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The Healthiest and Unhealthiest Ways to Cook Your Eggs

One health expert opens up about how to eat eggs the right way.
FACT CHECKED BY Christopher Roback

Are you trying to lose weight or be the healthiest version of yourself? Eat more eggs, encourages one expert. Dr. Alan Mandell is a doctor and social media influencer who regularly shares health tips with his followers. In a new viral video, he discusses how eggs can help you achieve your health goals, how you should eat them, and everything else you need to know about them. "I have a lot of great information to share with you about eggs," he says at the clip's start.

You Can Get More Nutrition Depending on How You Cook Eggs

"I'm not here in any way to tell you you should eat them or not eat them. But I'm here to tell you the facts on how you can get the maximum effective assimilation from eggs, depending on how you cook them," says Dr. Mandell. "There are better ways of getting more nutrition from eggs, such as cooking them in certain ways versus others."

Two Eggs Boast 13 Grams Protein

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According to Dr. Mandell, "there is no doubt" that eggs are a superfood. "Eggs can do wonderful things for the body," he says. "Just two eggs contain 13 grams of protein, and we know that protein is important for building and maintaining muscle, fighting infections, and growing healthy nails."

They Also Offer Many Other Benefits

chicken nest with eggs. A woman's hand takes the eggs from the nest. The hen laid the eggs. farmer collects eggs
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Eggs are also "one of the few foods on the planet that have all nine essential amino acids," he says. "Eggs include iron that helps carry oxygen to the cells, vitamin A that maintains healthy skin and eye tissue, vitamin D that strengthens bone and teeth," he adds. "Vitamin E and antioxidants play a part in maintaining good health and preventing disease," while "vitamin B12 helps keep the body's nerves and blood cells healthy."

They Also Have Folate, Selenium, and Choline

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"It has folate, selenium, which acts as a major antioxidant," he says. And choline, "which plays a strong role in brain development and function."

Heat Will Kill Bacteria

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"There are many different ways of cooking eggs, but there's one good thing about heat," he says. "It will kill bacteria that potentially could be harmful to the body."

You Can Boil Eggs in Their Shells

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He goes over the various cooking methods. "We can soft boil or even hard boil our eggs and cook it in their shells. The longer we cook it, the harder the yolk will get," he says.

You Can Poach Them

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Another similar method? "We can poach our eggs and cook them in slightly cooler water, but only cook them for two to three minutes," he says.

You Can Fry Them

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"We can fry our eggs and put them in a hot pan that contains another layer of cooking fat. It may be sunny side up, maybe sunny side, down over easy, or even both sides," he continues.

You Can Bake Eggs

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Another less popular method? "We can actually bake our eggs as well in a hot oven."

You Can Scramble Eggs

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"We can scramble our eggs," he says. He adds that they "are beaten in a bowl, poured into a hot pan and stirred over a lower heat."

You Can Make Omelets

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"We can make omelets where the eggs are beaten and poured into a hot pan, and then they're cooked slowly over heat until they're solid," he continues.

You Can Even Microwave Them

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A less popular method? "Microwaving our eggs, there is a lot of controversy about that," he says.

He Recommends Cooking Them Over Lower Heat

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"The best nutrition you're gonna get from your eggs is when you cook it on a lower heat in less time," he advises. "If you're cooking your eggs at high temperatures, the cholesterol in them can become oxidized, and it can reduce compounds known as oxy sterile. The studies show that the oxy-sterile compounds, as well as the oxidized cholesterol cooked on high heat for long periods of time, are what potentially can lead to heart disease or cardiovascular problems. But it's not the egg; it's more of the oxidation that's taking place that sets the body up for more potential problems."

You Can Eat Eggs and Have Low Cholesterol

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"Overall, a healthy person can have eggs and eat eggs and still have low cholesterol," she said. "If your liver is producing normal cholesterol because it produces 80% of it on its own, and we only take in 20%, so therefore, if you're taking in less cholesterol, your liver should make more. And if you're taking in too much cholesterol, your liver should produce less."

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You Don't Maximize Health Benefits with Raw Eggs

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"There are many other people out there that eat raw eggs," he reveals, but notes that there is research finding that with raw eggs, you're only getting 51% of the protein. "Drinking it raw as when it's heated up, is able to assimilate up to 91% of protein of that egg." Other research has found that you only get the biotin by heating up the egg.

Cooking Eggs Shorter and at Lower Heat Is Better for You

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The bottom line? "Overall, shorter and lower heat cooking methods cause less cholesterol oxidation and help retain most of the eggs' nutrients," he says.

Poached and Boiled Eggs Are the Healthiest

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What is the best type of eggs to eat? "Poached and boiled eggs, either hard-boiled or soft-boiled, are the healthiest," he says.

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You Also Won't Be Adding Extra Fat

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"Another big thing is you don't add all that extra saturated fat that potentially can lead to more oxidation, and the healthiest eggs will be your organic and pastured eggs," he says.

More About Eggs

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In the caption he also reveals nutritional information about eggs. "One egg has only 75 calories but 7 grams of high-quality protein, 5 grams of fat, and 1.6 grams of saturated fat," he writes.

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Eggs Are a "Disease-Fighting" "Powerhouse"

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He also writes that eggs offer "iron, vitamins, minerals, and carotenoids," he says. "The egg is a powerhouse of disease-fighting nutrients like lutein and zeaxanthin." And if you enjoyed this article, take advantage of these 20 Superfoods for People Over 50.

Leah Groth
Leah Groth has decades of experience covering all things health, wellness and fitness related. Read more
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