Eggs supply many essential nutrients in a low-calorie package. Scrambled eggs are inexpensive, simple to prepare and supply your body with high-quality protein, some healthy fats and abundant vitamins and minerals, explains IncredibleEgg.org. Include a scrambled egg with your daily breakfast to benefit from its many essential nutrients.
Protein
Eggs, like all animal sources of protein, contain nutritionally complete proteins. Complete proteins are made up of all the essential amino acids--the building blocks of protein--that you must include in your diet because your body cannot synthesize them. One large scrambled egg, with no added ingredients, provides approximately 6 g of protein, with just over half located in the white and just under half in the yolk, states the Egg Nutrition Center.
Fat
The yolk contains most of an egg's fat content. Of the 5 g of total fat in a single scrambled egg, roughly 60 percent are heart-healthy monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, with the remaining 40 percent saturated fat. One scrambled egg also contributes about 200 mg of cholesterol to your daily diet. While that is a significant amount of cholesterol from a single food source, says Harvard Medical School, relatively little of that cholesterol finds its way into your bloodstream. However, if you are concerned about dietary cholesterol, prepare your scrambled eggs with few or no egg yolks.
Carbohydrate
Scrambled eggs offer very little carbohydrate--only a gram or so per egg, according to the Egg Nutrition Center--and no fiber. Of the carbs it does provide, most are simple sugars, predominantly lactose and glucose.
Vitamins
Egg yolks are rich in the fat-soluble vitamins A, D and E. Vitamin A helps keep your cell membranes and the soft tissues of your body healthy, and it also plays an important role in good vision. Vitamin D aids in your body's calcium absorption, leading to strong teeth and bones. Vitamin E works as an antioxidant to help prevent cellular damage from compounds called free radicals, and it also helps in the formation of red blood cells. Eggs supply vitamin B6, used for protein metabolism and brain function, and vitamin B12, important in maintaining your central nervous system. Eggs contain significant folate, a vitamin essential for red blood cell formation and DNA production, and important in preventing certain birth defects. Additionally, eggs offer 23 percent of your daily value of choline, states IncredibleEgg.org, which your body uses to maintain cellular function and to help metabolize your food.
Minerals
Scrambled eggs prepared with both the yolk and the whites supply many necessary minerals. Selenium works as an antioxidant along with vitamin E. Phosphorus maintains healthy bones and teeth and also functions to help your body produce energy from the food you eat. Iron helps transport oxygen throughout your body and is a component of red blood cells. Zinc improves your immune health. Minerals supplied in less significant amounts in scrambled eggs include magnesium and calcium.
References
- IncredibleEgg.org: It's All In An Egg: Egg Nutrients Play a Healthful Role In the Body
- Egg Nutrition Center: Nutrient Content of One Large Egg
- Harvard Medical School: Egg Nutrition and Heart Disease: Eggs Aren't the Dietary Demons They're Cracked Up To Be
- U.S. Department of Agriculture: National Nutrient Database
- MedlinePlus: Vitamins
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