How many calories are there in an egg?

Egg is a protein packed food that is a popular breakfast item around the world. Besides protein, eggs also pack fat which affects its calorie content. However, you can cut the amount of calories that eggs have with simple steps.

Whole egg

One large, raw, whole egg that weighs around 50 grams, has around 72 calories, 6 grams of protein and 4.8 grams of fat, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (Nal.usda.gov). One third or 1.6 grams of the fat is unhealthy saturated fats that increase your risk of high blood cholesterol and cardiovascular disease. Raw egg has the same amount of calories as a boiled egg or scrambled egg, but only if you use a non-stick pan to make the egg and do not add any additional ingredients, such as butter or oil.

Egg yolk

There are around 55 calories in one 17 gram egg yolk that comes from a large, 50 gram raw egg. Most of these calories come from fats - egg yolk has 4.5 g of fat and only 2.7 g of protein. In addition, all of the saturated fatty acids in whole egg are in the egg yolk. Egg yolk also contains 184 mg of cholesterol which is another lipid that affects your blood cholesterol and risk of heart disease.

Egg white

Egg white nutrition differs from that of egg yolk. There are only 17 calories in a 33 gram egg whites that come from one large 50 gram egg. Most of the calories come in the form of protein - one egg white has 3.6 g of protein and no significant amount of fat. When you substitute whole eggs with egg whites in your omelets, scrambled eggs and poached eggs, you can save hundreds of calories and tens of grams of fat. For example, if you make a three egg omelet with whole eggs, you add
216 calories and more than 14 g of fat in the form of eggs to the omelet. When you substitute the three whole eggs with four egg whites, you only add
68 calories and no fat in the form of eggs to the omelet. You will further save calories when you make your omelet with fresh bell peppers, zucchini and mushrooms in a non-stick pan, instead of using cheese, meat and butter.