Whole Eggs or Egg Whites

[austinite]

I tried really hard to find the source where this little story originated from, to no avail. Several sites had it posted with no links back. Anyway, here it is...


Whole Eggs or Egg Whites:

I was on a weekend trip with some friends recently and one of my friends was cooking breakfast for the whole group. I went over to see what he was cooking and saw he was getting ready to make a big batch of eggs.


Well, to my shock and horror, I noticed that he was cracking the eggs open and screening the egg whites into a bowl and throwing out the egg yolks. I asked him why the heck he was throwing out the egg yolks, and he replied something like this…


“because I thought the egg yolks were terrible for you…that’s where all the nasty fat and cholesterol is”.


And I replied something along the lines of… “you mean that’s where all of the nutrition is!”


This is a perfect example of how confused most people are about nutrition. In a world full of misinformation about nutrition, somehow most people now mistakenly think that the egg yolk is the worst part of the egg, when in fact, the YOLK IS THE HEALTHIEST PART OF THE EGG! It’s a shame at how many restaurants you can walk into these days and see that the “healthy” breakfast menu always has egg white items instead of whole eggs. Are we really still in the “fat-phobic” 80′s?


By throwing out the yolk and only eating egg whites, you’re essentially throwing out the most nutrient dense, antioxidant-rich, vitamin and mineral loaded portion of the egg. The yolks contain so many B-vitamins, trace minerals, vitamin A, folate, choline, lutein, and other powerful nutrients… it’s not even worth trying to list them all.


In fact, the egg whites are almost devoid of nutrition compared to the yolks.


Even the protein in egg whites isn’t as powerful without the yolks to balance out the amino acid profile and make the protein more bio-available. Not to even mention that the egg yolks from free range chickens are loaded with healthy omega-3 fatty acids.


Yolks contain more than 90% of the calcium, iron, phosphorus, zinc, thiamin, B6, folate, and B12, and panthothenic acid of the egg. In addition, the yolks contain ALL of the fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K in the egg, as well as ALL of the essential fatty acids (EFAs).


And now the common objection I get all the time when I say that the yolks are the most nutritious part of the egg…


“But I heard that whole eggs will skyrocket my cholesterol through the roof”


No, this is FALSE!


First of all, when you eat a food that contains a high amount of dietary cholesterol such as eggs, your body down-regulates it’s internal production of cholesterol to balance things out.


On the other hand, if you don’t eat enough cholesterol, your body simply produces more since cholesterol has dozens of important vital functions in the body.


And here’s where it gets even more interesting…


There have been plenty of studies lately that indicate that eating whole eggs actually raises your good HDL cholesterol to a higher degree than LDL cholesterol, thereby improving your overall cholesterol ratio and blood chemistry.


And 3rd… high cholesterol is NOT a disease! Heart disease is a disease…but high cholesterol is NOT. Cholesterol is actually a VERY important substance in your body and has vitally important functions… it is DEAD WRONG to try to “lower your cholesterol” just because of pharmaceutical companies propaganda that everyone on the planet should be on statin drugs.


If you’re interested in this topic of cholesterol specifically, I have another article listed at the bottom of this page about why trying to attack cholesterol is a mistake, and what the REAL deadly risk factors actually are.


In addition, the yolks contain the antioxidant lutein as well as other antioxidants which can help protect you from inflammation within your body (the REAL culprit in heart disease, not dietary cholesterol!), giving yet another reason why the yolks are actually GOOD for you, and not detrimental.


To help bring even more proof that whole eggs are better for you than egg whites, I recently read a University of Connecticut study that showed that a group of men in the study that ate 3 eggs per day for 12 weeks while on a reduced carb, higher fat diet increased their HDL good cholesterol by 20%, while their LDL bad cholesterol stayed the same during the study. However, the group that ate egg substitutes (egg whites) saw no change in either and did not see the improvement in good cholesterol (remember that higher HDL levels are associated with lower risk of heart disease) that the whole egg eaters did.


So I hope we’ve established that whole eggs are not some evil food that will wreck your body… instead whole eggs are FAR superior to egg whites.


But what about the extra calories in the yolks?


This is actually a non-issue and here’s why… even though egg yolks contain more calories than just eating the egg whites, the yolks have such a high micro-nutrient density in those calories, that it increases your overall nutrient density per calorie you consume. Essentially, what this does is help to regulate your appetite for the remainder of the day, so you end up eating less calories overall. In addition, the healthy fats in the egg yolks help to maintain a good level of fat-burning hormones in your body.


Overall, this means that the extra fats (healthy fats) and calories from the yolk are so nutrient-dense that they actually HELP you to burn off body fat!


Also, your normal supermarket eggs coming from mass factory farming just don’t compare nutritionally with organic free range eggs from healthy chickens that are allowed to roam freely and eat a more natural diet. Your typical cheap grocery store eggs will have lower nutrient levels and a higher omega-6 level and lower omega-3 level. On the other hand, the cage-free organic eggs from healthier chickens allowed to eat more natural feed and roam freely will have much higher vitamin and mineral levels and a more balanced healthier omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acid ratio.


I recently compared eggs I bought at the grocery store with a batch of eggs I got at a farm stand where the chickens were free roaming and healthy.


