Pasteurized egg whites & protein absorption

[bulkedup]

Is the whole argument about protein absorption discarded for pasteurized egg whites? Or would you still need to cook them to get the maximum protein value?

I read studies about how cooking raw eggs allows for more protein to be absorbed by the body as opposed to taking them in raw. So what's the deal with pasteurized egg whites?

[Old Man Big]

same deal, cooked for maximun absorbtion.

[The Doc]

I will try to be thorough, take notes if necessary so you may pass this info on to others young body builders, who will undoubtedly ask this question every week from now until the end of time. This is just a summary of about 10,000 egg articles I've read, and about the 30th time I've posted the info .

Yes you can eat raw eggs/whites, but the whole eggs or carton eggs must be pasteurized (it will say so on the carton). Pasteurization is when they heat the egg/egg product enough to kill all the bacteria (including salmonella) and the protein digestion inhibitors (usually126-140 degrees). If you eat non-pasteurized eggs/egg products your body cannot utilize the protein in them due to the presence of a protein inhibitor. And while you may get salmonella from raw eggs/egg product the chances are 1 in 10,000 for regular eggs and 1 in 30,000 for free range eggs.

Avidin is a glycoprotein, which is found in raw egg whites, and blocks the uptake of Vitamin B6 and Vitamin H (Biotin) causing a vitamin deficiency (it binds to Biotin and iron making them unavailable). You must cook/pasteurize the egg white to neutralize the Avidin and allow your body to safely digest the protein and utilize all its amino acids. Cooking egg whites at high temperatures denatures some of the amino acids which makes the proteins slightly less effective (slower digesting). A soft boiled or poached egg (at 70% albumin coagulation) is digested much easier as opposed to a fried or hard boiled egg. 2 soft boiled/poached eggs spend less than 2 hours in the stomach being digested, where 2 fried/hard boiled eggs spend over 3 hours in the stomach. Although fried/hard cooked eggs are digested just as completely as soft cooked eggs, it just takes longer for them to be completely digested and assimilated.

An egg white is about 10% protein and 90% water. It’s the proteins that cause the egg white to solidify when you cook it. Egg white proteins are long chains of amino acids. In a raw egg, these proteins are curled and folded to form a compact ball. Weak bonds between amino acids hold the proteins in this shape—until you turn up the heat. When heated, the weak bonds break and the protein unfolds. Then its amino acids form weak bonds with the amino acids of other proteins, a process called coagulation. The resulting network of proteins captures water, making a soft, digestible gel.

If you keep the heat turned up too high or too long when you cook an egg, the proteins in the egg white form more and more bonds, squeezing some of the water out of the protein network and making the egg white rubbery and increasing their digestion time.

So, basically the most bioavailable and readily assimilated egg proteins are either pasteurized raw eggs/egg products or soft cooked/poached eggs that have not reached 160 degrees at which point the proteins become coagulated/denatured and take longer to be completely digested and assimilated. I hope this helps clear up some questions .

If you want to save some money you can do this at home.It is possible to pasteurize eggs at home - and easily, too! Pasteurization is simply a process of heating a food to a specific temperature for a specific amount of time - designed to kill specific bacteria. It is known that salmonella bacteria are killed at temperatures of 140 degrees in about 3 1/2 minutes (or a higher temperature in less time). If a room temperature egg is held in a bowl of warm water - say, 142 degrees to be safe - for 3 1/2 minutes, the bacteria will be killed and the protein inhibitor neutralized. It takes 5 minutes for extra large or jumbo eggs.

Place the room temperature eggs in a colander, and lower them into a pan or bowl of 142-degree water. Use an instant-read thermometer to be sure of the water temperature, and leave the thermometer in the water, to be sure that the temoerature is maintained. For medium or large eggs, leave them in the water for 3 1/2 minutes; for extra large or jumbo eggs, allow 5 minutes. Then remove the eggs, dry them, and refrigerate them, in a tightly-covered container.

