What Vitamins Do You Get From Eggs?
As a part of a balanced diet, chicken eggs are nutritious, whether fried, scrambled, poached or boiled. Due to their high protein content, eggs are categorized by the USDA as a meat products and deliver many of the same nutrients that meats provide. A single large egg provides significant amounts of several vitamins, as well as several other essential vitamins in smaller amounts.
Riboflavin
The Colorado State University Extension describes vitamin B2, also known as riboflavin, as essential for obtaining energy from food and maintaining healthy skin and vision. The USDA Nutrient Database states that one large egg contains approximately 0.24 mg of riboflavin, or near 20 percent of the daily required intake, according to values from the Institute of Medicine 1.
Vitamin B12
List of Antioxidant Vitamins
Learn More
Cobalamin, also called vitamin B12, is found in eggs. The University of Maryland Medical Center describes B12 as essential for RNA and DNA development 3. The vitamin also helps to metabolize both fats and proteins, and keep skin, eyes, heart and liver healthy. The USDA Nutrient Database states that a single large egg offers 0.65 mcg of vitamin B12, or around 27 percent of the total daily amount required 1.
Pantothenic Acid
One large egg also contains around 0.7 mg of another important vitamin called pantothenic acid, which is approximately 15 percent of the daily amount needed for an adult. Pantothenic acid is essential to metabolize food into energy within the body and to produce certain hormones and cholesterol, according to Colorado State University.
Folate
What Foods Have Zinc and Cobalt in Them?
Learn More
The McKinley Health Center describes folate as important for forming red blood cells and the genetic materials RNA and DNA. Folate is often included in the diet as a supplement by women who are pregnant to help prevent spina bifida and other congenital birth defects. One large egg contains 23.5 mcg of folate or around 6 percent of the what the average adult requires per day of this vitamin.
Other Vitamins
As part of a balanced diet, eggs also deliver several other important vitamins in smaller amounts. This includes 5 percent of vitamin A at proximately 80 mg, 4 percent of both vitamin D at 0.6 mcg and vitamin B6 and 0.1 mg, and 2 percent of both vitamin E at 0.5 mg and thiamin at 0.03 mg in one large egg.
Related Articles
References
- USDA Nutrient Database: Egg, Whole, Raw, Fresh
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Vitamins-Overview
- Blair KA. Vitamin supplementation and megadoses. Nurse Pract. 1986;11(7):19-26, 31-6.
- National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements,.Vitamin A. NIH Office of Dietary Supplements.
- Ferraro PM, Curhan GC, Gambaro G, Taylor EN. Total, Dietary, and Supplemental Vitamin C Intake and Risk of Incident Kidney Stones. Am J Kidney Dis. 2016;67(3):400–407. doi:10.1053/j.ajkd.2015.09.005
- Nair R, Maseeh A. Vitamin D: The "sunshine" vitamin. J Pharmacol Pharmacother. 2012;3(2):118–126. doi:10.4103/0976-500X.95
- NIH Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS). Office of Dietary Supplements - Niacin. National Institutes of Health.
- Koyanagi T, Hareyama S, Kikuchi R, Takanohashi T, Oikawa K. Effect of administration of thiamine, riboflavin, ascorbic acid and vitamin A to students on their pantothenic acid contents in serum and urine. Tohoku J Exp Med. 1969;98(4):357-62. doi: 10.1620/tjem.98.357
- National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements. "Folate Dietary Supplement Fact Sheet." Updated April 20, 2016.
- National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements. "Vitamin A Fact Sheet for Health Professionals." Updated August 31, 2016.
- National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements. "Vitamin C Fact Sheet for Health Professionals." Updated February 11, 2016.
- National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements. "Vitamin D Fact Sheet for Health Professionals." Updated February 11, 2016.
- National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements. "Vitamin E Fact Sheet for Health Professionals." Updated August 31, 2016.
Writer Bio
In Jacksonville, Fla., Frank Whittemore is a content strategist with over a decade of experience as a hospital corpsman in the U.S. Navy and a licensed paramedic. He has over 15 years experience writing for several Fortune 500 companies. Whittemore writes on topics in medicine, nature, science, technology, the arts, cuisine, travel and sports.