Nutrient

A nutritious substance, many of which are supplied by the egg. While no one food (other than mother’s milk, perhaps) provides everything humans need, the egg contains a wide array of necessary nutrients. After all, the egg was designed by nature to supply everything needed for the creation and nourishment of a baby chick.

Egg protein is of such high quality that it is often used as the standard by which other protein foods are measured. Egg protein contains all the essential amino acids (building blocks of protein which the body needs but cannot make) in a pattern that matches very closely the pattern the human body needs. This is why eggs are classified with meat in the food groups and why egg protein is called complete protein.

With the exception of vitamin C, an egg contains varying amounts of all the essential vitamins plus many minerals. An egg yolk is one of the few foods which naturally contain vitamin D, the sunshine vitamin.

Altogether, according to the USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 19 (2006)1, a single Large egg (50 grams) contains the following nutrients:

A Large egg yolk contains a moderate amount of fat, about 5 grams. About 1.5 grams of the egg’s fat are saturated and 2.6 grams unsaturated.

Click here for nutrition table.

As is true for most foods, cooking causes some minor nutrient losses in the egg. Of the nutrients in an egg, the vitamins riboflavin, thiamin and folic acid are generally less heat stable than other nutrients. Normal cooking simply changes the form of egg protein, but not its nutrient value. Protein is destroyed only when it is severely overcooked, as in the brown lacy edges of an overcooked fried egg. You can preserve the highest nutrient content possible by proper cooking.

– See Biological Value; Cooking Methods; Nutrient Density, Nutrition Education and Labeling Act, Protein