Chicken egg: harm or benefit? Killer or superfood?

Most families always have eggs in the refrigerator; this is a traditional product that allows for a quick snack, it is added to many dishes and used for cosmetic purposes. But there is still a lot of debate among scientists and nutritionists about the benefits and harms. Cholesterol is the substance found in eggs that is the subject of controversy. But if we are talking about 1-3 eggs per day, then there will be no harm from this substance.

What are the benefits of a chicken egg, vitamins and minerals?

The protein contained in eggs is a real building material for the child’s body; it helps to increase the amount of milk in mothers.
It helps to quickly recover after long-term treatment and operations. And for athletes, eggs are useful in the process of building muscle mass and for quick recovery after physical activity. Iron and lecithin help improve the functioning of the circulatory system and regulate metabolic processes. Vitamin E helps improve memory and stabilize brain activity. Tocopherol in combination with selenium has an antioxidant effect on the body. Phosphorus improves the structure of hair and bones. Iodine normalizes the functioning of the thyroid gland, and iron has a positive effect on the synthesis of red blood cells.

Benefits of egg white

The protein contained in eggs is a complete set of amino acids that have an antioxidant effect on the body and are a preventative against the development of cancer. Protein helps:

• build muscle mass;
• strengthen bones;
• stabilize, even to some extent, reduce pressure;
• cope with obesity;
• improve brain function.

But the most valuable thing in protein is lecithin, an amino acid that prevents cholesterol from depositing in blood vessels and maintains the liver in normal condition.

Muscle building

Celebrity trainer Jillian Michaels is also an egg lover.

In her article, she mentions the fact that our body needs cholesterol to produce testosterone, which is responsible for providing energy and building muscle. Now you know how to eat eggs for muscle growth - whole.

Why give up all these advantages?

And so that you can start enjoying eating eggs again, we will set some restrictions on egg consumption.

What does a chicken egg treat, how to take it for medicinal purposes

Chicken eggs are widely used in folk medicine. For a sore throat, a simple mixture is made to improve the general condition and recover faster. Beat one egg in a glass of warm water and gargle with this mixture up to 4 times throughout the day.

If you are tormented by bronchitis, then beat 10 eggs in an enamel container, spread the pulp of 10 lemons on top, leave for 10 days. Then filter and add a kilogram of honey and 500 ml of cognac and begin treatment. Drink 50 ml 3 times throughout the day.

For heartburn, use the shell of one egg, which is thoroughly crushed and consumed half a teaspoon 3 times a day.

Eggs can be mixed with milk and butter. By consuming this mixture you can quickly get rid of a cold.

How many eggs can you eat every day?

To date, scientists have developed a clear form of the permissible number of eggs per day for consumption for all categories of the population:

• in old age it is allowed to consume up to 2 eggs;
• women can increase the number to 3;
• if necessary, build muscle mass, regardless of gender - up to 5 eggs;
• men who engage in strenuous sports or physical labor can consume up to 8 pieces.

An interesting fact is that in Japan, per capita consumption of eggs is much higher; the average resident of this country eats about 350 eggs per year. In the USA, the number of consumption is less - 150, but there are many more people with diseases of the cardiovascular system than in Japan. Hence the conclusion that the harm from eating eggs is relative and the risk of developing such pathologies depends not only on the quantity, but also on other factors, including lifestyle.

Features of eating raw eggs

To bring maximum benefit to the body, it is recommended:

• eat raw ones only if they come from healthy chickens;
• consume only fresh specimens;
• Wash the shell before use;
• it is desirable that the product be on the morning menu (for better absorption);
• Children under 7 years of age should be given only heat-treated eggs.

For many years, it was believed that the amount of eggs in the diet should be limited due to their high cholesterol content and potential association with the risk of heart disease. However, recent research shows that dietary cholesterol has very little effect on the amount of cholesterol in the body.

Use 1 pc. per day is consistent with a healthy diet and is unlikely to have a significant effect on disease risk among healthy men and women. The recommended amount is from 1 to 3 pieces per day.

That said, some studies suggest that eating 5 or more eggs per week may have adverse health effects, including an increased risk of heart failure in men or breast cancer in women. However, there is no exact data that would confirm this fact.

Rules for choosing the right eggs:

1. They must be stored in special refrigerated cabinets at a temperature not exceeding 7 °C. This prevents the development of salmonella. Therefore, buy only chilled products.
2. Choose those whose shells are clean and without cracks. Salmonella may be on the shell, but it only gets inside through cracks.
3. Pay attention to the markings. The letter D (dietary) means that the product was harvested during this week and is of the highest quality. C (canteens) indicates that it was demolished within a month. It can be used in cooking, but it is not advisable to drink it raw.

Important! The shell has about 17 thousand tiny pores through which the product can absorb odors. Therefore, it must be stored separately from other products, protected from other odors.

Salmonella can affect chickens kept in unsanitary conditions. As a preventive measure, it is recommended to treat the shells with soapy water before use.

General rules of use:

• Store in the refrigerator until use;
• drink only undamaged, clean specimens;
• wash before use;
• include in the diet in the first half of the day.

Everything else depends on personal preference. You can shake it before use or not, eat it with or without salt and bread - all this does not affect the taste or biochemical composition and depends only on your desires.

