They are loaded with nutrients, some of which are rare in the modern diet.
Beyond easily upping your daily protein count—each 85-calorie egg packs a solid 7 grams of the muscle-builder—egg protein also improve your health.
1. You’ll Improve Your Cholesterol Profile
There are three ideas about cholesterol that practically everyone knows: 1) High cholesterol is a bad thing; 2) There are good and bad kinds of cholesterol; 3) Eggs contain plenty of it. Doctors are generally most concerned with the ratio of “good” cholesterol (HDL) to bad cholesterol (LDL). One large egg contains 212 mg of cholesterol, but this doesn’t mean that eggs will raise the “bad” kind in the blood.
The body constantly produces cholesterol on its own, and a large body of evidence indicates that eggs can actually improve your cholesterol profile. How? Eggs seem to raise HDL (good) cholesterol while increasing the size of LDL particles (which are thought to be less dangerous than small particles).
2. Your Body Loses Calcium
Consuming high levels of protein can cause your body to excrete more calcium in your urine, increasing your need for dietary calcium. If you don’t consume sufficient calcium to make up for this, you could have a higher risk for developing osteoporosis as you get older. The more protein you consume above that needed by your body for building muscle, the more calcium you will need to consume.
3. You’ll Protect Your Brain
Eggs are brain food. That’s largely because of an essential nutrient called choline. It’s a component of cell membranes and is required to synthesize acetylcholine: a neurotransmitter. Studies show that a lack of choline has been linked to neurological disorders and decreased cognitive function.
4. You Actually GAIN Weight
A lot of people think that a high protein diet means you will lose weight, but wrong. When you consume more protein than your body needs, the excess protein is used to provide your body with energy or turned into fat. You can’t store extra amino acids or protein for later use, so if you consume too many calories in an effort to increase your protein intake you will gain weight. A high-protein diet might help you drop pounds in the short-term. But if you’re going hard on the egg whites and whey protein without cutting out other stuff, you’re gonna gain weight, not lose it. In fact, one long-term study of more than 7,000 adults found that those who ate the most protein were 90% more likely to become overweight compared to people who ate less of the stuff.
5. You’ll Lose Fat
Largely because of their satiating power, eggs have been linked with fat loss. A study on this produced some remarkable results: Over an eight-week period, people ate a breakfast of either two eggs or a bagel, which contained the same amount of calories. The egg group lost 65% more body weight, 16% more body fat, experienced a 61% greater reduction in BMI and saw a 34% greater reduction in waist circumference!
6. Your Kidneys Start To Suffer
Although consuming excess protein is unlikely to cause kidney problems in healthy people, it can exacerbate existing problems. People with kidney problems are often advised by their doctors to limit the amount of protein they consume to avoid putting extra strain on their kidneys. If you have kidney problems, speak with your doctor about the amount of protein you should consume.