If you love fried eggs but have been avoiding them because you don’t think they’re healthy – you’re making a mistake and depriving yourself of a tasty food that also has nutritional value.
Sometimes, a fried egg sandwich is the perfect way to satisfy hunger, especially after a strength training workout.
It also makes a good way to stray away from the run-of-the-mill breakfast meal.
Can “Fried” and “Eggs” Be in the Same Sentence As “Healthy”?
The problem is that for years, we’ve been hearing from the media and even our own doctors to avoid fried foods and to limit egg intake.
As a result, some people do wonder if fried eggs are unhealthy.
First off, the frying component doesn’t necessarily involve the same unhealthy oils that fast-food fare is fried in.
In fact, you can fry eggs in a non-stick pan that doesn’t require oil or butter for frying. But that aside…
What about the health value of fried eggs?
“Eggs are an excellent source of protein and add healthy doses of vitamin D, vitamin B2, vitamin A, vitamin B12, iodine and folate to your diet,” says Sara Artigues, registered dietician and certified personal trainer at All Inclusive Health, a nutrition planning and personal training studio in New Orleans.
“A fried egg will offer roughly five percent more iron than a boiled egg, but because frying an egg requires high heat and more fat, fried eggs have more glycotoxins than other lower temperature methods of cooked eggs.
“Overall, fried eggs are higher in fat, but that might not be an issue, depending on the fat profile of the rest of your diet.”
What are glycotoxins?
These end-products of high heat cooking that can cause body-wide inflammation that can then increase the risk of chronic disease. Glycotoxins are commonly referred to as AGEs: advanced glycation end products.
So now that you know that these are formed when frying eggs, does that mean you should give up fried eggs?
No. And here’s why. It won’t make too much of a difference because the standard American diet is chock-full of AGEs!
AGEs are abundant in the standard American diet, created NOT just by the frying process – but by pasteurization and grilling. Dried and smoked foods also contain AGEs.
So if you want to significantly reduce the amount of AGEs damaging the tissues of your body, you’d have to avoid all foods that are treated by these multiple heating processes.
This includes milk and bottled juices, and all that protein-rich salmon and chicken breast that you grill.
Thus, avoiding fried eggs doesn’t solve the issue of AGEs.
There are no illnesses linked to solely the consumption of fried eggs or even eggs in general.
So enjoy your fried egg sandwiches. It’s best that you use whole grain bread with no chemical additives, and if you like ketchup, use a no-sugar-added kind.
Healthful Way to Fry Eggs
• Use a pan that allows frying without oil or butter.
• Otherwise use coconut oil. Olive oil, when at high heat, forms toxic substances.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
Sara Artigues
