There are a lot of misconceptions about everyone’s favourite breakfast food, eggs, but recent research has made it clear that their health benefits are numerous and their disadvantages minimal. Not only are eggs one of the most versatile sources of protein available at the supermarket, they’re good in every meal (including dessert), they help with weight loss, they’re rich with beneficial vitamins, they pack a lot of grams of protein into a low number of calories and they can reduce your risk of heart disease.
Few foods can compete with eggs when it comes to vitamins, containing Vitamins A, B5, B12, B2, folates, phosphorus, selenium, calcium, zinc and more. Every nutrient plays an important role in a healthy lifestyle: for example, Vitamin A is necessary for the immune system and vision, folate reduces the risk of disease as an integral part of cell division and B5 reduces cholesterol. A whole egg contains only 77 calories, but with those calories come 6 grams of protein, meaning it’s the kind of food that can keep you going throughout the day, even when you know that lunch is a long way off.
One of the prevailing myths about eggs is that the cholesterol in their yolks can raise your blood cholesterol; research today shows that eggs are so rich with vitamins that reduce your risk of heart disease that their benefits far outweigh the minimal changes to your blood cholesterol levels. Because eggs have such high values of protein compared to how many calories they contain, they are also known as a great tool in any weight loss plan. They are known as a “satiating” food, meaning that you will feel “full” after consuming fewer calories of eggs than other foods. Research suggests that they can naturally help you lower your calorie consumption by up to 400 calories without leaving you feeling hungry or unsatisfied. You can find plenty of great, high-protein, weight-loss egg recipes at GetCracking.ca to start you and your family on the path to better health, including dishes like asparagus and pepper frittata, egg drop soup and potato, egg, and green bean salad.
Ontarians are lucky to have an abundance of options when they shop for eggs at their local supermarket, such as eggs enriched with Omega-3 Fatty Acids, an innovation spearheaded by a University of Alberta researcher with contributions from Ontario’s egg farmers. Don’t let the name fool you – Omega-3 Fatty Acids are crucial in reducing triglyceride levels, a key step in reducing heart disease risks. In addition to contributing to the innovation of Omega-3-enriched eggs, Egg Farmers of Ontario are also responsible for some of Canada’s leading quality improvement and food safety programs in the poultry industry. Omega-3 eggs are enriched by changing what the hens eat – after all, you are what you eat and Ontario farmers feed their hens a specially designed diet that includes high amounts of flax seed. Besides Omega-3, they are already rich in other nutrients that can play a role in reducing heart disease, such as vitamin B12, vitamin D and riboflavin. Next time you’re wondering what the healthiest option for breakfast is, don’t believe the myths, just get cracking.
