especially at breakfast, but also at lunchtime or in the evening, and as a snack between meals. However, the question often arises as to how many eggs one should eat, especially because of the cholesterol content. Read everything worth knowing about eggs.
When one speaks of eggs, one means first of all the eggs laid by the domestic hen. These are among the most important agricultural products and are used by people as a popular foodstuff.
Eggs come in Germany mostly either from
- Floor husbandry
- Free range or
- Cage or. Small group husbandry.
A chicken can lay a maximum of three eggs per day. The development of a hen’s egg is approx. 24 hours. Whether the eggs are hatched by a hen in her nest depends on various factors such as the length of daylight, the temperature of the environment and the breed of hen.
Promoted the incubation of hens, which lasts 21 days, by 12-hour days and by pressure from numerous eggs on the hen. However, most European laying hens no longer have a brooding instinct. The eggs, which one receives in the trade, are mostly unfertilized.
Eggs – Ingredients and health value
There is hardly a household that does not have eggs in the refrigerator. Mostly, however, only hen eggs are found in our stores. There are also other eggs that are quite suitable for consumption.
However, not all eggs can be prepared in the same way. And usually you can get fancy eggs, such as quail or emu eggs, only in delicatessens and not in regular supermarkets.
Eggs are considered healthy only to a limited extent. If consumed in excess, chicken eggs, for example, can lead to an increase in cholesterol levels. This results in cardiovascular disease if consumption is not drastically restricted.
However, there are eggs that contain less fat than chicken eggs and are therefore healthier in principle. However, it is often a greater effort to obtain them, because they can only be obtained from dealers on the Internet.
An egg is composed of
- 58 percent egg white or albumen
- 32 percent egg yolk or yolk and
- 10 percent shell.
The color of a hen’s egg depends on genetic factors such as the breed of hen. Thus white eggs mostly from chickens with white ear discs laid, while brown eggs from chickens with red ear lobes are laid.
About five percent of eggs have a fishy odor. This is also genetic and is caused by a gene defect.
The colorless gas trimethylamine is deposited in the yolk of predominantly brown eggs. Due to the gene defect, the TMA precursor compound choline, which is present in the animals’ feed, cannot be converted by the enzymes to an odorless TMA oxide.
Chicken eggs are one of the most important and popular food products. In Germany alone, approx. 10 billion eggs. Half of these are consumed by private households, around 30 percent by the food industry and the remaining 20 percent by bakeries and commercial kitchens.
In stores, eggs are usually sold in cartons of 6 or 12 eggs
Health benefits – How many eggs can you eat??
Foodstuffs are always subject to speculation as to whether and how healthy they are. One of the most and always discussed is the hen’s egg.
Sometimes it can make you sick, sometimes it can make you healthy, one egg today or two eggs on Sunday. discussions, which however with the realizations of the today’s nourishing advisors go to the fact that the egg has many healthy contents materials, which offer a meaningful support to humans with the healthy maintenance.
Eggs are one of the most popular foods. In addition, they are also healthy. Composed the egg white or egg white of an egg from
- 87 percent water
- 11 percent protein as well as
- one percent minerals and
- one percent carbohydrates.
To the Components of the egg yolk include
- 50 percent water
- 32 percent fat
- 16 percent protein as well as
- 2 percent minerals.
The fat content of an average chicken egg is about eight grams. In addition it has approx. 80 kilocalories.
An egg contains important minerals such as
as well as the lipid cholesterol. The egg thus contains important nutrients for the body, which Easy to digest and 95 percent digestible are. In addition eggs also contain all vitamins with the exception of vitamin C.
Eggs are a true power food
Healthy fat
We now know that eggs are not exactly a low-fat food, but the good thing about them is that they contain valuable omega-3 fatty acids, which are now widely promoted as having a positive effect on the blood vessels in humans. If one looks at sausage and Co. one finds out fast that these cause substantially more damage in the organism in view of their saturated fatty acids.
protein
Protein, as the absolute building block of life, is one of the main components of chicken egg and provides essential amino acids, especially for humans, which humans cannot produce themselves. Egg white or protein is needed for
- the muscles
- the organs
- cell renewal or also
- many metabolic processes
needed. Especially for children, the protein from the egg is an important contribution to a healthy diet.
Vitamin bomb
Also in the vitamin content such a small white or brown egg is not stingy and shows up with the components of the "anti-aging means".
- vitamin K
- vitamin A
- vitamin E
- Biotin, as well as
- Vitamin D and
- Vitamin B12
supply the body in a light and positive way. B12, among other things, is responsible for blood formation, vitamin D for strong bones, and vitamins A and E as free radical scavengers and cell renewers are an unbeatable team in the egg.
Minerals, such as iron or zinc are also contained in the egg and can lead to a healthy supply without deficiency symptoms, especially for vegetarians. And there claim times the egg is harmful for humans.