Eggs begin to cook at about 160 degrees, and will be "scrambled eggs" at 180 - but if the 142 degree temperature is maintained, the result is a safe egg that will act like a raw egg in recipes and will provide a fully usable protein source.

The Doc

[babby420]

excellent info, havent been able to get an answer i understand in the past, i appreciate it, and i also hate eating cooked eggs before bed. thanks

[dannyp12]

This info comforts me somewhat. Thanks since I prefer to drink my egg whites rather than take the time to cook and clean up. Alopecia and/or depression side effects were enough to make look up this post.

[ted01]

I will try to be thorough, take notes if necessary so you may pass this info on to others young body builders, who will undoubtedly ask this question every week from now until the end of time. This is just a summary of about 10,000 egg articles I've read, and about the 30th time I've posted the info .

Yes you can eat raw eggs/whites, but the whole eggs or carton eggs must be pasteurized (it will say so on the carton). Pasteurization is when they heat the egg/egg product enough to kill all the bacteria (including salmonella) and the protein digestion inhibitors (usually126-140 degrees). If you eat non-pasteurized eggs/egg products your body cannot utilize the protein in them due to the presence of a protein inhibitor. And while you may get salmonella from raw eggs/egg product the chances are 1 in 10,000 for regular eggs and 1 in 30,000 for free range eggs.

Avidin is a glycoprotein, which is found in raw egg whites, and blocks the uptake of Vitamin B6 and Vitamin H (Biotin) causing a vitamin deficiency (it binds to Biotin and iron making them unavailable). You must cook/pasteurize the egg white to neutralize the Avidin and allow your body to safely digest the protein and utilize all its amino acids. Cooking egg whites at high temperatures denatures some of the amino acids which makes the proteins slightly less effective (slower digesting). A soft boiled or poached egg (at 70% albumin coagulation) is digested much easier as opposed to a fried or hard boiled egg. 2 soft boiled/poached eggs spend less than 2 hours in the stomach being digested, where 2 fried/hard boiled eggs spend over 3 hours in the stomach. Although fried/hard cooked eggs are digested just as completely as soft cooked eggs, it just takes longer for them to be completely digested and assimilated.

An egg white is about 10% protein and 90% water. It’s the proteins that cause the egg white to solidify when you cook it. Egg white proteins are long chains of amino acids. In a raw egg, these proteins are curled and folded to form a compact ball. Weak bonds between amino acids hold the proteins in this shape—until you turn up the heat. When heated, the weak bonds break and the protein unfolds. Then its amino acids form weak bonds with the amino acids of other proteins, a process called coagulation. The resulting network of proteins captures water, making a soft, digestible gel.

If you keep the heat turned up too high or too long when you cook an egg, the proteins in the egg white form more and more bonds, squeezing some of the water out of the protein network and making the egg white rubbery and increasing their digestion time.

So, basically the most bioavailable and readily assimilated egg proteins are either pasteurized raw eggs/egg products or soft cooked/poached eggs that have not reached 160 degrees at which point the proteins become coagulated/denatured and take longer to be completely digested and assimilated. I hope this helps clear up some questions .

If you want to save some money you can do this at home.It is possible to pasteurize eggs at home - and easily, too! Pasteurization is simply a process of heating a food to a specific temperature for a specific amount of time - designed to kill specific bacteria. It is known that salmonella bacteria are killed at temperatures of 140 degrees in about 3 1/2 minutes (or a higher temperature in less time). If a room temperature egg is held in a bowl of warm water - say, 142 degrees to be safe - for 3 1/2 minutes, the bacteria will be killed and the protein inhibitor neutralized. It takes 5 minutes for extra large or jumbo eggs.

Place the room temperature eggs in a colander, and lower them into a pan or bowl of 142-degree water. Use an instant-read thermometer to be sure of the water temperature, and leave the thermometer in the water, to be sure that the temoerature is maintained. For medium or large eggs, leave them in the water for 3 1/2 minutes; for extra large or jumbo eggs, allow 5 minutes. Then remove the eggs, dry them, and refrigerate them, in a tightly-covered container.

