How Many Eggs Should We Eat A Week?

The amount of eggs we can consume will also be determined by the rest of our diet and whether we exercise, in which case we will add more protein.

Is it healthy to eat eggs? How many can we eat per day? And weekly? In this article we clarify all the doubts about the egg, a nutritious and very healthy food. Discover its properties and health benefits.

First recommendation: eat organic eggs

The conditions in which chickens live and are fed today are appalling, and that affects the quality of the eggs we buy.

Therefore, we recommend choosing those that are farm or organic. Let them assure us that they are the fruit of chickens that have been raised in freedom.

It is enough to compare two eggs, one conventional and one organic, to see that the size, color and flavor change a lot.

So how many?

Not all people need to consume the same amount of eggs, but we can say that the recommendation is approximately between three and five eggs per week.

• For example, a person who consumes little meat or fish can eat more eggs to provide the amount of protein that the body needs.
• A person who does a lot of physical exercise can consume more eggs, especially the white part, which is rich in protein.
• An overweight person should limit the amount of yolks, since it is the fattiest part of the egg.

However, as this study published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition shows,  there is no scientific evidence to confirm that this amount is adequate.

Nutritional values

The egg is a food that has a great nutritional value. It is very rich in high biological quality protein, which means that it contains all the essential amino acids that our body needs, as evidenced by this article published in the Advisory Council of the Institute for Egg Studies.

It contains vitamins of group B (B1, B3, B12, folic acid and biotin), A, E and D.  It contains minerals such as magnesium, potassium, selenium, zinc, phosphorus or iron. Most of the components are found in the yolk. Although the white is the one that mainly contains the protein.

Finally, the egg is a rather alkaline food, which is a very positive factor considering that in general we tend to become acidic. But on the other hand that virtue is lost if we cook it fried or with sweets.

The way to cook it

This food offers multiple possibilities in the kitchen. We can eat eggs:

• Cooked : the healthiest thing is to cook it for a minute and let it rest in the hot water.
• Fried : always with olive or coconut oil, first cold pressing.
• Blanched or soaked: (little done), about 5 minutes.
• Omelette : potato, zucchini, eggplant, spinach, etc.
• Scrambled eggs : mushrooms, garlic, etc.

In addition, it is also often used as an ingredient in batters, desserts and salty sweets or cakes. We must also take these dishes into account when assessing the amount of eggs we eat. We can, finally, grate it and add it to salads or other cold dishes, or fill it with mayonnaise, tuna, prawns, etc.

Discover how to prepare: Leek omelette, quinoa and hazelnut drink

Curiosities

• Egg yolk is one of the few foods that contains vitamin D, which is essential to assimilate calcium, as shown in research published in the journal Nutrition Hospital.
• The egg contains nutrients that help prevent eye disorders, specifically cataracts and macular degeneration. This study clearly shows that ” the egg  contains lutein and zeaxanthin, with protective effects against age-related macular degeneration.”

• Thanks to its selenium and zinc content , eating eggs helps in the formation of skin, hair, and nail tissue.
• In some countries the eggs have a numerical code written on the shell that allows us to know how the hens have been raised. In Spain, for example, the first digit gives us this information. If it is a 0 it is an egg, while as it approaches 4 its hatchling becomes more and more industrial and less healthy.