A chicken egg is either white or brown and consists of shell, albumen and yolk
Cholesterol and chicken eggs – How much can you eat??
In former times it was always said that the consumption of eggs makes the cholesterol level rise. This has been disproved by several studies in the meantime.
Many people who want to eat healthily abstain from eating eggs or at least limit them drastically. But this is not necessary at all. Most people can consume eggs without remorse.
Cholesterol production in the body
Eggs contain relatively high amounts of cholesterol, that is true. Every human body also produces cholesterol. If additional amounts of cholesterol are added to the diet, the healthy body normally recognizes this and produces correspondingly less.
Therefore, if you eat a boiled egg in the morning, you do not automatically have an elevated level of cholesterol in your blood. By the fact that the body produces less, the cholesterol level does not change. The fact that only three eggs per week should be consumed is therefore invalid.
Exceptions
However, there are some exceptions: In some people, it is actually the case that the body nevertheless forms the normal amount of cholesterol, regardless of what has been eaten. In other people, however, less cholesterol is produced by the body when cholesterol-rich foods such as eggs are consumed.
Before you give up your beloved breakfast egg, just to possibly keep your cholesterol level from skyrocketing, you should have your blood tested. For this purpose, a small quantity is sufficient, which can be taken as part of a blood sample from any family doctor. This allows the doctor to determine cholesterol levels and whether they are within the normal range.
The sole renunciation of eggs does not help
If the cholesterol level in the blood is too high, it is by no means enough to just abstain from eating eggs. Cholesterol, i.e. fats, are mainly found in foods such as sausage and meat with a high fat content.
These products should be avoided or at least only eaten now and then. In addition one must do sport, if one would like to lower its Cholesterinwerte.
Those who abstain from eggs alone and instead eats greasy roast pork and only leaves the couch to get beer, can in no way lower its cholesterol levels.
Suitable for losing weight – with eggs to the dream figure?
Regarding the health value, it can be said that eggs seem to promote weight loss when eaten for breakfast. An American study on this thesis should enlighten:
In the study 152 overweight test persons were divided into two groups. The one group got a classical bagel breakfast in the morning. The other received a breakfast that was calorically equal to the bagel breakfast, but on Eggs as the main ingredient recourse.
Result
The members of the egg group had lost more weight at the end of the test period and felt more agile than the bagel group. The egg eaters had a total 65 percent higher weight loss to be recorded. However, an increase in cholesterol or triglycerides in the blood could not be detected.
The responsible researchers from the "Louisiana State University" had a very good idea of the study assume that eggs kept the test persons fuller for longer, which is why they apparently strictly followed the dietary guidelines. Why eggs have such a strong satiating effect, a follow-up study should find out.
Storage and shelf life of eggs
From the date of laying the eggs can be Store unrefrigerated for 18 days, which is made possible by the calciferous eggshell’s own immune protection and by internal enzymes. However, the eggs must not be washed during this period, otherwise the cuticle would be destroyed.
After the first 18 days, the eggs must be continuously cooled. The best before date is 28. Day from the day of laying.
Whether an egg is still fresh or not can be easily determined by a test. To do this, place the egg in a glass of water. If the egg is still very fresh, it remains at the bottom, but if it is older than 28 days, it floats to the surface.
Since raw chicken eggs are very sensitive and an ideal breeding ground for bacteria such as salmonella, strict food regulations apply. Thus, the egg must be delivered to the consumer in a period of 21 days.
In addition, eggs are very fragile, which requires extreme caution during transport. Egg cartons are mostly used as transport containers.
Here you can find a detailed article on how to store eggs properly and protect yourself from salmonella infection.
A hen lays up to three eggs a day
Types of eggs and other uses
In addition to chicken eggs, duck eggs, goose eggs, quail eggs, ostrich eggs and emu eggs can also be prepared.
Eggs as a decorative item
If you have the opportunity to hold an ostrich or emu egg in your hands, you should take this chance. Especially the beautiful large ostrich eggs are perfect for painting. They are then a beautiful decoration not only at Easter, but also at any other time of the year.
As far as possible with the individual preparations, one should try not to break the eggshell when opening them. Most fancy eggs are suitable for decorative purposes, not only the large ostrich eggs.
Some traders also specialize in making eggs from the large bird eggs Create small works of art. For example, there are lamps for sale that have a lampshade made of an egg. There are no limits to the imagination.
Egg yolk – also something for the dog
By the way, once a week an egg yolk in a dog’s food is the healthiest and cheapest coat shiner. So you should not only treat yourself to an egg regularly, but also your dog.
In view of the numerous advantages, one can fill thus at Easter the basket with the cooked and painted eggs unhesitatingly, because apart from the health aspect such an Easter basket in the grass without eggs would be plentifully dreist.
Egg yolk in dog food makes for a shiny coat