Eggs!

[workouteatright]

Eggs were pretty much my main source of nourishment during my dark days living in an apartment at college. Not that that’s any sort of punishment or inconvenience because I love eggs. I love the white, the yolk, the shell, the carton, everything. Though I only eat the yolk and white, I would sometimes think about eating the rest too since I literally had no money. That, and it literally takes about a minute to prepare.

So you’re probably thinking: Okay, we get that they’re cheap and you love them. But they’re full of cholesterol, isn’t that bad for you?

Well, that certainly was the conventional wisdom, but since when was conventional wisdom always correct? Practically never. Over at askmen.com, they wrote an article called “The Truth About Eggs”, and it perfectly explains the truth (or lack or truth) about cholesterol. Here’s a segment:

First, one has to understand that cholesterol is not necessarily bad. Humans need it to maintain cell walls, insulate nerve fibers and produced vitamin D, among other things. Second, there are two types of cholesterol: dietary cholesterol and blood cholesterol . Both are important.

….

What is bad, however, is the amount of LDL blood cholesterol in the body. Too much of it can cause heart problems, but scientists are now discovering that consuming food rich in dietary cholesterol does not increase blood cholesterol. At least that is what some experts believe (they are somewhat disagreeing on the matter… as usual).

Evidence showing that eating a lot of dietary cholesterol doesn’t increase blood cholesterol was discovered during a statistical analysis conducted over 25 years by Dr. Wanda Howell and colleagues at the University of Arizona. The study revealed that people who consume two eggs each day with low-fat diets do not show signs of increased blood cholesterol levels.

So there you have it, conventional wisdom, busted. Not quite, but obviously we shouldn’t believe everything we’re told.

So, what’s in an egg? Just Fat and Protein? I used to think that. But you get a pretty big bang for your buck when you put down a dollar for a dozen.

Here’s what you’re buying:

Vitamins
A: good for the skin and growth.
D: strengthens bones by raising calcium absorption.
E: protects cells from oxidation.
B1: helps properly release energy from carbohydrates.
B2: helps release energy from protein and fat.
B6: promotes the metabolism of protein.
B12: an essential vitamin in the formation of nerve fibers and blood cells.

Minerals
Iron: essential in the creation of red blood cells.
Zinc: good for enzyme stability and essential in sexual maturation.
Calcium: most important mineral in the strengthening of bones and teeth.
Iodine: controls thyroid hormones.
Selenium: like vitamin E, it protects cells from oxidation.

What’s also true is that eggs contain the purest form of protein in whole-foods. Sure your 100 dollar tub of super protein may be better, but nothing’s going to be better than eggs if you want to go au naturel.

That’s a pretty damn good deal for a dollar per dozen.

Drop me a message below, or head to workouteatright.com to comment! I would really appreciate it!

[Brian94]

I tend not to eat eggs much, mainly because it wouldn't fit my diet schedule unless I changed a bunch of things. I also am not particularly fond of taste or preparation of them.

I know they are a great source of protein and have great vitamins, but I get enough of that through protein shakes and meat (as well as multivitamin supplements). So I'm thinking I'm fine.

BUT... I agree that I should at least have some eggs over weekends, that would be ideal for breakfast. It may be a good idea for mornings when I have more time too.

So I'll definitely give it a try. Do you have recommendations on preparing eggs? Do you boil them only?

[cyliew]

love them.

but am wondering abt the yolk issue too...

as such, i mostly hardboiled the eggs and throw away the yolks....sigh...

[Her8yRa1ner]

Great article, I love eggs!

Regards,

[point-guard]

i love eggs. specially half boiled ones..those where the white is solid but yolk's still a little bit runny. yummmm

[Confuzzl3dOn3]

love them.

but am wondering abt the yolk issue too...

as such, i mostly hardboiled the eggs and throw away the yolks....sigh...

Dietary cholesterol does not raise plasma cholesterol levels, so the whole "yolks are bad because they have too much cholesterol" argument is invalid. If you had to get into the nitty gritty details, the only elevation of dietary cholesterol would be from the saturated fats in the yolks, however they are only have about 1.5g of saturated fat out of the 6g of fat that each yolk generally yields. Saturated fats have been shown to elevate both high density lipoprotein (HDL) and low density lipoprotein (LDL) levels, but it's high LDLs that you should be worried about. The fact remains though, that the whole mechanism of atherosclerosis and arteriosclerosis (what people are worried about in terms of high LDL and whatever) is still relatively unknown and so there is nothing to suggest saturated fats are the bane of evil and should be avoided. As many wise people have said, moderation is key.

