Eggs

The digestible indispensable amino acid score (DIAAS) in eggs and egg-containing breakfast meals is greater than in toast breads or hash browns served without eggs

Fanelli, Natalia S., Juliana C. F. R. Martins, and Hans H. Stein. 2024. The digestible indispensable amino acid score (DIAAS) in eggs and egg-containing breakfast meals is greater than in toast breads or hash browns served without eggs. Journal of Nutritional Science (2024), vol. 13, e68, page 1 of 11. doi:10.1017/jns.2024.71. Link to full text.

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Digestible indispensable amino acid scores (DIAAS) in egg proteins and additivity of DIAAS in egg-style combinations

Protein malnutrition is a serious problem in both underdeveloped countries and the U.S., where many children and elderly people don't get enough protein. To determine the quality of food proteins, experts use a method called digestible indispensable amino acid score (DIAAS), which measures how well the body can digest the amino acids in a food item. The FAO recommended this method in 2011. According to the DIAAS method, protein claims can only be made for foods with a score above 75. Eggs are rich in protein and essential amino acids needed for muscle development and bodily functions. However, it's important to consider how eggs are cooked, as different methods can affect the availability of amino acids. Eggs are often eaten with other foods, and it's believed that the high-quality protein in eggs can make up for the lower quality of protein in plant ingredients when eaten together, but more research is needed to confirm this. Therefore, the objectives of this experiment were to determine DIAAS for eggs cooked in different forms and in traditional egg-style combinations with breads or hash brown, and test the hypothesis that protein quality in eggs can compensate for the low protein quality of plant-based ingredients and that DIAAS in different combined meals is additive.

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