Nutrient Value of
Eggs
EGGS:
Good Nutrition, Affordable Price.
With all the media attention on cholesterol, consumers often lose
sight of the fact that eggs are a nutrient rich, affordable contributor
to a healthy diet. Not only do eggs contain the highest quality
source of protein available but they also contain almost every
essential vitamin and mineral needed by humans. In fact, egg protein
is of such high quality that it is used as the standard by which
other proteins are compared. Eggs have a biological value (efficacy
with which protein is used for growth) of 93.7%. Comparable values
are 84.5% for milk, 76% for fish, and 74.3% for beef. Eggs really
are the best protein money can buy, and it has all those other
valuable vitamins and minerals too.
Nutrient Content of a Large Egg
Nutrient
(unit) |
Whole Egg |
Egg White |
Egg Yolk |
Calories (kcal) |
72 |
17 |
55 |
Protein (g) |
6.29 |
3.60 |
2.70 |
Total lipid (g) |
4.97 |
0 |
4.51 |
Total carbohydrate (g) |
0.39 |
0.24 |
0.61 |
Fatty acids (g) |
4.13 |
0 |
4.32 |
Saturated fat (g) |
1.55 |
0 |
1.62 |
Monounsaturated fat (g) |
1.91 |
0 |
1.99 |
Polyunsaturated fat (g) |
0.68 |
0 |
0.71 |
Cholesterol (mg) |
212 |
0 |
210 |
Thiamin (mg) |
0.04 |
0.00 |
0.03 |
Riboflavin (mg) |
0.24 |
0.15 |
0.09 |
Niacin (mg) |
0.04 |
0.04 |
0.00 |
Vitamin B6 (mg) |
0.07 |
0.00 |
0.06 |
Folate (mcg) |
24 |
1.0 |
25 |
Vitamin B12 (mcg) |
0.65 |
0.03 |
0.33 |
Vitamin A (IU) |
244 |
0 |
245 |
Vitamin E (mg) |
0.48 |
0 |
0.44 |
Vitamin D (IU) |
18 |
0 |
18 |
Choline (mg) |
125.6 |
|
|
Betaine (mg) |
0.3 |
|
|
Calcium, Ca (mg) |
27 |
2 |
22 |
Iron, Fe (mg) |
0.92 |
0.03 |
0.46 |
Magnesium, Mg (mg) |
6 |
4 |
1 |
Copper, Cu (mg) |
0.05 |
0.01 |
0.01 |
Zinc, Zn (mg) |
0.56 |
0.01 |
0.39 |
Sodium, Na (mg) |
70 |
55 |
8 |
Manganese, Mn (mg) |
0.02 |
0.00 |
0.01 |
Source: USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 19
Eggs have long been an important contributor to
the nutritional quality of the American diet. According to the USDA Report, Nutrient Content of the US Food Supply, 1909-97, Report No. 54, eggs supply a higher percentage of nutrients to the diet than calories. While eggs provide
only 1.3% of the average caloric intake, they are so nutrient dense
that they contribute a great deal more nutrition than calories:
6% of the RDA for riboflavin, 5% of the folate, 4% of the vitamin
E and vitamin A, and almost 4% of the protein. When an item provides
more nutrients than calories to the average American diet it deserves
to be called "nutrient dense" and deserves to be part
of everyone's diet.
Contribution of Eggs to the American
Diet
Nutrient |
Percentage (%) |
Food Energy |
1.3 |
Protein |
3.9 |
Fat |
2.0 |
Vitamin A |
4.3 |
Vitamin E |
4.3 |
Riboflavin |
6.4 |
Vitamin B6 |
2.1 |
Vitamin B12 |
3.7 |
Folate |
5.1 |
Iron |
2.4 |
Phosphorous |
3.6 |
Zinc |
2.8 |
Eggs not only make a contribution to the nutrient
value of the American diet, they also make a major contribution
to the affordability of the diet. At $1.00 per dozen large eggs,
the consumer pays only 66.5 cents per pound for a nutrient rich
source of highest quality protein available. For more eggs facts,
please visit the American
Egg Board's World Wide Web Site and check out the Eggcyclopedia.
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