Clever double: salad plus egg
Larissa Melville completed her traineeship in the editorial team of . After studying biology at Ludwig Maximilians University and the Technical University of Munich, she first got to know digital media online at Focus and then decided to learn medical journalism from scratch.
More about the experts All content is checked by medical journalists.MunichThose who pay attention to their lines like to save on salad dressing. In fact, not infrequently these are quite fatty. But even the most colorful salad is only half as healthy without fat: the human body cannot absorb certain secondary plant substances without fat - the carotenoids. They are mainly found in red and yellow vegetables such as tomatoes and peppers and give them their color and support photosynthesis. Humans also benefit from them: Among other things, they are supposed to support the body in the fight against inflammation and protect it from free radicals.
"Especially today, when many people eat only a few vegetables anyway, not eating fatty salad dressings is problematic," says Jung Eun Kim from Purdue University. That is why the scientist and her colleagues looked for a simple alternative to oil and dressings. Her idea: eggs in a salad. Because these contain at least five grams of fat per egg yolk and are also rich in protein, essential amino acids, unsaturated fatty acids and vitamin B, according to the researcher.
Three eggs better than one
A total of 16 young men took part in the study. Everyone ate the same mixed salad with a minimal amount of oil (three grams). Only some of the test subjects ate an additional one and a half or even three eggs. To make sure that all of the egg yolks were eaten, the researchers served them in the form of scrambled eggs. Ten hours after eating the salad, the researchers took blood from the participants and determined the amount of carotenoids used.
"Our research clearly shows that people benefit more from raw vegetables if they eat boiled eggs with them," says Kim. Those who were served three eggs with a salad consumed three to eight times more carotenoids than those who did not and had not eaten any additional fat with the salad. One and a half eggs also improved the intake, albeit to a much lesser extent.
Vinaigrette or rich dressing
If you don't like eggs, you can of course also serve your salad with oil or fatty dressing and thus achieve the same positive effect. Vegetable oils such as olive oil or linseed oil are particularly healthy because they contain valuable unsaturated fatty acids. But even here, after one or two tablespoons of the figure, love should be over. However, the fat content in the form of eggs is easier to portion and thus control, according to the researcher.
Sources:
Purdue University press release from June 4th, 2015
Jung E.K. et al .: Effects of egg consumption on carotenoid absorption from co-consumed, raw vegetables. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. doi: 10.3945 / ajcn.115.111062
Tags: smoking medicinal herbal home remedies organ systems
