An Egg: The "Whites" vs The "Yolk"

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An Egg: The "Whites" vs The "Yolk"

Have you ever cracked open an egg and wondered if there were any nutritional differences between the whites and the yolk? Or what about when you're ordering an omelet at your favorite breakfast restaurant and you have to choose whether you want a regular omelet or an egg-white omelet? Is there a better choice? If so, why?


People with higher cholesterol often times stray away from eating the egg yolk because their doctors have warned them of the higher cholesterol content in the egg yolk. While the average egg has around 187 milligrams of cholesterol (a little over 50% of a person's daily value), research has shown that reducing dietary saturated fat is much more effective in reducing blood cholesterol levels than reducing dietary cholesterol is. So instead of focusing on dietary cholesterol, a person with high cholesterol levels should focus more on their saturated fat intake instead. In addition, the egg yolk provides a plethora of vital nutrients that the body needs to support essential metabolic processes that aren't found in the egg white. 


What are some these vital nutrients? Egg yolks contain vitamins B12, riboflavin, vitamin A, and folate; nutrients that are all essential for growth, development, and maintaining body processes to help your body generate energy to survive. The egg yolks are also one of the very few foods that contain vitamin D naturally, a nutrient that is essential for maintaining strong bones and strong teeth. Surprisingly too, egg yolks provide a higher content of protein, gram-for-gram, than the egg white does. So, the next time you're trying to decide between only the egg white or the whole egg- consider choosing the option that includes the nutrient-packed yolk. 


-G.G.

Sources: 

1. https://www.rushmemorial.com/egg-whites-vs-egg-yolks-ditching-the-egg-white-omelet/#:~:text=The%20egg%20yolk%20contains%20more,opt%20for%20the%20real%20thing.

2. https://www.egginfo.co.uk/egg-nutrition-and-health/egg-nutrition-information/white-and-yolk/yolk




Comments

  1. Alana WilliamsSeptember 18, 2023 at 2:55 PM

    As someone who loves eggs, this helped me remember the importance of eggs and it's nutrient value! What a great blog post :)

    ReplyDelete

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