Eggs begin to cook at about 160 degrees, and will be "scrambled eggs" at 180 - but if the 142 degree temperature is maintained, the result is a safe egg that will act like a raw egg in recipes and will provide a fully usable protein source.

The Doc

Awesome post. *repped.

[TinyMuscolo]

Does anybody know how much time is needed to properly digest an x amount of cooked/pasteurized egg whites? I wonder if they're good pre-workout.

[anjuli9872]

Just in melb from nz and I bought golden eggs all natural pasteurised egg whites and was wondering wtf they won't cook properly ahaha this explains why. So if anyone wants a litre of egg whites free :P in Melbourne aha let me know

[eekLV]

Looking to replace my whey protein/isolate post-workout with either 1) pasteurized egg beaters.....or 2) boiled egg whites.

Anybody able to find sources that compares the two in terms of immediate consumption in terms of good source of protein? I usually have eaten a meal 30-45minutes after my shake/quick carbs......but looking to stay away from all the additives that come along with the whey powders......and the safest ones without the cr@p in them are highly expensive.

I pick these two sources because they are easily prepared and don't need to be heated or cooked.....and of course healthy and semi-cheap/manageably priced.
$.80 per 20g protein - egg whites regular - dozen egg comparison regular price in store
$.86 per 20g protein - lucerne brand egg whites pasteurized - 32oz comparison in store

Any credible help would be appreciated.

[gx52]

I will try to be thorough, take notes if necessary so you may pass this info on to others young body builders, who will undoubtedly ask this question every week from now until the end of time. This is just a summary of about 10,000 egg articles I've read, and about the 30th time I've posted the info .

Yes you can eat raw eggs/whites, but the whole eggs or carton eggs must be pasteurized (it will say so on the carton). Pasteurization is when they heat the egg/egg product enough to kill all the bacteria (including salmonella) and the protein digestion inhibitors (usually126-140 degrees). If you eat non-pasteurized eggs/egg products your body cannot utilize the protein in them due to the presence of a protein inhibitor. And while you may get salmonella from raw eggs/egg product the chances are 1 in 10,000 for regular eggs and 1 in 30,000 for free range eggs.

Avidin is a glycoprotein, which is found in raw egg whites, and blocks the uptake of Vitamin B6 and Vitamin H (Biotin) causing a vitamin deficiency (it binds to Biotin and iron making them unavailable). You must cook/pasteurize the egg white to neutralize the Avidin and allow your body to safely digest the protein and utilize all its amino acids. Cooking egg whites at high temperatures denatures some of the amino acids which makes the proteins slightly less effective (slower digesting). A soft boiled or poached egg (at 70% albumin coagulation) is digested much easier as opposed to a fried or hard boiled egg. 2 soft boiled/poached eggs spend less than 2 hours in the stomach being digested, where 2 fried/hard boiled eggs spend over 3 hours in the stomach. Although fried/hard cooked eggs are digested just as completely as soft cooked eggs, it just takes longer for them to be completely digested and assimilated.

An egg white is about 10% protein and 90% water. It’s the proteins that cause the egg white to solidify when you cook it. Egg white proteins are long chains of amino acids. In a raw egg, these proteins are curled and folded to form a compact ball. Weak bonds between amino acids hold the proteins in this shape—until you turn up the heat. When heated, the weak bonds break and the protein unfolds. Then its amino acids form weak bonds with the amino acids of other proteins, a process called coagulation. The resulting network of proteins captures water, making a soft, digestible gel.

If you keep the heat turned up too high or too long when you cook an egg, the proteins in the egg white form more and more bonds, squeezing some of the water out of the protein network and making the egg white rubbery and increasing their digestion time.

So, basically the most bioavailable and readily assimilated egg proteins are either pasteurized raw eggs/egg products or soft cooked/poached eggs that have not reached 160 degrees at which point the proteins become coagulated/denatured and take longer to be completely digested and assimilated. I hope this helps clear up some questions .

