How much cholesterol is contained in chicken, quail and other eggs?

Benefits of quail eggs

There is an opinion that quail eggs are healthier than chicken, goose, ostrich and other products. Let's figure out what's healing about them?

Any eggs contain fats, carbohydrates, proteins, microelements, vitamins and cholesterol. Moreover, their quantity and ratio in the composition of yolk and white depend not only on the breed of bird, but also on the conditions of its keeping.

The benefits of the quail product are due to the demanding nature of quails regarding living conditions. These birds cannot tolerate poor quality food or stale water. Therefore, quail eggs do not contain antibiotics, nitrates, or hormones.

Unlike quails, chickens have undergone genetic changes. Scientists have already bred various breeds of chickens - egg and meat (broilers). Chickens are also less demanding on living conditions. Therefore, they are often fed low-quality food with hormonal supplements and are treated with antibiotics. Which certainly affects the quality of the eggs.

Quails are also not infected with salmonellosis. Their body temperature is several degrees higher than that of chickens. Therefore, salmonellosis does not develop in quails. This allows you to eat quail eggs raw without long-term heat treatment.

Which eggs are healthier - quail or chicken?

Today, the benefits of eggs are no longer in doubt. It is known that under the shell hides a real cocktail of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. But which ones are healthier?

If we compare 100 g of each product, this is three chicken and ten quail, it turns out:

• The nutritional value. Quail contains slightly more calories - 158 kcal versus 146. This means that both products are considered dietary.
• Amount of proteins, fats, carbohydrates. Competitors are equivalent, but differ in quality. Quail eggs contain more cholesterol and amino acids: tryptophan, tyrosine, methionine. Chicken has half the cholesterol, but more omega-3 acids. The protein content per 100 g of product is almost the same - 50.3 mg (chicken) and 56.9 mg (quail).
• Vitamins, macro- and microelements. Quail eggs contain more calcium, phosphorus, iron, and zinc.

Danger of salmonellosis infection

There is an opinion that eating raw quail eggs is not dangerous, unlike chicken eggs. It is believed that quails do not suffer from salmonellosis because they have a higher body temperature. This is true.

Salmonella is a bacterium that lives in the body of chickens. 90% of birds are infected with this microorganism, which gets on the eggshell and then inside through its pores. Quail shells have much smaller pores, which is an additional protection that prevents bacteria from entering. Therefore, from the point of view of salmonellosis, the quail product is safer.

Environmentally friendly

Several decades ago, quail eggs were collected from the forests. They were considered a delicacy, an environmentally friendly product. Today, the delicacy is supplied by farms where quail are raised. Under the influence of domestication, they have changed less than chickens, but are still very different from their wild ancestors.

It is quite possible that the growth and carrying capacity of birds can be stimulated with various feed additives, hormones, and antibiotics. Is it worth paying more for questionable environmental friendliness, especially if the competitors are chemically equivalent?

How much cholesterol is in quail eggs

The cholesterol content in quail eggs is only 2-3%. 100 g of quail product contains 844 mg of cholesterol, which is less than 1%. Another 1-2% is synthesized in the liver from incoming nutrients.

Thus, the amount of cholesterol in quail eggs is negligible. Therefore, there is no need to seriously talk about harm to the body. Especially when you consider that 80% of cholesterol is synthesized in the human liver, and only 20% comes from outside.

For those who think that 3% is too much, it will be useful to remind you that cholesterol is found exclusively in the yolk. If necessary, you can completely eliminate it from your food if you eat egg whites (as a protein component).

Quail yolk contains the following microelements:

• Sodium;

• Potassium;
• Magnesium;
• Phosphorus;
• Iron;
• Calcium;
• Copper;
• Cobalt;
• Chromium.

There are vitamins A, B, C, D. The bulk of trace elements, vitamins and cholesterol come from the yolk.

The total amount of minerals does not exceed 1g. But there are much more proteins and fats. In 100 g of quail eggs - 11 g of fat, 13 g of protein. Other substances included in their composition are calculated in micrograms. For example, 100 g of quail product contains 0.15 g of sodium, 0.13 g of potassium, 0.4 g of carbohydrates and 0.09 g of cholesterol.

What's the use?

To get the maximum amount of vitamin A, D and B, as well as mineral compounds, you need to eat the product raw or boil it for 3-4 minutes.

Doctors recommend consuming quail eggs to improve the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, strengthen the nervous and immune systems, and also satisfy the need for fatty acids and protein. The advantage of the product is the absence of hormone-like substances, additives and antibiotics, since birds are picky about food and water. Also, Salmonella, which is often present in chicken eggs, is not found in the yolk or white. However, for children under 3 years of age it is better to boil the product. An additional benefit is that the cholesterol in quail eggs can meet the daily requirement for the compound, preventing the body from producing the substance. The benefits of the product are due to the active substances presented in the table:

Quail and chicken eggs: similarities and differences

The human menu consists of protein, carbohydrate, and vitamin products. Bird eggs - chickens, quails, ducks - are often prepared as easily digestible protein. Which ones are better to choose for high cholesterol?

For a person with lipid metabolism disorders, it is important to know the cholesterol content in quail and chicken eggs. This is due to the need to maintain a diet and calculate the amount of calories and cholesterol in the menu. If you have high cholesterol, it is recommended to limit its intake from outside and eat low-calorie and low-fat foods.

