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Eat an egg a day to stay healthy
Hard-core health food: Eggs can be cooked in many ways, but hard-boiled eggs are the safest way to eat them
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ard-core health food: Eggs can be cooked in many ways, but hard-boiled eggs are the safest way to eat them. Boiled eggs are also the best low-calorie option, as it does not use added oil or butter, and all it needs is a dash of salt and pepper to bring out their egg-cellent flavor. (JP/Arief Suhardiman)
The COVID-19 pandemic has made us more health conscious. People are now looking at healthy foods, and they want to know more about them.
The other day, my 15-year-old son, while eating an omelet, asked me, “Why should we eat eggs?”
“Eggs are tasty and good for your health,” I told him.
Eggs are ubiquitous and perhaps the oldest food on the planet, as they have been known to human beings for thousands of years.
Health experts often describe eggs as “super foods” or the “perfect food”.
“If there was such a thing as a perfect food, eggs would be a contender. They’re readily available, easy to cook, affordable and packed with protein,” the BBC said in a feature article last month.
A fertilized egg is an amazing thing. It has all the nutrients for a single cell to grow into a fully formed baby chicken.
Let us look into the contents of an egg.
“Eggs contain many vitamins, folate, phosphorous, calcium, zinc, protein, Omega 3, healthy fats. Of course, they also contain cholesterol in the yolk,” Sanjeevini Pertiwi, who studied biomedicine at the Indonesia International Institute for Life Sciences in Jakarta, told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
An American professor praised eggs for their nutritional value.
“The egg is meant to be something that has all the right ingredients to grow an organism, so obviously it’s very nutrient dense,” Christopher Blesso, associate professor of nutritional science at the University of Connecticut in the United States, told the BBC recently.
Many people are afraid of the high amount of cholesterol in eggs.
“I am afraid to eat eggs because of cholesterol. My personal trainer advised me to eat only the white part of the egg. Sometimes I eat eggs, and normally I throw away the yolk,” Rita Gunawan, a housewife from West Jakarta who likes to go to gym regularly, told the Post.
A single egg contains 212 milligrams (mg) of cholesterol, more than half the 300 mg recommended daily intake.
Health experts are divided over the issue of cholesterol levels in eggs. Only a few experts suggest reducing one’s consumption of eggs because of cholesterol.
According to healthline.com, eating eggs does not affect the blood cholesterol levels of the majority of people but instead raises HDL (high-density lipoprotein), a good type of cholesterol, which reduces the risk of heart disease, stroke and other diseases.
Eggs, according to Sanjeevini, have Lutein and Zeaxanthin antioxidants, which are good for the eyes. They also help to reduce body weight.
Despite their many health benefits, we Indonesians are consuming less eggs on average than our international peers because of some misconceptions and a lack of awareness about their many health benefits.
According to the International Egg Commission (IEC), a global egg organization, Japanese per capita egg consumption is 340 eggs per year, while, on average, a Chinese person consumes 300 eggs in a year.
How many eggs does an Indonesian eat in a year?
Unfortunately, according to Agricultural Ministry, the per capita egg consumption in Indonesia is around 120 eggs per year, much below the global average of 200 eggs per person per year.
Egg consumption should be increased in Indonesia because eggs have so many health benefits.
Now the question is how many eggs can a person eat a day?
Several health experts say people can consume up to three eggs per day if they are in good health. Excessive consumption of eggs by people who have diabetes is not recommended by health experts.
Eggs, which come in many colors and sizes, can be cooked in many ways.
“My hobby is cooking. I watched several videos on YouTube about how to cook eggs in many ways. We can boil, fry, scramble, poach and pickle them. Omelettes are my favorite,” said Ratna Dewi, who works in a private company in Central Jakarta.
We should take care of the cleanliness of eggs. Better to wash eggs and put them in a refrigerator. Sometimes eggs may contain a bacteria called salmonella, which is harmful to human beings. So it is better to cook eggs properly for consumption.
There is one sad thing about eggs. Many are produced, according animal rights activists, in a cruel manner. Normally chickens lay 15 to 25 eggs yearly. As a result of genetic modification, a hen can now lay between 200 and 300 eggs in a year. High-protein animal feed and extra hormones cause hens to grow quickly. This process is not natural. Most chickens are kept in cages that are stressful and overly congested.
The global egg industry must address the issues raised by animal rights activists.