If you want to save some money you can do this at home.It is possible to pasteurize eggs at home - and easily, too! Pasteurization is simply a process of heating a food to a specific temperature for a specific amount of time - designed to kill specific bacteria. It is known that salmonella bacteria are killed at temperatures of 140 degrees in about 3 1/2 minutes (or a higher temperature in less time). If a room temperature egg is held in a bowl of warm water - say, 142 degrees to be safe - for 3 1/2 minutes, the bacteria will be killed and the protein inhibitor neutralized. It takes 5 minutes for extra large or jumbo eggs.

Place the room temperature eggs in a colander, and lower them into a pan or bowl of 142-degree water. Use an instant-read thermometer to be sure of the water temperature, and leave the thermometer in the water, to be sure that the temoerature is maintained. For medium or large eggs, leave them in the water for 3 1/2 minutes; for extra large or jumbo eggs, allow 5 minutes. Then remove the eggs, dry them, and refrigerate them, in a tightly-covered container.

Eggs begin to cook at about 160 degrees, and will be "scrambled eggs" at 180 - but if the 142 degree temperature is maintained, the result is a safe egg that will act like a raw egg in recipes and will provide a fully usable protein source.

The Doc

Re: Biotin -

I don't have a method to prove it myself, but at least according to AllWhites' FAQ, their pasteurization temperature is not high enough to denature the Avidin protein.


Quote ----

Do AllWhites need to be cooked to neutralize the Avidin protein that depletes Biotin? I'm a body builder and need to know.
Yes, AllWhites must be fully cooked in order for the Biotin present in egg whites to be available for absorption. In its natural raw state, Avidin, a protein found in egg whites, binds with Biotin (a B-vitamin). When bound to Avidin, our bodies are unable to absorb Biotin from the egg white. The heat treatment or pasteurization temperature of the AllWhites is not high enough to denature the Avidin protein, therefore the Biotin remains bound.

---

I can't post link unfortunately, but you can check out the FAQ on their website

[miladjuckel]

r those temps in Fahrenheit or Celsius?

[hefledthescene]

I will try to be thorough, take notes if necessary so you may pass this info on to others young body builders, who will undoubtedly ask this question every week from now until the end of time. This is just a summary of about 10,000 egg articles I've read, and about the 30th time I've posted the info .

Yes you can eat raw eggs/whites, but the whole eggs or carton eggs must be pasteurized (it will say so on the carton). Pasteurization is when they heat the egg/egg product enough to kill all the bacteria (including salmonella) and the protein digestion inhibitors (usually126-140 degrees). If you eat non-pasteurized eggs/egg products your body cannot utilize the protein in them due to the presence of a protein inhibitor. And while you may get salmonella from raw eggs/egg product the chances are 1 in 10,000 for regular eggs and 1 in 30,000 for free range eggs.

Avidin is a glycoprotein, which is found in raw egg whites, and blocks the uptake of Vitamin B6 and Vitamin H (Biotin) causing a vitamin deficiency (it binds to Biotin and iron making them unavailable). You must cook/pasteurize the egg white to neutralize the Avidin and allow your body to safely digest the protein and utilize all its amino acids. Cooking egg whites at high temperatures denatures some of the amino acids which makes the proteins slightly less effective (slower digesting). A soft boiled or poached egg (at 70% albumin coagulation) is digested much easier as opposed to a fried or hard boiled egg. 2 soft boiled/poached eggs spend less than 2 hours in the stomach being digested, where 2 fried/hard boiled eggs spend over 3 hours in the stomach. Although fried/hard cooked eggs are digested just as completely as soft cooked eggs, it just takes longer for them to be completely digested and assimilated.

An egg white is about 10% protein and 90% water. It’s the proteins that cause the egg white to solidify when you cook it. Egg white proteins are long chains of amino acids. In a raw egg, these proteins are curled and folded to form a compact ball. Weak bonds between amino acids hold the proteins in this shape—until you turn up the heat. When heated, the weak bonds break and the protein unfolds. Then its amino acids form weak bonds with the amino acids of other proteins, a process called coagulation. The resulting network of proteins captures water, making a soft, digestible gel.

