Is it good to eat egg yolks?

　　Food like egg yolk has been discriminated against because of its high cholesterol. The addition of Sudanese red to duck egg yolk has caused people to have unprecedented doubts about the food "egg yolk". Even consumers who love egg yolks suddenly feel at a loss when choosing poultry eggs after red yolks became a scourge.

　　So, what exactly does a normal egg yolk contain? Where does its color come from?

　　It turns out that the main components of egg yolk are 17.5% protein, 32.5% fat, about 48.0% water, 2% minerals, as well as trace components such as multiple vitamins.

　　People often think egg The protein is concentrated in the egg white. In fact, the protein content of egg white is only about 11%, but water accounts for 88%.

　　The fat is also firmly concentrated in the yolk part, and the fat content of egg white is only 0.2%. The fat in egg yolks is mainly monounsaturated fatty acids, more than half of which is oleic acid, the main component of olive oil, which is beneficial to preventing heart disease.

　　When it comes to vitamins, there is no doubt that most of them are concentrated in egg yolk. Egg yolk contains valuable vitamins A and D, as well as vitamins E and K. These are "fat-soluble vitamins" and there is no trace of them in egg whites. Even the water-soluble B vitamins are mostly found in egg yolks. In fact, part of the light yellow color in the yolk of chicken farm eggs comes from the color of riboflavin, and riboflavin is vitamin B2, which can prevent common ailments such as cracked corners of the mouth, glossitis, painful and cracked lips.

　　What about various trace elements? It is also concentrated in the egg yolk. There is a lot of phosphorus in the egg yolk, and a lot of iron. Although the iron absorption rate in egg yolk is relatively low, it is suitable for people who cannot eat meat. baby , still plays an important role. At the same time, all the lecithin in eggs comes from the yolk, and lecithin can provide choline to help synthesize an important nerve Transmitter - acetylcholine. Therefore, the first complementary food for babies is often egg yolk. Egg yolk is good for children’s iron supplement and is also good for their brain development.

　　In addition to being rich in nutrients and beneficial healthy In addition to lecithin, egg yolk also contains unexpected healthy ingredients-that is, lutein and zeaxanthin.

　　Lutein and zeaxanthin are both carotenoids, but they cannot be converted into vitamin A in the human body. Even so, they have strong antioxidant effects, especially in protecting Eye role.

　　The imaging part of the human eye is the retina, and the retina has a "macular spot" in which the yellow color comes from lutein and zeaxanthin. These two types of substances help the eyes filter harmful ultraviolet rays, delay the aging of the eyes, prevent eye diseases such as macular degeneration and cataracts, and are also good for the heart.

　　Those dark yellow duck egg yolks and egg yolks are good sources of lutein and zeaxanthin. According to American research, more than one-third of the fat-soluble yellow substances in egg yolks come from these two ingredients, and they are very easy to be absorbed by the body, which is more effective than eating corn directly. Therefore, for normal eggs, the yellower the yolk is, the better it is for eye health.

　　The color of egg yolk is closely related to the chicken's feed. If the feed contains more green leaves or yellow corn, the carotenoids contained in it will be absorbed into the egg yolk. So generally speaking, the yolk color of free-range eggs will be darker.

　　As early as twenty or thirty years ago, some people took advantage of this rule and added carotenoids to chicken feed to make the egg yolks bright and beautiful, which was loved by consumers. This practice is harmless to your health and may even be beneficial. Nowadays, some people take advantage of the pigment-rich characteristics of egg yolks and use toxic chemical dyes to enhance the color of egg yolks. This is really annoying. But there is no need for consumers to stop eating due to choking or talk about the discoloration of egg yolks. Dark yellow egg yolks that are not contaminated by chemical dyes are still a good food for health.

　　Many people are afraid to eat egg yolks because they contain a lot of cholesterol. For in elderly and Hyperlipidemia For patients with diabetes, the daily intake of cholesterol from food should be controlled within 300 mg.

　　However, there is a lot of cholesterol in egg yolks. As long as you eat one egg, you can get more than 200 milligrams of cholesterol, leaving little room for other animal foods. You can only eat 100 grams of chicken or tenderloin. If you eat seafood, offal, fatty pork, etc., you will definitely exceed the standard.

　　In addition to middle-aged and elderly people who really need to control blood cholesterol, many young people female They also associate cholesterol with obesity and other problems. They dare not eat egg yolks, thus wasting precious nutrients.

　　In fact, foods containing cholesterol do not necessarily have high fat content, and cholesterol does not bring too much energy to the human body, and has nothing to do with obesity. Why eat eggs if you don't eat the yolk? It is better to eat tofu directly, which not only contains a lot of protein, but also provides a lot of calcium that is not found in protein, and also reduces waste.

　　The question is: Will eating egg yolks really raise blood cholesterol?

　　First of all, let’s talk about whether cholesterol is a harmful substance. In fact, cholesterol itself is a nutrient, because the synthesis of every cell in the human body requires cholesterol, and the synthesis of many hormones such as sex hormones and bile also requires cholesterol.

　　The nervous system is also rich in cholesterol, and the brain is the place with the most cholesterol in the body. In order to supply demand, the human body must synthesize more than a thousand milligrams of cholesterol every day, which is much higher than the amount in an egg yolk. Only when there is an obstacle to cholesterol metabolism in the human body, cholesterol will be deposited on the blood vessel wall, resulting in cardiovascular disease. disease trouble.