Five Reasons to Eat Your Easter Eggs

They’re easy to miss amid all that plastic green grass and sugary sweetness, but the best bites in that basket are the color-dipped eggs you make with the kids. Whether you crack them open and dust them with a bit of salt and pepper or dice them up and sprinkle them over a salad, don’t let them go to waste. Here, five reasons why:

1. They help you train better. A 2009 study published in Nutrition Today found an essential amino acid in eggs helps muscles recover after a workout. The same amino-acid mix also helps you build muscle mass and sustain the muscle you’ve already got.

2. They’re a wallet-friendly protein source. One egg has 5.5 grams of protein, only 68 calories—and costs about 15 cents a pop.

3. They boost brain power. Eggs are a good source of the brain-boosting nutrient choline, which helps nerves send and receive messages and has been shown to lower inflammation in the body. Unfortunately, the majority of American diets are choline-deficient.

4. They speed weight loss. Researchers at Louisiana State University found that eating eggs for breakfast can help you drop pounds. Out of 160 overweight men and women, those that ate two eggs for breakfast for eight weeks lost more weight than those who scarfed down a bagel worth the same calories.

5. They protect your peepers. Egg yolks are a good source of lutein, a cartenoid that helps prevent macular degeneration and cataracts as you age. Even better? The lutein in eggs is better absorbed by the body than when you eat green veggies like spinach, which are thought to be top sources.