How many eggs should I eat in a day?

In this article, I will answer the question: “How many eggs should I eat in a day?” and I will present the health benefits and nutritional aspects of eggs as well as the healthiest way to eat them on a daily basis.

How many eggs should I eat in a day?

According to dieticians and scientific research, it is recommended to eat 1 to 2 eggs per day for healthy people. The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans limits the cholesterol daily intake to 300 mg for a diet of 2000 kcal/day. An egg has on average 200 mg of cholesterol, but the cholesterol absorption varies among the population (1).

High-density lipoprotein (HDL), or good cholesterol, is increased by eating eggs. Heart disease and other cardiovascular disorders are less likely in people who have a sufficient level of HDL cholesterol. According to research, eating two eggs every day for six weeks can boost HDL levels by 10%. Whether eggs raise plasma cholesterol depends on the individual. In most cases, dietary cholesterol intake in the form of eggs, since it is not accompanied also by an increased saturated fat intake as would be the case with meat, does not raise plasma LDL or total cholesterol, and may even improve HDL cholesterol ef- flux capacity (1).

Individuals with diabetes or hypercholesterolemia, on the other hand, may be at an elevated risk of CVD if they eat more than seven eggs per week, according to observational research (2). 

People with familial hypercholesterolaemia, a genetic disorder characterized by greater sensitivity to dietary cholesterol, should limit their egg intake to two to three per week, according to Heart UK. Hyper-responders and hypo-responders to dietary cholesterol are classified as individuals whose total cholesterol concentrations in- crease ( > 2.2 mg/dL) or decrease ( < 2.0 mg/dL) for every 100 mg/d of dietary cholesterol consumed, respectively (1).

What are the health benefits of eggs?

The health benefits of eggs are:

Eggs are a nutrient-dense food.

They are high in protein and essential vitamins, which may have health advantages. One One interesting finding is the link between eating an egg-based breakfast and feelings of satiety, which may have an effect on body weight. Egg white consists of a solution of proteins, containing the major proteins such as ovalbumin, ovotransferrin, ovomucoid, ovomucin, and lysozyme which. The biological value of proteins in the egg is even superior to that of milk proteins. One egg accounts for 15% daily protein needs (3).

Previous research demonstrated that egg-breakfast induced greater satiety and significantly reduced short-term food intake. 

• They are an important source of Vitamin D: may help to increase daily intakes because they supply more than 20% of the RDA (recommended dietary allowance) per egg. Vitamins A, D, and E are located exclusively in the yolk, while choline, folic acid, and pantothenic acid are located mainly in the yolk. Niacin appears to be located mainly in the white (3).
• They contain high amounts of selenium: Selenium is an extremely powerful antioxidant. It acts to protect your body’s cells against harm caused by aging, environmental situations such as pollution, etc. One egg contains around 28% of your daily selenium requirement. The majority of its substance is found in the yolk of the egg. Elemental Se is not biologically active per se. Thus, selenoproteins are Se-dependent proteins with a selenocysteine (Sec) amino acid residue at their active sites. The Se species which are most frequently found in eggs are selenocysteine, selenomethionine, and sometimes selenite (4).
• They contain lutein, a carotenoid that has been linked to a reduction in the risk of macular degeneration, oxidative stress, inflammation, and atherosclerosis. Lutein is considered an antioxidant that is important for eye health (3).
• They are a good source of choline, a key nutrient for normal fetal development, which may also protect against Alzheimer’s disease. One egg contains ca. 215 mg of choline (3).
• They are an excellent source of protein. Proteins are the building blocks of life, necessary for muscle and tissue strength and repair – one egg contains around 6.3 grams of the highest-quality protein available. Protein is the major component of egg white, there are more than 40 different kinds of proteins that make up 11 % of its entire composition.Ovalbumin is the major protein and constitutes up to 54 % of the total egg white proteins. The egg proteins distributed in the yolk exist as lipoproteins (3). 

What are the different cooking methods for eggs?

