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Dec 2016Is Eggnog Good for You?
Posted by Drink Responsibly / in Featured, Responsible Drinking / No comments yet
Eggnog is a drink that can easily trace its roots as far back as the 14th century medieval Englishmen. Come forth the American colonies and the drink’s popularity skyrocketed all across.
Drank profusely in the Holiday season, the hot cocktail also known as ‘milk punch’ is generally a bend of milk, cream, sugar and egg. The drink tastes sinfully delicious and for the people out there who care about the nutritional content of the drink and wonder whether the drink is healthy for you, you’ve got to read on.
What’s in the cup?
Eggnog is made using whole milk, cream, eggs and sugar. It has a rich content of nutrients and half a cup of serving can fill you up to 180 calories and about 6 grams of saturated fat (which accounts for about 30 percent of the daily recommended limit). However, there’s also about 70mg of cholesterol in the same amount of eggnog, which is again about a quarter of the daily permissible limit. Another optional but mostly used ingredient in the drink is alcohol, which only adds to the already overflowing love and following for the drink.
Although, you do have a lot of options that you can choose from when it comes to eggnog. You can pick from several commercial brands or you can choose to mix up your own drink. If you’re picking up the latter, you must make sure that you use pasteurised eggs so that you repress the risk of salmonella, because it can make you violently ill. Using pasteurised eggs is even advised by the FDA.
There is also one very important ingredient that is present in eggnog, and that is calcium. About half a cup of calcium delivers about 13 percent of the required daily dose, and also gives you about 5 grams of protein in just half a cup of serving.
An Unhealthy Obsession?
Even though it has a plethora of nutrients, all of which have their own share of pros and cons, the drink has a large following among holiday drinkers. The drink has its own shares of concerns because in regards to food and food safety, eating under cooked products is hardly a good idea, and its obvious why people raise eyebrows when they learn that the key ingredient in eggnog is raw eggs. There is a small chance that Salmonella form raw eggs might effect the drinker.
But the fact remains that drinkers all across are undeterred by the drink, in fact about 122 million pound of Eggnog is consumed annually in America alone, about half a cup of drink per person. Regardless of whether you are on the side of eggnog or are more of a cider person, there are certain precautions that you can take in order to ensure that you stay safe this holiday season.
This includes, cooking the egg base, using pasteurised eggs and storing the eggnog for a while before drinking.
Sure, it requires a sheer will power to stop yourself from immediately chugging down the whole glass, but it’s safer to store it first.
So, imbibe safely, and enjoy your share of the delicious Christmas drink.