Adding eggs to a salad mixed with a variety of raw vegetables improves nutrient absorption, according to a recent study.

Researchers at Purdue University found that eggs in a salad are an effective method to improve the absorption of carotenoids, which are fat-soluble nutrients that help reduce inflammation and oxidative stress.

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

For the study, researchers recruited 16 people and had them consume 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. All salads were served with three grams of canola oil. The second salad had 75 grams of scrambled whole eggs and the third 150 grams of scrambled whole eggs. The absorption of carotenoids was 3.8-fold higher when the salad included three eggs compared to no eggs.

The study used scrambled eggs to make sure the participants consumed both the yolk and egg whites.

They found that the lipids in salad dressings also increase the absorption of carotenoids but it is easy to overuse salad dressings and consume excess calories.

"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," said Jung Eun Kim, a postdoctoral researcher in Purdue's Department of Nutrition Science. "Our research findings support that people obtained more of the health-promoting carotenoids from raw vegetables when cooked whole eggs were also consumed. Eggs, a nutrient-rich food containing essential amino acids, unsaturated fatty acids and B vitamins, may be used to increase the nutritive value of vegetables, which are under consumed by the majority of people living in the United States."

The findings are detailed in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.