The Role of Eggs in the Diet . Main Page 1. Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology. Third Report on Nutrition Monitoring in the United States. An egg is a nutritious food.
Eggs provide high-quality protein and vitamins along with iron and other trace minerals.
Their positive contributions to the diet are similar to those of other foods in the meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dry beans, and nuts group on the U.S. government's Food Guide Pyramid. The Pyramid calls for two to three servings from this group daily. Two to three ounces of lean meat, poultry, or fish constitute one serving. One egg can be substituted for one ounce of lean meat. One large egg provides about six grams of protein, about half of which is in the egg white.