[AlphaBrass01]

Plus, eggs don't taste like eggs without the yolks!

[Confuzzl3dOn3]

^forgot the most important reason right there

[benzie]

I eat 3 raw egg's every morning, cooking the egg's breaks down the protien's, and I cann't eat cooked egg's, just have a bad taste to me

[cyliew]

Dietary cholesterol does not raise plasma cholesterol levels, so the whole "yolks are bad because they have too much cholesterol" argument is invalid. If you had to get into the nitty gritty details, the only elevation of dietary cholesterol would be from the saturated fats in the yolks, however they are only have about 1.5g of saturated fat out of the 6g of fat that each yolk generally yields. Saturated fats have been shown to elevate both high density lipoprotein (HDL) and low density lipoprotein (LDL) levels, but it's high LDLs that you should be worried about. The fact remains though, that the whole mechanism of atherosclerosis and arteriosclerosis (what people are worried about in terms of high LDL and whatever) is still relatively unknown and so there is nothing to suggest saturated fats are the bane of evil and should be avoided. As many wise people have said, moderation is key.

thx
i'm off to get my eggs...omelette style

[Confuzzl3dOn3]

I eat 3 raw egg's every morning, cooking the egg's breaks down the protien's, and I cann't eat cooked egg's, just have a bad taste to me

If you're not eating cooked eggs because you think it "breaks down the protein" then you really need to read up on a lot of stuff. For one, the bioavailability of the protein is improved when you cook the egg as opposed to having it raw. Secondly, the whole argument of how everything must be eaten raw to preserve the "naturalness" of protein or whatever is wrong. Guess what your body does when you eat that egg. Considering only the protein for the purposes of your point, it uses digestive enzymes to break down that protein into smaller amino acid chains. Just because you're putting it in your mouth 'raw', your body doesn't just leave it like that and absorb it. If you don't like the taste then that's your personal preference. Personally i don't know how anyone can like raw eggs but maybe that's just me. But don't put out the whole "I need to have things raw" reason.

thx
i'm off to get my eggs...omelette style

Enjoy the eggs

[davidkap]

at least 8 eggs every morning, upto a dozen. feelsgoodman

[charlievanriper]

yep, but I break them into 2 whole Eggs every 2 to 2.5 hrs that I'm awake, 2 with every meal anbd especially directly after a workout. 12 a day sometimes I only get 10, but thier always over easy cooked wites and raw yolks

[Kilrathi]

since this is an egg thread..

any comment on the salmonella outbreak?
I know it doesn't matter if you hardboil them, but the conditions some of those hens are living in makes you think twice about eating so many eggs.

[charlievanriper]

since this is an egg thread..

any comment on the salmonella outbreak?
I know it doesn't matter if you hardboil them, but the conditions some of those hens are living in makes you think twice about eating so many eggs.

Nope, I just did some quick research the day I heard about it on the Egg Farm I purchase from and the supplier and thier a clean and healthy locl farm and not on the list.

[TheLedge]

i just eat 8 eggs with some bacon, damn good!!!

[blackdove212]

Good article and I love eggs - especially the yolk! They're so versatile when it comes to cooking.
I'm a bit cautious because of the cholesterol thing, coz after all, that's what doctors would say.

[kenethleclair]

I usualy eat 6 eggs for my last meal of the day..i'd rather not drink 16 oz liquid protein shake b4 going to sleep..i crack 6 eggs n toss 3 of the yolks n i scramble them n fry them in olive oil..perfect bed time meal...

[benzie]

If you're not eating cooked eggs because you think it "breaks down the protein" then you really need to read up on a lot of stuff. For one, the bioavailability of the protein is improved when you cook the egg as opposed to having it raw. Secondly, the whole argument of how everything must be eaten raw to preserve the "naturalness" of protein or whatever is wrong. Guess what your body does when you eat that egg. Considering only the protein for the purposes of your point, it uses digestive enzymes to break down that protein into smaller amino acid chains. Just because you're putting it in your mouth 'raw', your body doesn't just leave it like that and absorb it. If you don't like the taste then that's your personal preference. Personally i don't know how anyone can like raw eggs but maybe that's just me. But don't put out the whole "I need to have things raw" reason.

probably right, but raw egg's are just easier to get down for me(no chewing) and they're a real quick breakfast,(I don't like the taste cooked or raw)

[khitman18]

I usualy eat 6 eggs for my last meal of the day..i'd rather not drink 16 oz liquid protein shake b4 going to sleep..i crack 6 eggs n toss 3 of the yolks n i scramble them n fry them in olive oil..perfect bed time meal...

