If you're a fan of eggs, you might wonder whether you should be eating them boiled or scrambled. Though how you cook an egg has no impact upon some of the nutrients, the cooking method does impact other nutrients. Whatever method you choose, be sure you cook your eggs thoroughly.
Eggs
Eggs are nutritional powerhouses. While many people assume the egg white is healthier than the yolk, both white and yolk contain many important nutrients. According to EggNutritionCenter.org, both white and yolk contain protein. The yolk is much higher in fat -- there's almost no fat in the white -- but is also much higher in vitamins and minerals. If you keep track of cholesterol, however, you might want to avoid the cholesterol-heavy yolk.
Macronutrients
Macronutrients are the energy-providing nutrients in food, including carbohydrates, fats, and protein. Eggs contain very little carbohydrate, and what's present isn't affected by cooking. The method you use to cook an egg -- boiling, scrambling or something else -- doesn't affect the protein or fat content of the egg because heat doesn't affect the amount of macronutrients present in your food. Heat denatures the proteins in an egg, meaning it renders them inactive, but your stomach acid does the same thing, so this is unimportant.
Micronutrients
Heat affects some vitamins, which are micronutrients that you need to maintain normal cellular function. According to a 1999 article by Dr. M. Murcia and colleagues in the "Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture," the amount of time you cook and egg and the way you cook it affects the concentration of certain vitamins. Dr. Murcia and colleagues noted that in particular, vitamin E levels are lower in scrambled eggs than in boiled, and both contain lower levels than raw eggs.
Guidelines
While raw eggs are highest in vitamins, you shouldn't ever eat them raw due to the risk of food-borne illness. As long as you're eating a balanced diet, you're not likely to be vitamin deficient, and you can cook your eggs however you like. If you're particularly concerned about maintaining as much nutrition as possible, however, choose thoroughly boiled eggs for the maximum vitamin content.
References
- Egg Nutrition Center: Nutrient Content of One Large Egg
- University of Arizona: Facts about Eggs and Food Safety; Mary Abgrall, et al; 1998
- "Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture"; Proximate Composition and Vitamin E Levels in Egg Yolk: Losses by Cooking in a Microwave Oven; M. Murcia et al; 1999
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