Does An Egg A Day Really Keep The Pounds Away?

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We have always been told to eat a sufficient breakfast before a big day. Whether you are taking a test, about to be interviewed, or attending a big meeting, it seems everyone advises to eat a healthy, filling breakfast beforehand.

Numerous studies have determined that eating breakfast is infinitely better for our bodies than not eating breakfast. However, it’s important to note that eating sugary cereal or a bagel – while still technically counting as a meal – may not be all that beneficial.

What to do instead when you’re pressed on time but want to get a good meal in? If you want to reap the most benefits from breakfast, researchers suggest to prepare eggs. Eggs will not only give our bodies a healthy start to the day, but they might also help with weight loss.

Elisabetta Politi, RD, MPH, nutrition manager for the Duke Diet & Fitness Center at Duke University Medical School states on a medical information website, Web MD, that eating breakfast “jump-starts your metabolism […] ‘when you don’t eat breakfast, you’re actually farting for 15 to 20 hours, so you’re not producing the enzymes needed to metabolize fat to lose weight,’” she explains.

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Those who don’t eat breakfast are not only failing to start their metabolism, but they are also more likely to overeat at lunch and consume more calories than those who ate a sufficient breakfast.  Whole grain foods and yogurts are healthy breakfast options, but studies have found that eggs might be the best meal to eat if you are trying to lose weight.  Packed with protein, eggs cause us to feel full for longer and also provides our bodies with vitamins. The health and wellness website Live Strong explains that eggs “provide an average of 72 calories, 6.3 g of protein and 4.8 g of fat. The protein is equally distributed between the white and the yolk, while the fat is entirely found in the yolk.”

A 2005 study published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition studied “35 overweight and obese women, participants [who] were given either an egg-based breakfast, with 2 scrambled eggs, 2 slices of toast and 1 tbsp. of reduced-calorie fruit spread, or a bagel-based breakfast, comprising a 3.5-in bagel, 2 tbsp. of cream cheese and 3 oz. of non-fat yogurt,” in order to see the effects on weight of both meals, Live Strong states. Both groups were eating the same number of calories; however, the study found that “the egg-based breakfast resulted in greater satiety and a decreased calorie intake at lunch”.

Yet another study, which gave half the group of volunteer’s cereal and the other half eggs for breakfast, determined that, when given an all-you-can-eat buffet, “those given an egg for breakfast, rather than cereal, felt less hungry come lunchtime, and consequently consumed less at an ‘all-you-can eat’ buffet,” according to a British news website, The Telegraph.  Furthermore, researchers from Pennington Biomedical Research Centre in Louisiana, US, “found those given an egg had significantly lower levels of ghrelin, a hormone that stimulates appetite, in their blood three hours after breakfast […and] had significantly higher levels of another hormone, called PYY3-36, which signals we are full.” Impressive.

Verdict: Fact. Eating eggs for breakfast has been proven to help people lose weight when compared to other breakfast options. Whether they be scrambled, hard boiled, poached, or fried, be sure to add eggs into your morning routine (if you eat them!) in order to make the most out of breakfast! However, it’s important to note that the grander lesson learned here is to always reach for something with as many nutrients as possible as opposed to starchy foods that are nutritionally void.

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What do you typically reach for at breakfast?