I was wondering about that; I was thinking of just eating eggs as a pre-bed meal. But I read somewhere that for a pre-bed meal, slow-releasing protein is recommended. Since I don't really know much about real good nutrition, aren't eggs a fast-releasing protein source? Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. Currently, I just eat a peanut butter sandwich on whole wheat bread, and take some ZMA pills. Is this enough for a pre-bed or should I change to eggs?

[TrueAmateur]

probably right, but raw egg's are just easier to get down for me(no chewing) and they're a real quick breakfast,(I don't like the taste cooked or raw)

Aren't raw eggs a leading cause of some serious health issues in bodybuilders?

[Confuzzl3dOn3]

^ if you're referring to salmonella then i wouldn't say it's a leading cause. If you're eating the egg raw, you're increasing the likelihood of getting salmonella as opposed to cooking it and hence killing the bacteria. But if the egg is infected with a high enough dose of salmonella and you eat it even after cooking it, chances are you may get salmonella regardless. I'm pretty sure the risk is relatively low, and i don't like raw eggs so it's an even lower risk for me.

[xDevianTx]

Its true in my experience as far as the blood cholesterol and diet cholesterol had full blood panel done 1 year apart and everything improved, I was eating anywhere from 4-8 or more eggs a day cause of Keto and convenience.(Generally I had them hard boiled, but if time was an issue, I had them raw in a glass so I could visually see to make sure nothing out of ordinary then down the pipe!)

As far as the Salmonella...I found this interesting piece.

The inside of an egg was once considered almost sterile. But, over recent years, the bacterium Salmonella enteritidis (Se) has been found inside a small number of eggs. Scientists estimate that, on average across the U.S., only 1 of every 20,000 eggs might contain the bacteria. So, the likelihood that an egg might contain Se is extremely small – 0.005% (five one-thousandths of one percent). At this rate, if you’re an average consumer, you might encounter a contaminated egg once every 84 years.

Im no mathematician, but above says average consumer, so im jus gonna say lets half the 84 years and we get 42 years...IMO if your pressed for time, eat it raw.(unfortunately they dont specify what average is, Im assuming 2-3 eggs is average)

Ive also read that you want to avoid letting the egg come in contact with the egg shell regarding salmonella.

As far as the bio availability or Raw vs Cooked is it a significant difference?(links etc if you have any)

#1 rule be sanitary and wash your hands ya filthy animals!

reps Confuzzl3dOn3, good posts.

[Janckk]

I just boil them to get rid of any bacteria, than they are easy to extract the yellow core and eat the lovely protein.

[Confuzzl3dOn3]

As far as the bio availability or Raw vs Cooked is it a significant difference?(links etc if you have any)

#1 rule be sanitary and wash your hands ya filthy animals!

reps Confuzzl3dOn3, good posts.

I don't take credit for finding this, i searched for bioavailability of protein in eggs on the forum because i knew it had been discussed before. Waffleiron posted this study:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9772141

Quote:
J Nutr. 1998 Oct;128(10):1716-22.

Digestibility of cooked and raw egg protein in humans as assessed by stable isotope techniques.

Evenepoel P, Geypens B, Luypaerts A, Hiele M, Ghoos Y, Rutgeerts P.

Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology and Gastrointestinal Research Centre, University Hospital Leuven, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium.

Abstract

Egg proteins contribute substantially to the daily nitrogen allowances in Western countries and are generally considered to be highly digestible. However, information is lacking on the true ileal digestibility of either raw or cooked egg protein. The recent availability of stable isotope-labeled egg protein allowed determination of the true ileal digestibility of egg protein by means of noninvasive tracer techniques. Five ileostomy patients were studied, once after ingestion of a test meal consisting of 25 g of cooked 13C- and 15N-labeled egg protein, and once after ingestion of the same test meal in raw form. Ileal effluents and breath samples were collected at regular intervals after consumption of the test meal and analyzed for 15N- and 13C-content, respectively. The true ileal digestibility of cooked and raw egg protein amounted to 90.9 +/- 0.8 and 51.3 +/- 9.8%, respectively. A significant negative correlation (r = -0.92, P < 0.001) was found between the 13C-recovery in breath and the recovery of exogenous N in the ileal effluents. In summary, using the 15N-dilution technique we demonstrated that the assimilation of cooked egg protein is efficient, albeit incomplete, and that the true ileal digestibility of egg protein is significantly enhanced by heat-pretreatment. A simple 13C-breath test technique furthermore proved to be a suitable alternative for the evaluation of the true ileal digestibility of egg protein.

