Hard-Boiled Egg Nutrition

Maybe you haven't heard, but eggs are no longer on the list of bad foods. While eggs are high in cholesterol, researchers now know that cholesterol in food doesn't raise blood cholesterol levels -- saturated fat does. So if you like hard-boiled eggs, go ahead and include them in your diet a few days a week. Hard-boiled eggs are low in calories and a good source of protein. Plus, they're also one of only a few foods that contain vitamin D.

One large hard-boiled egg that weighs 50 grams has 78 calories. With 1.6 calories per gram, a hard-boiled egg is a low-energy dense food. Energy density refers to a food's calorie count compared to its weight. Foods with a low-energy density fill you up on fewer calories. Including more low-energy dense foods in your diet might help you better manage your weight.

One large hard-boiled egg has 6 grams of protein. As an animal source of protein, eggs provide all of the essential amino acids, which makes them a high-quality source of protein. Protein is essential to life and occurs in every cell in your body. How much you need each day depends on your age and gender. The recommended dietary allowances say adult women need about 46 grams of protein a day, and adult men need about 56 grams.

Eggs are a source of fat and cholesterol, most of which are in the yolk. One large hard-boiled egg contains 5 grams of total fat, 1.7 grams of saturated fat and 212 milligrams of cholesterol. The American Heart Association recommends you limit total fat to 25 to 35 percent of calories, saturated fat to less than 7 percent of calories and your daily cholesterol intake to 300 milligrams or less. If you have concerns about how many eggs you should have a week because of a history of heart disease or high cholesterol, talk to your doctor.

Hard-boiled eggs are a good source of vitamins B12 and E, folic acid, iron and zinc. The egg yolk also provides vitamin D, with the yolk of a large egg meeting 10 percent of its daily value. The limited food sources of vitamin D include fish, beef liver and fortified foods such as milk and yogurt.