Eggs are easy-to-cook, versatile and nutritious choices for any meal or for a snack. Just a few of the ways to eat eggs include hard-boiled eggs, omelets, poached eggs on toast and meringue cookies. Do not eat raw eggs or foods with raw eggs in them, such as home-made cookie dough or cake batter, because you can get food poisoning.
Background
The nutritional facts for a raw egg depend on the size of the egg. An extra large egg weighs 63 grams and has 90 calories, while a small egg weighs 38 grams and has 54 calories. A large egg weighs 50 grams, or 1.8 ounces, and has 72 calories. The amount of calories and fat for your egg will increase if you fry your egg in butter, oil or lard instead of using a fat-free method of cooking such as boiling or poaching.
Macronutrients
Eggs are free from carbohydrates. A large egg has 4.8 grams of total fat, including 1.5 grams of saturated fat. Saturated fat raises your cholesterol levels and may increase your risk for heart disease, according to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Eggs are good sources of protein, and a large egg has 6.2 grams of protein. All of the protein is in the egg white, and the fat is in the yolk.
Cholesterol
A large egg has 186 milligrams of cholesterol. Cholesterol from your diet increases levels of cholesterol in your blood, according to the Mayo Clinic. Healthy adults should get a maximum of 300 milligrams of cholesterol per day, and individuals with high cholesterol should limit intake to 200 milligrams of cholesterol. All of the cholesterol in eggs is in the yolk. Cholesterol-free alternatives are to eat only the egg white, or to purchase cholesterol-free egg substitute products.
Other Nutrients
Eggs are naturally low in sodium, and a large raw egg has 71 milligrams. To prevent your blood pressure from increasing above a normal range, the 2010 Dietary Guidelines from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services suggest limiting your sodium intake to 2,300 milligrams per day. An egg has 15 milligrams of selenium, or 21 percent of the daily value, and 270 international units of vitamin A, or 5 percent of the daily value.
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