[charlievanriper]

my fav addition to every meal 2 overeasy every 2.5 hrs every day. The perfect anabolic food that creates the perfect anabolic envbiorment!

[bikestud125]

since this is an egg thread..

any comment on the salmonella outbreak?
I know it doesn't matter if you hardboil them, but the conditions some of those hens are living in makes you think twice about eating so many eggs.

I ate about 2 dozen eggs before I checked to see if the ones we have been buying were the ones recalled. Turns out they were the ones recalled, threw out the rest we had, but since eating them I had a little Diarrhea but that was it and I'm not sure if it was because of them or something else.

[Chubbs387]

Cooking kills salmonella...they recall them for the people who eat them raw.

[Confuzzl3dOn3]

Cooking kills salmonella...they recall them for the people who eat them raw.

I'd have to dispute that. It has a greater chance of killing/inactivating salmonella, but it's not full proof.

2 articles i just dug out (probably the first article is more relevant as the salmonella people complain about getting from eating eggs is generally gastritis caused by salmonella enteriditis as opposed to typhoid fever from salmonella typhi):

J Food Prot. 2000 Jan;63(1):36-43.
Factors influencing inactivation of Salmonella enteritidis in hard-cooked eggs.
Chantarapanont W, Slutsker L, Tauxe RV, Beuchat LR.

Center for Food Safety and Quality Enhancement, Department of Food Science and Technology, University of Georgia, Griffin 30223-1797, USA.
Abstract
The inside of a hen's egg, once considered sterile, is now known to occasionally harbor Salmonella Enteritidis. At least two recent outbreaks of salmonellosis in which Salmonella Enteritidis PT34 was involved have been associated with hard-cooked eggs. This study was undertaken to compare D56 degrees C values of Salmonella Senftenberg 775W and six strains of Salmonella Enteritidis isolated from outbreaks associated with eggs. D56 degrees C values for Salmonella Enteritidis in liquid egg yolk ranged from 5.14 to 7.39 min; the D56 degrees C value for Salmonella Senftenberg was 19.96 min. The two PT34 strains from outbreaks associated with hard-cooked eggs did not exhibit significantly higher resistance to heat compared with two PT4 strains and one strain each of PT8 and PT13a. A PT4 strain and a PT34 strain of Salmonella Enteritidis were separately inoculated (10(7) to 10(8) CFU) into the yolk of medium and extra large shell eggs at 10 and 21 degrees C, and survival was monitored using two cooking methods: (i) placing eggs in water at 23 degrees C, heating to 100 degrees C, removing from heat, and holding for 15 min (American Egg Board method) and (ii) placing eggs in water at 100 degrees C, then holding for 15 min at this temperature. Within the 15-min holding periods, inactivation was more rapid using the method recommended by the American Egg Board compared with method 2. Within each cooking method, inactivation was most rapid in medium eggs initially at 21 degrees C. The PT4 strain survived in yolk of extra large eggs initially at 10 degrees C when eggs were held in boiling water 9 min using method 2. The final temperature of the yolk in these eggs was 62.3 +/- 2 degrees C. Of the two methods evaluated for hard cooking eggs, the American Egg Board method is clearly most effective in killing Salmonella Enteritidis in the yolk.

Poult Sci. 1983 Jul;62(7):1211-6.
Survival of Salmonella typhimurium and Staphylococcus aureus in eggs cooked by different methods.
Baker RC, Hogarty S, Poon W, Vadehra DV.

Abstract
Shell eggs inoculated with Salmonella typhimurium and Staphylococcus aureus were cooked by recommended procedures for boiling, poaching, and frying. Except for poaching, the recommended procedures were inadequate in destroying the inoculum placed in the yolk. Boiling for 7 min was necessary for complete destruction of S. typhimurium and it took 12 min of boiling to destroy Staph. aureus. Cooking time-temperature relationship for complete kill depended on the cooking method with fried eggs. Four minutes and 70 C were needed for covered eggs, 3 min on each side at 64 C for turned over eggs, while cooking for 7.5 min at 64 C for sunnyside eggs was not sufficient for destruction of both of the test organisms. None of the test organisms could be recovered from omelets baked by the recommended procedure (86 C for 25 min). Scrambling for 1 min at 74 C was required for the complete destruction of S. typhimurium and 2 min at 78 C for Staph. aureus.

[guatebuilder]

have heard about salmonella eating the eggs raw that's why now i only eat them cooked..
right now 5 in the morning and 5 before bed (3 whites, 2 whole)