Eggs
Posted in : Nutrition
Tags: Minerals, Vitamins
Eggs are among the most nutritious foods there is. A whole egg contains all the nutrients required to turn a single cell into a baby chicken.
In fact, eggs are pretty much the perfect food. They contain a little bit of almost every nutrient you need. Eggs contain all vitamin’s except for Vitamin C.
Health Benefits
In addition to the health benefits provided by eggs’ micronutrients, the protein and fat in eggs is beneficial as well.
Helps Maintain Muscle Mass
Eggs are a good source of protein. Eating foods with protein can help you to build and maintain strong muscles, which can become more difficult as we age.
Provides Healthy Fat
While eggs do contain saturated fat, they also provide both polyunsaturated fat and monounsaturated fat, which are considered “good” fats because they have been shown to be helpful in lowering your LDL or “bad” cholesterol and boosting heart health. The American Heart Association recommends limiting saturated fats to about 13 grams per day if you typically consume about 2,000 calories daily.
Promotes Eye Health
Eggs are also high in the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin, which help protect our eyes from macular degeneration (age-related loss of vision).
Supports Brain Health and Development
Choline, of which eggs are an excellent source, helps boost cognitive development in utero and may also protect us from age-related memory loss and other cognitive impairment.
Freezing Eggs
Rule number one: Don’t freeze the eggs in their shells.
Freezing raw eggs causes the water content inside to expand, which will likely break the shells. Instead, crack the eggs into a bowl, whisk them, and pour into an ice cube tray or muffin tin.
How to Make Eggshell Calcium Powder
Chicken eggshell powder contains lots of calcium. According to this study, “It may be used as a Ca source in human nutrition.” According to the studies the article cites, 1 gram of eggshell calcium contains roughly 400 mg of calcium. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recommends adults consume over 1,000 mg of calcium per day.
Directions
- Save cracked eggshells in the refrigerator until you have enough.
- Boil the shells gently in water for 10 minutes to kill germs.
- Scoop off any white foam that forms.
- Drain the eggshells until dry. I drained mine on a cooling rack for an hour or so. Overnight would be better as these would require less time in the oven, they would be so bone-dry.
- Spread shells out on a cookie sheet and bake in the oven at 200 degrees for about 30 minutes to dry them out completely.
- Crush eggshells in a coffee grinder, food processor or mortar and pestle. I quickly first crushed mine in my hand.
- Add to an air tight container for storage.