Eggs can be used as part of a healthy, balanced diet, but they should be cooked without the addition of salt or fats. They can be prepared in a variety of ways:

• boiled or poached with no extra salt. Boiled eggs (either hard or soft) may be the healthiest food to consume. 
• scrambled without butter, and made with low-fat milk rather than cream;
• fried. However,  it is not recommended to eat fried eggs very often as frying can increase eggs fat content by up to 50%. Nevertheless, there are other ways to eat safe fried eggs. 

The ideal method is to utilize oils that are stable at high temperatures and do not easily oxidize to generate dangerous free radicals. Avocado oil and sunflower oil are two wonderful options. When cooking with extra-virgin olive oil or coconut oil, keep the temperature below 410°F (210°C) and 350°F (177°C), respectively.

How can eggs be eaten as part of a balanced diet?

Although eggs are healthy, you can make them even healthier.

Here are a few recommendations to eat eggs as a part of a healthy diet:

• Combine them with vegetables: Studies demonstrate that eating eggs which naturally contain lipids alongside vegetables, aids the body’s absorption of fat-soluble elements including vitamin E and lutein. When it comes to meal preparation made of eggs and vegetables, the possibilities are unlimited. 

For instance, you can prepare hard boiled eggs and freshly chopped vegetables and keep them in the fridge for a quick addition to weekday meals. You can also use vegetable leftovers in the fridge and add them to egg dishes like omelets. 

Or you can simply prepare a salad filled with colorful veggies and top it with boiled eggs to get the most out of the salad’s beneficial components!

• Choose a good-quality egg: Fresh eggs from farms have a superior taste and are more nutritious than store-bought eggs. Chickens raised on a farm are fed with higher quality nutrients than those raised in the factory.

Pastured eggs are possibly the healthiest eggs available. 

They’re healthier because the hens who hatched eggs had free access to the outdoors and ate a more natural diet. If pastured eggs aren’t available, omega-3-enriched eggs are a good alternative. 

It was obvious that chickens fed omega-3-enriched diets produced eggs with significantly higher omega-3 content than ordinary eggs. Omega-3 fatty acids are a form of fat that the human body does not produce on its own. 

They’re an essential fat, meaning they’re required for survival. The foods we eat must provide us with the omega-3 fatty acids we require. Eating omega-3 eggs is an efficient way to lower triglycerides in the blood.

• Don’t overcook eggs: Some nutrients are lost when eggs are cooked, especially if they are cooked at high temperatures for an extended length of time. According to previous studies, cooking eggs reduced their vitamin A levels by 17-20%. 

Excessive high-heat frying might decrease the antioxidants in eggs. Antioxidants are beneficial elements that protect your body from free radical damage. According to one study, boiling, frying, or microwaving eggs reduces the antioxidant content.

In addition, bioaccessibility of nutrients will depend on different factors related to the food itself such as food matrix, its composition, type of nutrients, processing and cooking methods. A study showed that the access to lipids and protein digestibility as well as lutein and zeaxanthin bioaccessibility of eggs differ when different cooking methods are used. Boiled, poached and omelet eggs were compared and results showed that poaching resulted in higher digestibility of lipids and proteins, compared to boiling or omelet preparations for individuals with digestive problems (5).

Other FAQs about Eggs that you may be interested in.

How to preserve quail eggs

Can you eat mallard duck eggs?

Can you eat lobster eggs?

Conclusion

In this brief article, I answered the question “How many eggs should I eat in a day” and listed the health benefits of eggs as well as the tips to eat them as part of a healthy and balanced diet.

If you have any questions or comments please let us know.

References

1. Kang, Jea Woo, and Angela M. Zivkovic. Are eggs good again? A precision nutrition perspective on the effects of eggs on cardiovascular risk, taking into account plasma lipid profiles and TMAO. J Nutr Biochem, 2022, 100, 108906.
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3. Sunwoo, Hoon H., and Naiyana Gujral. Chemical composition of eggs and egg products. Handbook of food chemistry, 2015, 331-363.
4. Mojadadi A, Au A, Salah W, Witting P, Ahmad G. Role for Selenium in Metabolic Homeostasis and Human Reproduction. Nutrients, 2021 13, 3256. 
5. Asensio-Grau, Andrea, et al. Effect of cooking methods and intestinal conditions on lipolysis, proteolysis and xanthophylls bioaccessibility of eggs. J funct foods, 2018, 46, 579-586.