Ande Ka Funda

                                 (By Lisa Sarah John, Courtesy Bangalore Times, Sep 04, 2006)

Eggs are nutritious and contain a number of the nutrients that our body requires — protein, fat and also a number of vitamins like A, B2, B12, D and E. It also has minerals like iron, calcium and phosphorus.
It is safe for children from the age of one to 12 years to eat a whole egg every day. All the nutrients packed into it make it wholesome, and good for the growing years.

Adults may eat an egg two to three times a week. However, if one has a strong family history of high cholesterol levels, test your cholesterol and eat whole eggs only if it’s below 170mg. It’s the egg yolk which contains more than 100mg of cholesterol and must be completely avoided if blood levels contain above 200mg of cholesterol. After it has been brought down to 170-180mg then one whole egg may be eaten once a week. Nobody should eat two whole eggs at one time as the cholesterol consumed would be over 200mg at a time.

Egg white is absolutely safe for consumption. It may be eaten every day and is the best source of quality protein for our body. It is low in calories and at the same time filling, so it’s good for weight reduction diets. Even two to three egg whites may be eaten at one time.

A whole egg, medium sized, is about 80 calories whereas egg white has only 20-22 calories. Therefore, we usually recommend this for young athletes as well as elderly people who feel weak and who are on a weight reduction diet.

Each egg white has approximately 4.5 to 5.0 gm of protein. An ideal breakfast would include two to three slices of whole wheat bread with two egg whites, a sliced tomato and a glass of skimmed milk. This may be eaten up to five times a week and substituted with cereal and milk or idlies and sambar on the other two days.

Eggs shouldn’t be eaten raw, as raw egg white is not digested properly and is just be eliminated from the body and therefore will be wasted. The egg must be cooked properly to destroy salmonella, which can cause a serious digestive tract illness. Therefore, half-boiled eggs or a raw egg beaten with milk should be strictly avoided. We do not recommend the use of diet eggs for people with cholesterol as the yolk is still present and will provide the 100mg of cholesterol which is harmful to the heart. You just need to eat normal eggs, avoiding the yolk.

                                *  *  *  *  *  *  *