Cracking the Egg

Want more? Well, here’s a quick introduction to the much-maligned egg.

An egg is actually three different foods, depending on whether you have the white, the yolk or the whole egg. Each component has its own distinct nutritional profile. The much praised white, you’ll be happy to know, is high in protein, low in fat, has virtually no cholesterol and only 13 per cent of the calories of an equal amount of egg yolk. It even has some amount of vitamin B2.

That brings us to the luscious golden eye — the egg yolk, much abused for its huge amounts of cholesterol (224 mg) and fatty acids (37 per cent is saturated). But let’s be fair and look at its good side: It also contains protein, phosphorous, calcium, iron, Vitamins D, B1 and B2.

Together, the yolk and the egg white make a high protein food. With a 100-point rating from the World Health Organisation, the egg is considered the best protein food for human beings.

On the other hand, eggs contain no fibre at all; nor are they considered particularly heart-friendly. One boiled egg contains 450 mg of cholesterol, all in the yolk, so it may make your levels of cholesterol shoot up. Eggs are also notorious for causing symptoms of food allergy, abdominal pain, nausea, hives, angiodemia (swollen lips) and eczema.

But how about some egg on your face? Literally? Face masks made out of eggs work. The protein in beaten egg whites constrict as they dry on your face, pulling at the dried layer of cells on top of your skin. When you wash off the egg white, you also wash off some of these loose cells. When applied to your hair, the protein helps it look smoother and shinier by temporarily filling in chinks on the hair shaft. But of course, if it’s great looking hair you want, it’s better to eat

the egg.

A clever way to balance the health concerns with a love for eggs would be to cook the whites with just a hint of the yolk thrown in. Egg-lovers of the world unite, you have nothing to lose but your yolks!