More good news for egg lovers: New research shows that adding eggs to a salad or raw vegetables can boost the body’s the absorption of carotenoids — health-boosting nutrients that help reduce inflammation and oxidative stress.

This research, published online in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, was funded by the American Egg Board-Egg Nutrition Center, National Institutes of Health, and Purdue Ingestive Behavior Research Center, Medical Xpress reports.

"Eating a salad with a variety of colorful vegetables provides several unique types of carotenoids, including beta-carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin, and lycopene," said Wayne Campbell, a professor of nutrition science. "The lipid contained in whole eggs enhances the absorption of all these carotenoids."

Jung Eun Kim, a postdoctoral researcher in Purdue's Department of Nutrition Science, added: "Most people do not eat enough vegetables in their diets, and at the same time, people are consuming salad dressings that have less fat or are fat-free. Our research findings support that people obtained more of the health-promoting carotenoids from raw vegetables when cooked whole eggs were also consumed.”

For the study, 16 participants consumed a raw mixed-vegetable salad with no eggs, a salad with one and a half eggs, and a salad with three eggs at different times. The results showed the absorption of carotenoids was nearly four times higher when the salad included three eggs, compared to no eggs.

"While other egg forms were not tested, we believe the results would be comparable as long as the egg yolk is consumed," said Campbell. "The [fats] in salad dressings also increase the absorption of carotenoids but it is easy to overuse salad dressings and consume excess calories.”