“Many do not realize that an average Easter egg contains approximately three-quarters of an adult’s recommended daily calorie intake,” warns Dr Andrew Kelso. He is medical director at the UK’s NHS Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board.
“Tooth decay, obesity and type 2 diabetes are on the rise,” says Kelso. When asked about how healthy or unhealthy Easter eggs are, he advises not to eat a large Easter egg in one go. “When eggs are combined with cake, cookies and other treats, our body absorbs too many extra sugars and calories. And that is not at all healthy. Enjoy your sweet treats, but don’t overdo it,” he advises.
But Michael Sels, head dietitian at the Antwerp University Hospital (UZA), puts things into perspective. “It is not the Easter eggs themselves that will overload our liver on Easter. The combination of various less healthy treats. “For example, if you start with an Easter brunch with bacon and eggs, start eating Easter eggs in between and then have an extensive dinner, that is a lash for our liver. But fatty liver disease, which many people suffer from these days, is not something you contract at Easter. It is a chronic condition resulting from chronically unhealthy eating. One Easter egg isn’t bad. On the other hand, if you eat Easter eggs from Valentine’s Day to Pentecost, your liver will have a hard time,” says dietician Michael Sels.
Michael Sels.
“One Easter egg is not bad. On the other hand, if you eat Easter eggs from Valentine’s Day to Pentecost, your liver will have a hard time.”
Michael Sels
Dietician
The “healthiest” taste
Taste is craving, they say. But fondant chocolate is less bad than white or milk. “After all, the darkest chocolate contains less added sugars. And antioxidants are also more present in dark pure chocolate than in milk chocolate,” says Sels.
That’s not better, rather less bad. “It’s a bit like red wine. It is said that one glass of red wine is good for the heart. But it’s bad for other things. Drinking wine because it is supposedly healthy is not correct. And that also applies to chocolate. So you don’t eat an Easter egg because it is healthy, you eat an Easter egg because it is simply tasty.”
Conclusion: feel free to enjoy a delicious Easter egg. “But don’t exaggerate and choose the best quality chocolate,” says Sels.
