Protein-rich diets push up egg sales in UK

Eggs are now healthier thanks to a change in hens' diets, lowering cholesterol levels by 13 per cent. Photo / iStock

Sixty years after the nation was told to "go to work on an egg", it is back as the centrepiece of the British breakfast.

Sales of eggs are up about 5 per cent on last year and have risen almost a quarter compared to seven years ago.

The revival comes amid a backlash against sugar and processed cereals that millions of families previously chose to eat. Eggs have also benefited from the success of protein-based diets.

The increase of 5 per cent so far this year means the nation is buying 828,000 more eggs every day. Sales total 17.4 million a day - adding up to more than 6.3 billion eggs a year, according to retail analysts TNS.

Health expert Dr Michael Mosley said: "If you want to keep fuller for longer then the evidence is clear that you should eat a breakfast that is rich in protein, like eggs, ham or fish, rather than sugary cereals or toast. Protein is more satiating than carbohydrates."

Research for British Egg Week shows about one in five of Britons go to work on an egg at least once a week. Scrambled is most popular, with poached second.

The boom means egg sales are back to the levels seen in the 1980s when then-junior health minister Edwina Currie said most egg production was contaminated with salmonella.

Eggs were also demonised by doctors for containing high levels of cholesterol - incorrectly assumed to block arteries.

However, eggs are now healthier thanks to a change in hens' diets, lowering cholesterol levels by 13 per cent. At the same time, vitamin D, which is vital for healthy bones, is up by 64 per cent compared to a decade ago.

The result is that eggs are being promoted as a health food, as they are also full of the protein, vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids.

Until 2009, advice was to eat no more than three eggs a week because of the cholesterol worries - but this warning has been junked. Research by Surrey University found overweight people who ate two eggs a day as part of a reduced calorie diet lost weight and saw no increase in blood cholesterol levels.

And the US Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee has recommended that limitations on consumption of cholesterol found in eggs should be removed from official health guidelines.

Nutritionist Cath McDonald said: "High protein foods such as eggs give people a fantastic start to the day, as they will fill you up and help stop you snacking."

Andrew Joret, of British Lion Eggs, which commissioned the survey, said: "We've seen a significant increase in eggs being eaten at breakfast in recent years."

- Daily Mail