Are Eggs Keto? All about Eggs for Keto and the Keto Egg Fast

In this article, find out how beef is a superfood providing many benefits, most notably:

1. A versatile ingredient and a good source of fat on the keto diet
2. Supports weight loss
3. Great for workouts and bodybuilding
4. Good for skin repair

Eating eggs on a Keto diet is a great way to round out your nutritional needs and provides variety to your meals. Many keto recipes use eggs as a binding agent in their recipes to replace starchy ingredients such as gluten in flour. These recipes include low carb bread, cakes, cookies and many others to substitute their high carbohydrate equivalent.

A single serving of egg is defined as 1 large egg, weighing approximately 50 grams. An egg is around 76% water and a single serving is 71.5 kcal of calories.

Eggs are very low carb, containing 0.36 grams of net carbs per egg and is keto approved. Around 51% of the carbs are in the form of sugar as glucose and does not contain any fructose.

Eggs are a good source of protein and fats which are essential to nourish the human body. A large egg contains 7 grams of protein and 5 grams of fat at 1.4:1 protein to fat ratio.

Eggs contain all four fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, K in the yolk of the egg which allows easy absorption into your body. Especially if you are in the northern hemisphere and not getting enough sunlight, eating eggs is a great way to top up your Vitamin D reserves. Most of the eggs nutrients is contained in the yolk, so make sure you eat the yolk!

Also as a good source of B vitamins, which are essential for your body to convert food into fuel it can use. Maintaining good levels of this water soluble vitamin also helps prevent mood issues.

Choline

Choline found in the egg yolk is the best food source of choline. It is a conditionally essential nutrient that your body is unable to produce enough of, so that you will need to obtain more through your diet. Choline is used in important functions within your body such as brain, liver, nervous system, brain and muscular function.

Choline is required for proper energy production and fuel metabolization in the body. In the mitochondria, it helps with the production of ATP, the energy currency of the body. Choline is also needed to burn fat, not having enough will not only leave you with low energy, it will also impact fat loss and may cause high anxiety(r, r).

Choline acts as an antiinflammatory, studies shown in humans show that a diet rich in choline had the lowest inflammatory markers in the body (r).

Choline deficiency is detrimental to the body and can result in fatty liver, liver cell death and muscle damage (r).

Vitamin D

Egg yolks are a good source of Vitamin D3 which is readily usable in the human body. Vitamin D is required for your body to absorb calcium in the small intestines (r). It is harder to obtain through diet as most food do not contain Vitamin D and our primary source is from sunlight. However, relying on sunlight to get Vitamin D also has its difficulties in our modern society.

1. UVB rays from the sun which comes in contact with our skin produces Vitamin D, but these rays don’t penetrate glass, so inside our homes or in our car, we aren’t producing much or any Vitamin D.
2. Sunscreen also effectively blocks out UVB rays.
3. if you have dark skin, it takes much longer exposure compared to light skin to produce Vitamin D

Therefore, it is also essential that we try to obtain as much Vitamin D as possible through our diet or through supplementation.

A Vitamin D deficiency is also associated with depression and may be the reason why we get the “winter blues”. However, studies have not been able to show if this is the cause.

Beef liver is also an excellent source of Vitamin D.

Retinol (Vitamin A)

Retinol (Vitamin A) in eggs is already in its usable form which is great for your skin as it helps regenerate skin cells and for preventing eye diseases such as night blindness.

Studies in mice, show that retinol, both topical and in vivo show a dramatic improvement in skin damage repair and acts as an antioxidant to prevent damage (r) .

Vitamin A toxicity is possible from too much intake, usually from supplemental sources and rarely from diet. This makes egg and ideal source as it contains a safe quantity to be significant but not cause toxicity.

Beef liver is also an excellent source of retinol.

Selenium

Selenium is an essential mineral which supports many functions in the body. It plays a role as an antioxidant allowing maximum usage of glutathione to neutralize free radicals preventing damage in the body from oxidative stress. The requirements of selenium increase the more energy we expend through exercise.

Avidin is an antinutrient that is found in egg whites that bind to biotin and prevent us from absorbing it. Since most of the nutrients in eggs are found in the yolk, we can easily minimize or avoid this antinutrient by cooking or discarding the egg whites. Most cases of biotin deficiency happen to people who regularly consume a large number of raw eggs. This is generally not going to be a problem for most people since biotin is found in many foods and our intake requirements for it are small.

Eating eggs may be one of the best tips for losing weight.

Eggs are the best source of choline which is essential in allowing your body to convert fat into energy. Without this your fat loss efforts will stall.

The 1.4:1 protein to fat ratio makes this food ideal for sustaining weight loss and keeping you feeling satiated on a ketogenic diet.

When cooking eggs, choose methods that don’t need to add any cooking oil such as hard-boiled. If you need to add some oil to cook, only use a little bit of the healthier fats such as butter, olive oil, avocado oil or coconut oil. Animal fats are great for cooking as well such as tallow (beef) and lard (pork). Bacon fat is also a great flavorful choice for cooking. Avoid processed vegetable oil and seed oils, which causes chronic inflammation in the body.

Eating eggs is a great way to help you maintain your energy levels, especially on a ketogenic diet. Once again, eating a diet high in choline together with a good source of selenium will help maintain your energy through workouts since choline with aid metabolism of fat and selenium requirements are higher for athletes. With the protein in the eggs, it will contribute to maintaining the amino acid levels in your body to help maintain and build lean body muscle mass.

Pair this with beef and you have a staple diet which is proven to build muscle. Vince GiRonda, a legendary bodybuilding coach back in the 1950’s invented the steak and eggs diet which helped him get shredded.

Retinol is the most popular compound used in skincare products as it is well studied. Vitamin A is essential for maintaining beautiful skin. Eggs are an excellent source for retinol in which it plays an active role to help your body maintain and repair your skin.

Eggs are very low in carbs and highly nutritious so you shouldn’t worry about the carbs in eggs. Make eggs a staple in your diet and eat 2 or more eggs every day to benefit.

Except for Vitamin C, eggs contain all essential vitamins and minerals required by the human body in smaller amounts, making this nutritious food that should be eaten everyday to maintain health and to reach your goals.