Therefore, a reasonable question arises: how much cholesterol is contained in the product of different birds? And which eggs have more cholesterol - chicken or quail?

As you can see, the quail product is similar to the chicken product in terms of the content of useful components. It also has few calories, proteins and lipids (fats). As for the amount of cholesterol, quail eggs have even more of it.

However, this does not in any way reduce their benefits. A small amount of cholesterol cannot cause harm. Therefore, you can eat quail eggs if you have high cholesterol.

Is it possible or not if you have high cholesterol?

Scientists have proven that high cholesterol in human blood does not arise due to frequent consumption of foods high in cholesterol, but due to disruption of the body’s metabolic processes.

Another important point: intestinal microorganisms subject egg lecithin, which comes with food, to a number of transformations. As a result, a substance is formed - trimethylamine oxide. A large amount of trimethylamoxide formed leads to heart disease. That is, a lot of lecithin is also harmful.

What should I do? Obviously, an excess of eggs is harmful to health, but their lack also causes disturbances in the functioning of the heart and the condition of blood vessels. Therefore, we can draw the following conclusion: you can eat them, but in small quantities and, best of all, under the control of laboratory tests. If you are afraid of the amount of cholesterol contained in quail eggs, then use a chicken product, especially since the choline content in them is almost equal.

Is it possible to eat quail eggs if you have high cholesterol?

Eggs are called the ideal protein product. They contain all the essential amino acids (those that are not synthesized in the body and must be supplied with food). They also contain essential protein. Under the shell there is 1.2-1.5 g of protein, which is 3% of the daily value (an adult should eat 50 g of pure protein per day).

Interesting: 30 quail eggs satisfy the daily protein requirement of an adult. In addition, quail products are relatively low in calories (only 1.55 kcal in each egg).

Harvard University Research

Many years of research into the harms and benefits of bird eggs were conducted at Harvard Medical University. Here

120 thousand volunteers were examined. In the course of research, it was found that those who ate 2 eggs daily had strokes no more often than other people who did not eat yolks and whites.

Observations were carried out over 14 years. Based on the data obtained, Harvard scientists concluded that the increase in cholesterol in human blood after eating eggs, firstly, is insignificant, and, secondly, is compensated by other beneficial substances contained under the shell.

Raw and cooked?

So, we found out that eating quail eggs is beneficial for everyone - people with normal cholesterol and those with high cholesterol levels. We also found that the quail product contains fewer unhealthy and harmful components (hormones, nitrates, antibiotics). Therefore, eating quail eggs for cholesterol is preferable to eating farm chicken products.

All that remains is to understand in what form it is better to consume them - drink them raw, boil them soft-boiled (hard-boiled) or fry them as scrambled eggs or an omelet.

Let's look at the differences between cooked and raw protein products. And which of them will be more useful to a sick person.

Thermal processing of products occurs at high temperatures (about 100°C). At the same time, the white and yolk acquire a denser consistency. They collapse (collapse, or, scientifically speaking, denature).

In addition, when heated above 60°C, biological substances (enzymes, vitamins) are destroyed. This reduces the benefits and absorption of the product. If the body does not need to spend its enzymes to digest raw yolk, then it is necessary to digest boiled food.

Raw foods contain everything you need to digest them. Boiled and fried - deprived of the necessary enzymes for digesting food.

Also, after heat treatment, the yolk and white are deprived of beneficial vitamins. And minerals go into

another form, which is less easily absorbed by the human body.

Conclusions: in order for the vitamins and minerals of quail eggs to be absorbed, they must be consumed raw. Heat treatment destroys vitamins and converts minerals into poorly digestible forms.

Cholesterol in raw and cooked yolk

An interesting and little-known fact: a raw protein product is absorbed in the body only when it is needed. At the same time, the thermally processed product is absorbed in any case - whether there is a need for it or not. It turns out that a raw egg can pass through the digestive tract in transit if the substances it contains are not needed. But a cooked or fried dish will definitely be digestible.

Hence the conclusion: eating boiled eggs supplies the human body with more cholesterol than raw quail yolks and whites. Therefore, people with a diseased liver, high levels of cholesterol in the blood, atherosclerosis and obesity are recommended to eat raw eggs.

Benefits of eating eggs

• provide the body with necessary macro- and microelements, minerals, strengthen the immune system;
• are good prevention of the appearance of malignant tumors;
• improve the functioning of the digestive tract, slow down the development of gastric ulcers;
• have a good effect on vision, prevent the development of glaucoma and cataracts;
• contain a large amount of protein, which is responsible for the growth of muscle mass, this is a good alternative to dairy products and meat;
• contribute to the prevention of cardiovascular diseases;
• cholesterol in eggs maintains lipid balance; it is necessary for the body, since it itself produces only 80% of sterol, the rest must come from food;
• reduce the risk of developing neural tube defects in a child during intrauterine development;
• prevent anemia, stimulate the functioning of the circulatory and immune systems;
• improve neuromuscular transmission and reaction speed;
• eggs can be consumed by obese people;
• have a beneficial effect on memory and psycho-emotional state;
• support metabolism.

Chicken eggs are best eaten soft-boiled or hard-boiled, since the white and yolk may contain the pathogenic bacterium Salmonella, which enters through the pores of the shell.