If you keep the heat turned up too high or too long when you cook an egg, the proteins in the egg white form more and more bonds, squeezing some of the water out of the protein network and making the egg white rubbery and increasing their digestion time.

So, basically the most bioavailable and readily assimilated egg proteins are either pasteurized raw eggs/egg products or soft cooked/poached eggs that have not reached 160 degrees at which point the proteins become coagulated/denatured and take longer to be completely digested and assimilated. I hope this helps clear up some questions .

If you want to save some money you can do this at home.It is possible to pasteurize eggs at home - and easily, too! Pasteurization is simply a process of heating a food to a specific temperature for a specific amount of time - designed to kill specific bacteria. It is known that salmonella bacteria are killed at temperatures of 140 degrees in about 3 1/2 minutes (or a higher temperature in less time). If a room temperature egg is held in a bowl of warm water - say, 142 degrees to be safe - for 3 1/2 minutes, the bacteria will be killed and the protein inhibitor neutralized. It takes 5 minutes for extra large or jumbo eggs.

Place the room temperature eggs in a colander, and lower them into a pan or bowl of 142-degree water. Use an instant-read thermometer to be sure of the water temperature, and leave the thermometer in the water, to be sure that the temoerature is maintained. For medium or large eggs, leave them in the water for 3 1/2 minutes; for extra large or jumbo eggs, allow 5 minutes. Then remove the eggs, dry them, and refrigerate them, in a tightly-covered container.

Eggs begin to cook at about 160 degrees, and will be "scrambled eggs" at 180 - but if the 142 degree temperature is maintained, the result is a safe egg that will act like a raw egg in recipes and will provide a fully usable protein source.

The Doc

I'm going to raise this thread from the dead because I found it while googling for an answer to the bioavailability of pasteurized egg whites and denaturization of avidin. Doc's breakdown sounds well reasoned, but is ultimately false.

According to Egg Science & Technology, edited by Drs. William J. Stadelman & Owen J. Cotterill, Fourth Edition, 1995, “The avidin-biotin complex is resistant to denaturation and proteolysis. Avidin was irreversibly denatured at temperatures higher than 158F (70C) but the complex was stable to 212F (100C).”

Further:

"Plain egg whites (without added ingredients) are pasteurized at a temperature of 134F (56.7C) for 3.5 minutes OR at a temperature of 132F (55.6C) for 6.2 minutes."

and

"Coagulation of egg white begins at temperature of 144F."


Translation: Pasteurization does not denature avidin, despite false sales claims.

The above was compiled by 'Tapeworm' on getbig.com.

I wanted this finding confirmed, so kept digging.

From the FAQ for AllWhites Egg whites website-

AllWhites must be fully cooked in order for the Biotin present in egg whites to be available for absorption. In its natural raw state, Avidin, a protein found in egg whites, binds with Biotin (a B-vitamin). When bound to Avidin, our bodies are unable to absorb Biotin from the egg white. The heat treatment or pasteurization temperature of the AllWhites is not high enough to denature the Avidin protein, therefore the Biotin remains bound.

[ironwill2008]

Actually, a good bump of an old thread. Good enough that it isn't going to get locked.







There's plenty of conflicting data concerning raw/pasteurized egg whites and their protein availability. I usually simply advise posters asking about this issue to eat the whole egg, and to cook it first. That takes care of all the 'ifs' involved.

[Ripped Force138]

I've recently starting drinking out the carton 1.5 quarts worth of pasteurized egg whites a day. I've been in a caloric deficit and have lost 55lbs in the past 7 months (former powerlifter). I am still dropping weight. I was getting progressively weaker as I lost more and more weight. Starting drinking the egg whites 3 months ago. All my lifts have gone up or maintained as i have lost the past 18lbs though over the last 3 months. I'm getting way leaner and maintaining my strength now. I attribute a lot of that to drinking pasteurized egg whites

[nobluepill]

...only proteins do.

And yes I do have a ph.D in biochemistry.

[ironwill2008]

Topic has been beat to death here in the past 13 years.