Why don’t we eat more eggs?

Research conducted by the Nutrition Division, Medical Research Institute dispels many myths regarding this vital protein

It seems that public opinion on egg consumption is all scrambled up. Concerns over cholesterol levels are up against the nutritional value of eggs, while various myths cloud the picture.

“Only 30% of the entire population eat eggs; this is alarming as it is a heavy contributor of the body’s daily protein requirement,” says Dr. Athula Mahagamage, President of the World Poultry Science Association- Sri Lanka branch (WPSASL).

Malnutrition affects 33% of our population, a large number of them schoolchildren. Surveys show that the number of Sri Lankans whose growth is stunted has risen from 18.4% in 2006 to 19.2% in 2009, and is still on the rise. “Eggs are one of the rare sources of good quality protein, and most certainly the cheapest,” Dr. Mahagamage adds. To get children out of the malnutrition wormhole a daily intake of egg protein is a solution, he points out.

Research spearheaded by Dr. Renuka Jayatissa, Head of the Nutrition Division, Medical Research Institute reveals much about the actual nutritional value of eggs, while dispelling many myths that have been woven around it. “The daily requirement of cholesterol for an adult is 300mg, while a full egg constitutes to 150 mg. The real problem arises as we are inclined to use a lot of oil for our cooking,” Dr. Jayatissa points out that focusing on an individual element to be a potent cholesterol threat and avoiding that alone is fruitless. In fact an egg only constitutes half of the daily requirement but excess fat taken in gets converted to cholesterol.

On average, a Sri Lankan consumes 54 eggs annually, while in many developed nations the numbers are much higher. In Malaysia, which has roughly the same population as ours, the average annual intake per individual is 298 eggs. In countries like France and UK the numbers are much higher.

“For us to gain maximum benefits of eggs we need to dispel all myths surrounding eggs,” Dr. Mahagamage adds. One myth is that eating an egg is more or less taking a life but today sterile eggs are the most common in the market. He quotes Mahatma Gandhi: “…A sterile egg never develops into a chick. Therefore, he who can take milk should have no objection to taking sterile eggs”.

Another belief is that eating eggs will surely lead to phlegm, cough and influenza. Once again this is not entirely true says Dr. Mahagamage, adding that it is more a case of an allergic reaction to eggs that occurs in very few instances. “If one child in the family is allergic, is doesn’t mean that the other children should not be given eggs altogether.”

Dr. Mahagamage also adds that under any circumstance of cooking, an egg will retain 80% of its nutritional value, which means that sunny side up, half boiled or scrambled - the nutrients will remain intact. “This is an advantage when it comes to eggs, but we are trying different creative ways of presenting eggs to children,” he adds.

Daily egg consumption is permissible for children and healthily active adults, but care should be taken if you have considerable levels of cholesterol, says Dr. Jayatissa. “We should be careful when giving out the message as the majority of our population is sedentary and we need to cater to the majority. Eggs are without doubt a high quality protein solution that plays an important part in building an active generation, but adults should always resort to the middle path, mainly because we have an uncanny habit of drenching our food in oil,” she reiterates.

How healthy is it? 60% of the total egg content is essentially egg white, containing easily digestible protein of fine quality as it contains all 21 amino acids- the molecular groups necessary for the formation of protein. Egg white helps good muscle and body growth, during the critical periods of development of a child, especially under 5 and between 10 – 18 years.

30% of the egg is constituted of the yolk. Often tagged as the notorious culprit, the egg yolk is in fact a collection of calcium, phosphorous, iron, fat and other vital sub- stances such as choline. Choline is one of the body’s major demands as it plays a vital role in brain development as well as transmission of signals inside the body. A daily intake of 400-500mg of choline is recommended- a serving of eggs could meet more than half this requirement. In addition components essential for good eyesight are present in the egg yolk.

Vitamin A is another major component as it helps minimize susceptibility of children to infections and promotes resistance against diseases.