Adding Eggs to Salad Could Promote Better Vitamin E Absorption

A new study from the Purdue University reveals that adding eggs to vegetable salads can promote better absorption of Vitamin E in the body.

The study, published in the Journal of Nutrition, showed that adding three whole eggs in a vegetable salad could boost vitamin E absorption from the vegetables by four to seven times.

"Vitamin E is the second-most under-consumed nutrient in the average American diet, which is problematic because this fat-soluble nutrient has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties," said Wayne Campbell, a professor of nutrition science at Purdue University and co-author of the study, in a press release. "Now consumers can easily improve their diets by adding eggs to a salad that boasts a variety of colorful vegetables."

For the study, the researchers enrolled 16 healthy young men. The participants consumed a raw mixed -vegetable salad with no eggs, a salad with one and a half eggs and a salad with three eggs, 0 grams, 75 grams and 150 grams of eggs, respectively. All salads served to the participants contain three grams of canola oil and the eggs added were all scrambled. The study only measured the body's ability to absorb Vitamin E from real foods such as oils, seeds and nuts.

The researchers found that Vitamin E absorption was four to seven times higher when three whole eggs were added to a salad. Furthermore, previous studies of the same team found that the absorption of carotenoids including alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin and lycopene was increased by three to eight times if three eggs are added in the salad.

Eggs are known to contain unsaturated fatty acids, essential amino acids, Vitamin B and small amount of Vitamin E. With the result of the study, the researchers showed that absorption of vitamin E from real foods can be boosts when co-consumed with other vitamin E-containing foods, such as eggs. This suggests that one food could improve the nutritional value of another food when consumed together.