Common Mistakes in Eating Eggs
The amino acid ratio of egg protein is well-suited to the physiological needs of the human body, is easily absorbed by the body, with a utilization rate of over 98%, and is highly nutritious. Eggs are rich in calcium, phosphorus, iron, and vitamin A, and are also rich in B vitamins, as well as many other vitamins and trace elements essential for the human body. Although eggs are highly nutritious and can be prepared in many ways, there are still four major misconceptions to be aware of when eating eggs.
Mistake 1: Darker-shelled eggs are more nutritious
The color of an eggshell has little to do with its nutritional value. Analysis shows that the nutritional value of an egg depends on the nutritional value of the feed and the chicken's feeding situation, not much on the color of the shell. From a sensory perspective, the thicker the egg white, the higher the protein content and the better the quality of the protein. Under normal circumstances, eggs with darker yolks are slightly more nutritious.
Misconception 2: The nutritional value of eggs is the same no matter how they are cooked
There are many ways to cook eggs, including boiling, steaming, frying, and scrambling. In terms of the absorption and digestibility of egg nutrients, boiling and steaming have a 100% rate, soft frying 98%, scrambled eggs 97%, poached eggs 92.5%, hard frying 81.1%, and raw consumption 30%-50%. Therefore, boiling and steaming should be the best cooking methods.
Mistake 3: Eating eggs with soy milk is highly nutritious
Soy milk is mild in nature and sweet, and contains many nutrients such as plant protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals. It has a great nourishing effect when consumed alone. Soy milk contains trypsin inhibitors, which can inhibit the activity of human proteases and affect the digestion and absorption of protein in the human body. The egg white in eggs contains viscous protein, which can combine with the trypsin in soy milk, hindering the breakdown of protein and thus reducing the human body's absorption rate of protein.
Mistake 4: The longer you boil an egg, the better
When an egg is boiled for too long, ferrous ions in the yolk combine with sulfide ions in the white to form insoluble ferrous sulfide, which is difficult to absorb. If a fried egg is overcooked, the high-molecular-weight proteins in the egg white will break down into low-molecular-weight amino acids. These amino acids can often form harmful chemical substances to human health at high temperatures. It is best to start boiling eggs in cold water, and then cook for another 3 minutes after the water boils. At this point, the egg is soft-boiled, and its nutrients are most easily absorbed by the human body. The digestion time of eggs with different boiling times varies in the human body. A "3-minute egg" is a lightly cooked egg that is easiest to digest, taking about 1 hour and 30 minutes; a "5-minute egg" is a half-cooked egg, which takes about 2 hours to digest; an egg boiled for too long takes 3 hours and 15 minutes to digest.
In addition, raw eggs have a special fishy smell, which can also suppress the central nervous system, reducing the secretion of digestive fluids such as saliva, gastric juice, and intestinal juice, leading to loss of appetite and indigestion. Therefore, eggs must be cooked at high temperatures before eating, and raw or undercooked eggs should not be consumed.