In order for the properties of the product to bring benefit rather than harm, it is necessary to follow some basic rules. The main thing is careful quality control. When purchasing a product, you need to carefully look at the expiration date and the integrity of the shell. And before breaking an egg, you need to carefully wash it with soap or soda so that germs from the shell do not get into the raw yolk and white.

Important! It is very easy to check the freshness of a chicken or quail egg - you need to lower it into a container of water. The fresh product will instantly sink.

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It is best to take the unprocessed product in the morning. The benefit of eating a raw egg on an empty stomach is that the product is well absorbed, promotes healthy functioning of the stomach and intestines throughout the day, gives you vigor and fills you with energy. The properties of the product are very useful for the stomach in the morning - the eggs gently envelop its walls without causing any discomfort.

You can drink raw eggs before bed, but it is advisable to use only whites. The benefit of raw eggs at night in this case will be that they will contribute to weight loss. But taking proteins along with yolks will have the opposite effect - the product will not only linger in the stomach for a long time and lead to unpleasant sensations, but will also provoke weight gain.

Since eggs contain quite a lot of cholesterol, doctors and nutritionists recommend regulating their consumption to avoid harm. But you can still drink whites and yolks every day if there are no contraindications. The main thing is not to exceed the normal daily dosage and make sure that there are enough other foods in the diet.

The safe dosage of the product depends on the individual characteristics of the body.

• If you have stomach and intestinal ailments, it is recommended to consume the product in quantities of no more than 2 pieces per day.
• With good health and well-being, as well as intense physical activity, you are allowed to drink up to 5 eggs per day.
• If your health is good, but there is no active sports, then you need to limit yourself to a maximum of 3 eggs per day.

If we are talking about small quail eggs, then the norms will be different - you can drink up to 6 pieces under the condition of sports activities and up to 4 pieces in the absence of them.

The healthiest way to cook eggs

The issue of preparing healthy eggs is still relevant today. Some people are fans of raw eggs, but this is a huge risk of getting salmonella, even if we are talking about a homemade product. There is no need to even argue about fried eggs; all products processed in a frying pan can be called harmful. Moreover, after any heat treatment, eggs are digested by half. If in its raw form the absorption is 98-99%, then after cooking it is no more than 50%.

It is best to cook soft-boiled eggs, this way more nutrients remain due to the short duration of heat treatment. But in this form they should not be given to children, since the risk of contracting salmonellosis still remains, although to a lesser extent.

How to drink raw product correctly

There is no consensus on which eggs are better to drink: homemade or store-bought. Supporters of purchasing goods in stores claim that the product undergoes strict quality control. Eggs bought secondhand may be infected and pose a health risk. Their opponents claim that the homemade product is natural and fresh. It's hard to say who is right. If it is possible to buy eggs in a trusted place from reliable sellers, buying homemade ones seems preferable. If purchasing fresh homemade eggs is not available, you need to know how the store-bought product is labeled.

Store eggs are labeled. The numbers printed on the shell indicate the expiration date and category.

The most dietary product is marked with the letter “D” and is sold within a week. If you see a red mark, you are buying a fresh product. A blue “C” on the shell means that eggs laid more than a week ago are being sold. The optimal shelf life of such a product outside the refrigerator is about three weeks. In the refrigerator you can extend the shelf life of the product. There is also a division of eggs into categories. There are three levels of gradation in total; the greater the mass of the chicken embryo, the higher the category.

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You can drink a raw product only if it was demolished no later than ten days ago. It is imperative to wash the shell and consume the contents only if the integrity of the shell is not damaged. It is possible to drink the egg directly from the shell: you need to carefully make a hole in one edge. Another option: making a cocktail from honey, milk and fruit juice. It is important to adhere to the permissible dosage: two eggs per day.

Chicken egg harm and contraindications

The harm from eating eggs consists not only in the amount they are consumed per day, but also in their processing, method of production and consumption.
For example, eating a raw product carries a huge risk of contracting salmonellosis. And if you consume hatchery eggs, there is a possibility that a person’s immunity will decrease and the intestinal microflora will be disrupted. The fact is that in incubators, chickens, as a rule, are fed antibiotics, and accordingly they get under the shell and remain there, penetrating the human body. The same thing happens with nitrates, which are used to treat poultry feed in industrial enterprises. It is advisable to completely avoid fried eggs, especially with mayonnaise and all kinds of industrial sauces.

You will have to stop eating eggs if you have urolithiasis and cholelithiasis. They can cause colic. An absolute contraindication is the diagnosis of liver cirrhosis and hepatitis.

Is it possible to give raw eggs to a child?

The benefits and harms of raw chicken eggs for children is a controversial issue. On the one hand, the product contains a lot of easily digestible protein, vitamins and valuable microelements that strengthen the child’s health. On the other hand, possible infection with salmonellosis is especially dangerous for children, since it will cause increased harm to a fragile child’s body.

For these reasons, it is not recommended to introduce a healthy product into a child’s diet before the age of 7; it is better to boil it before that time. And even after the baby grows up, it is necessary to double-carefully check the raw product for quality and freshness before offering it to the child.

Attention! The properties of eggs in any form can cause allergies and other harm in children. Before offering an unprocessed product to your baby, you must obtain permission from your pediatrician.

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