Eating eggs this way has extra nutritious benefits. (Photo: Getty Images)
While the egg yolk debate (to eat or not to eat) may continue among doctors, nutritionists and others in the health industry, researchers from Purdue University are giving the whole egg the thumbs up.
In fact, they’ve discovered that eggs consumed with raw vegetables can actually increase the nutritional value of the veggies.
This study, which was presented earlier this month at the American Society for Nutrition’s Annual Meeting,
consisted of 16 healthy young men who were instructed to eat three
different salads — one with no egg, one with one-and-a-half scrambled
whole eggs and another with three scrambled whole eggs. “And what we
observed was that there was a progressive increase in the absorption of
the carotenoids from the vegetables as you had more eggs, which we
attribute to the fat component of the yolk,” lead study author Wayne Campbell, Ph.D., a professor of nutrition science at Purdue University, tells Yahoo Health.
The
carotenoids — which are naturally-occurring pigments in plants that the
body converts into antioxidants — found in the salad used in this study
included beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, lycopene, lutein, and
zeaxanthin. The latter two nutrients are found in egg yolk, as well. The
salad was made with tomatoes, shredded carrots, baby spinach, romaine
lettuce and Chinese wolfberry.
“The
key to our salad was that it had a variety of colorful vegetables, and
the colorful part is what distinguishes the different types of
carotenoids that you get from different foods,” explain Campbell.
“There’s no indication from our work that it matters what vegetables you
eat, but carotenoid-rich vegetables tend to be those that are more
colorful.”
As
for serving sizes, he says they used about half- to three-quarters of a
pound of mixed veggies. “It was a large salad, but one that you could
easily do when at a salad bar,” he says. “From a practical, counseling
standpoint, it certainly fits in with the dietary guidelines of making
sure you get multiple servings of vegetables each day.”
Also,
if you feel a three-egg serving is too big, Campbell says two “should
be absolutely fine.” And eggs any way would work — scrambled,
hard-boiled, etc. but try not to split up the serving into smaller
portions throughout the day (like eating one egg and a small salad for
lunch, then the other egg and a small salad for a snack or dinner).
“While you can get benefits both ways, what we found is that consuming
the salad in one sitting can enhance the nutritional uptake of the
nutrients in the salad.”
And
must the veggies be raw? “I don’t have science to back up what I
presume, but I certainly would not use ‘well, they only have cooked
vegetables available’ as an excuse to not consume them,” says Campbell.
“I would expect that the comparable benefits could be obtained with
cooked or steamed vegetables.”
Another
interesting fact — Campbell adds that the egg and veggie combo is not
the only way to receive these nutritional benefits. “We’ve also done
comparable work which shows that oil-rich salad dressing can do the same
thing,” he states. “We think it’s the oils that you’re co-consuming
with the salad, and that the carotenoids are absorbed the same way that
lipids are in the digestive system.”
source: yahoo.com
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