IN the low-fat era of the 1990s, eggs were pushed aside like yesterday’s leftover food. Scares of high cholesterol and heart disease made people disregard the humble egg.
Eggs contain the cholesterol that our bodies need for hormone production and have much less effect on our bad cholesterol in comparison to foods like red meats, full fat dairy and palm and coconut oil. In fact, eggs are nutritious and are a source of protein, vitamin B2, B9, B12, D, A and iodine. Some people are allergic or intolerant to eggs and may need to avoid foods like mousses, certain cakes and pastries, soufflés, mayonnaise (apart from vegan), hollandaise and béarnaise sauces, salad dressings, certain ice creams and icings, tiramisu, baked Alaska and/or Italian meringue.
Always take your eggs cooked. This is to do with another vitamin called biotin or B7. Biotin helps our bodies metabolise carbohydrate, fat and protein. If the egg is raw, a protein in it called avidin which prevents our bodies breaking down and using the biotin. So you need to cook your egg so the avidin will be destroyed and our bodies can then use the vitamin B7. There is no point in eating raw eggs as will increase your risk of biotin deficiency.
Lee McCusker (BA; MSc; MSc; MSc; ANutr; SENr) is a registered nutritionist from Belfast and can be found on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Email: attentive nutrition@gmail.com.
