Among the many protein-rich foods, eggs have the highest nutritional value because their amino acid content and ratio are the closest to the human body's, making them the easiest to digest and absorb. Eggs are rich in protein, fat, and lecithin, and are also a good source of vitamins A, D, E, K, B1, and B2 that the human body needs. Therefore, eggs are truly an inexpensive and nutritious food for people. However, how many grams of protein and cholesterol are in an egg, and which people should not eat too many eggs, may not be common knowledge for everyone...
According to food composition analysis data, a medium-sized egg, weighing about 60 grams, contains 7.62 grams of protein and 300 milligrams of cholesterol. Some diseases have restrictions on the amount of protein and cholesterol in food. Therefore, based on our clinical experience, this article will introduce this issue for everyone's reference.
1. Coronary heart disease, hyperlipidemia, especially hypercholesterolemia:
The daily dietary intake of cholesterol for such patients should be controlled below 200 milligrams. Excessive cholesterol intake can lead to arteriosclerosis.
Because the egg yolk is rich in cholesterol, patients with hypercholesterolemia are not suitable for eating egg yolks, but can eat the egg whites.
For patients with abnormal lipid metabolism, such as diabetes, the intake of cholesterol should also be moderately limited. The daily cholesterol intake should be below 300 milligrams. Under the guidance of a hospital dietitian, they can eat one whole egg every other day within a week, and eat 1-2 egg whites on the remaining days, so as to avoid excessive cholesterol intake as much as possible.
In addition, it is advisable to eat less or not eat animal offal (such as liver, heart, kidney), roe, shrimp roe, crab roe and other foods high in cholesterol, and reduce the intake of animal fat to reduce the occurrence of arteriosclerosis.
2. Renal insufficiency:
Due to renal dysfunction, such patients have an accumulation of metabolic products in the body, resulting in azotemia (elevated creatinine and urea nitrogen), and even developing into uremia.
In order to protect their renal function from further damage, a high-quality, low-protein diet should be adopted. That is, within the limited range of low protein, more than 60% of high-quality protein should be provided, such as eggs, milk, meat (including poultry), fish, etc.
Therefore, the intake of eggs for such patients must be allocated within the daily protein limit and cannot be eaten at will.
3. Cirrhosis with elevated blood ammonia:
Due to cirrhosis, such patients have damaged liver cells and are unable to clear the toxic substances produced by metabolism in the blood, leading to elevated blood ammonia and even developing into hepatic coma.
Therefore, the amount of protein in the diet must be restricted, especially animal protein, to reduce amino acid metabolism and lower blood ammonia concentration. Animal protein includes meat, eggs, milk, etc., but meat produces the most ammonia, followed by eggs, and milk produces the least.
Thus, patients with cirrhosis and elevated blood ammonia should try to reduce their intake of meat and eggs, and can choose milk and some plant-based proteins (such as grains, legumes and their products). However, if hepatic coma has already occurred, a protein-free diet should be given.
4. Protein allergy:
Some patients who are allergic by nature are prone to protein allergic urticaria, experiencing diarrhea, abdominal pain, skin rashes, etc., after consuming a large amount of protein-rich foods at once, such as meat, milk, eggs, etc. Therefore, such patients should avoid consuming a large amount of protein-rich foods at once.
But it is worth mentioning that we have found that some patients have a misunderstanding about "eating eggs", believing that eggs are what traditional Chinese medicine calls "hair-trigger foods". Patients with inflammation or injuries, especially burn patients, often develop a fear of eggs and dare not eat them, worrying that eating eggs will cause the wound to suppurate. In fact, this is not scientifically sound. According to records in traditional Chinese medicine, eggs are sweet in taste and neutral in nature, and can nourish yin and blood, and do not belong to the "hair-trigger foods". In addition, the suppuration of a wound is mainly caused by bacterial infection. On the contrary, when the human body lacks protein, the body's immunity decreases, and bacteria will take advantage of this to cause wound infection.