Eggs – high value protein at low cost

Egg is one of the best proteins to consume as quality is measured by the presence of the 11 amino acids and in eggs, all the values for the 11 amino acids are way above 100%.

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This was according to Gabi Steenkamp, dietician and food consultant, speaking at the recent AVI Africa 2014 congress.

Steenkamp said eggs were an all-natural product with high quality protein content. “Eggs do not increase heart disease risk,” she said. “The fat content of an egg is high quality fat, with a small percentage of saturated fat, which is the ‘bad’ one.”

She explained that most of the nutrition was in the yolk which contained all the fat, a little less than half the protein and most of the B vitamins.

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“An egg of 50g contains 300 kiljoules and 6,3g of high quality protein. Starting the day with an egg on a slice of buttered toast and adding a piece of fruit gives a good quality breakfast,” she said.

Eating protein with a meal prevented muscle loss which was particularly important in middle aged and older people. The good quality fat in egg measures 3,5g and dieticians advise 10g to 15g of fat per meal. “The quality of the fat we eat is important. We predominantly need monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats in our diets,” said Steenkamp. “Because we have more monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats in egg, it does not increase the heart risk.”

Steenkamp explained that trans-fat was a problem but in terms of health, any naturally occurring trans-fat did not increase health risks. “It is industrially produced fat that is a risk,” she explained.

It was important to know that not all cholesterol raised blood cholesterol levels, she said. “The liver produces cholesterol and if we consume more cholesterol the liver will produce less. It’s a necessary nutrient that forms the basis of most of our hormones.”

Steenkamp said that consuming saturated fats, excess kilojoules and excess amounts of alcohol intake pushed cholesterol levels up and that two eggs a day had no effect on blood cholesterol levels.

“As a bonus, adding an egg or two a day helps with weight loss.” Sodium was a risk factor for heart disease, because it raised blood pressure, but the 62mg of sodium in an egg made it a non-issue, she said.

Choline, found in the yolk, helps with brain development and prevents birth defects. “Because choline is implicated in brain cell membrane structure, which has an effect on neural transmission, it’s an important nutrient for pregnant women,” said Steenkamp.

“Eggs are a cheap and excellent quality protein, available in South Africa today at 17c/g and at that rate we can’t afford not to eat eggs.”