TRY TO NAME a more versatile food than eggs. We’ll wait.
Scrambled at breakfast, hard-boiled as a snack, or fried and served on top of a big pile of vegetables at dinner … there’s little the all-mighty egg can’t do.
Eggs are also inexpensive – a huge plus considering how much nutritional value they provide. Nutritionally dense, eggs are loaded with B vitamins (B5, B12, and B2, to be exact), selenium, calcium, zinc, and vitamin A. Plus, they’re quick and easy to cook.
Not to mention, eggs can be a valuable tool in reaching your fitness goals. The protein content can help you lose weight, or put on muscle. Add them to any meal to boost your protein intake.
How much protein is in one egg?
The amount of protein varies depending on size, but, according to British Lions Eggs, there are on average between 5.2 and 7.5 grams of protein in a single egg.
- Per very large egg (78 grams): 8.7 grams of protein
- Per large egg (68 grams): 7.5 grams of protein
- Per medium size egg (58 grams): 6.4 grams of protein
- Per small egg (48 grams): 5.2 grams of protein
Adults are advised to eat 0.75g of protein for each kilogram they weigh, based on the Reference Nutrient Intake (RNI). So, for example, if you weigh 70kg, you should eat about 52.5g of protein a day.
Nutritionists would be quick to point out though that this is seen as the bare minimum to help prevent any adverse health effects from protein deficiencies (think: brittle nails and hair, fatigue, diarrhoea).
Some evidence suggests that 1.2 to 1.6 g/kg of high-quality protein is actually the ‘sweet spot’ when it comes to achieving optimal health and building muscle.
How many calories are there in an egg?
Similar to protein content, the number of calories in an egg will vary depending on the size – but also how it’s prepared.
As with any food, the way you prepare and eat eggs has an impact on the overall effectiveness of your approach to either weight loss or muscle gain. If you like creamy scrambled eggs with lots of delicious butter, they will be higher in calories than just a standard boiled egg.
On average though, a single medium-sized egg will contain around 66 calories, an average small egg will contain around 55 calories and an average large egg around 80 calories.
- Per very large egg (78g): 90 calories
- Per large egg (68g): 78 calories
- Per medium size egg (58g): 66 calories
- Per small egg (48g): 54 calories
What part of eggs contain the most protein?
There’s a lot of debate about whether it’s best to eat the whole egg – the egg white and the yolk – and recent studies have shown that whole eggs are a great food for weight loss and don’t increase your risk of cardiovascular disease.
Although protein can be found in both the egg white and the yolk, the yolk actually has a higher concentration of protein than the white – but since there is more white in the egg, this means the white provides more protein overall.
The whites from one egg contain about four grams of protein, while the yolk includes 2.7 grams of protein.
This article originally appeared on Men’s Health UK.
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