Most people don’t realize that there’s a major difference because they’ve never bought real eggs from healthy chickens… The eggs from the grocery store had pale yellow yolks and thin weak shells. On the other hand, the healthier free range eggs from the local farm had strong thick shells and deep orange colored yolks indicating much higher nutrition levels and carotenoids… and just a healthier egg in general.


This is due to the fact that a free-roaming hen allowed to roam on plenty of land will eat a variety of greens, insects, worms, etc transferring MUCH higher levels of nutrients to the eggs compared to an unhealthy hen that is trapped inside a dark factory farm hen house in horrible conditions and fed nothing but piles of corn and soy. It’s a DRASTIC difference in the nutrition that you get from the egg.


So next time a health or fitness professional tells you that egg whites are superior (because of their “fat-phobic” mentality towards dietary fats), you can quietly ignore their advice knowing that you now understand the REAL deal about egg yolks.


And can we all please STOP with this sillyness about eating an omelete with 4-5 egg whites and only 1 egg yolk… If you want real taste and real health benefits, we’d all be better off eating ALL of our eggs with the delicious nutrient-dense yolks.


After all, do you REALLY think that our ancestors thousands of years ago threw out the yolks and only ate the egg whites? NOT A CHANCE! They intuitively knew that all of the nutrition was found in the yolks. But our modern society has been brainwashed with misinformation about fats and cholesterol.


Another interesting study about eggs…


I read a study recently that compared groups of people that ate egg breakfasts vs groups of people that ate cereal or bagel-based breakfasts. The results of the study showed that the egg eaters lost or maintained a healthier bodyweight, while the cereal/bagel eaters gained weight.


It was hypothesized that the egg eaters actually ate less calories during the remainder of the day because their appetite was more satisfied compared to the cereal/bagel eaters who would have been more prone to wild blood sugar swings and food cravings.


Oh, one last thing I almost forgot… I personally eat 4 whole eggs almost every day with breakfast, and I maintain single-digit bodyfat most of the year.


Enjoy your eggs and get a leaner body!

[manmanman]

i enjoy 4 whole eggs and 9 egg whites a day

[gbrice75]

Agree 100%. I almost NEVER have just whites, I will always incorporate as much yolk as my fat macro will allow. I always look at it this way - the baby chick (sorry for the image) doesn't grow in the white, it grows in the yolk - so where do you think ALL of the nutrition is? It's obvious. Furthermore, about 1/2 the protein of an egg is in the yolk. The cholesterol scare is WAY overblown IMO.

Having said that, the protein:fat ratio in eggs is relatively poor, and as such it is difficult for most people, especially when cutting, to have a lot of whole eggs. I will usually do a 3 to 1 white to whole. Once a week or so though, I do have a big old meal with all whole eggs.

[austinite]

Yes. I agree with cholesterol issues being overblown. It's really wild that at some point I believed the same thing about yolks being harmful. Education = results.

[gbrice75]

^^ same here.

[rtettz]

A real eye opener, i too was also the under the illusion its better for you to just have egg whites, fortunately i cudnt be bothered to separate the whites/yolk... Goodjob afterall!

[austinite]

A real eye opener, i too was also the under the illusion its better for you to just have egg whites, fortunately i cudnt be bothered to separate the whites/yolk... Goodjob afterall!

LOL! So Laziness resulted in good health! Love it

[MickeyKnox]

Good read.

Ive also seen that before on several sites, and I agree. The only time im concerned about yokes is when i don't want the extra fat in my diet.

[auswest]

If I have the yolks with my whites I can't meet my macros otherwise I would eat them

[bass]

great thread Austi!

[Megalodon6]

Awesome as usual

[mockery]

i have been eating 6 whole eggs a day for a year now with regular blood work my cholesterol has gone down, not up.

whole eggs got my vote

[mockery]

Maybe that's why im such a angry forum troll, egg yokes, worse then tren !

[Igifuno]

Solid read.. whole eggs all day!

[Cuz]

im close to.50/50 ratio with whole/whites. myself. great read btw Aust

[SeXc1985]

Nice, i have always eaten whole eggs ...i figured i'm still young i don't need to worry about cholesterol just yet lol.

[NotTheSame]

Generally people that aren't into nutrition like us have very little clue about it. So many people think and are taught to think Fat is the devil. Which also comes into play with egg yolks. "That's where all the fat is!"

I usually eat 3 eggs and 10 whites a day. I do it this way because 3 is enough for me as i get plenty of fat elsewhere in my diet and add the whites because it makes the meal a lot more filling and obviously the extra protein is good.

The free range chickens bit is something i haven't really thought about too much. I do buy "free range" eggs from the supermarket but who knows how truthful that really is. I've heard some things that make me skeptical.
However, i don't buy free range chicken i just buy it from the poultry butcher. Maybe this is something i should look into.

[bass]

couple of things Austinite, 1 for some reason I can't see your signature area in this thread! 2 it would be good to add this thread to your educational list.

[NaijaBoy]

I do 3 whole eggs E3D mixed with a shake. Separating them is too much work. Besides I like the taste with the yolk better. Thumbs up OP

[hellomycognomen]

The question now is how should one cook the eggs. Hard boiled would be ideal but I'm too impatient to wait for water to boil. I like mine fried sunny side up or scrambled with bacon. yumm.

[bass]

you can also use water instead of oil, just a little at the bottom of the pan, let it boil then crack the eggs. they cook fast and the results are like soft boiled eggs!

[MyteeJ]

The question now is how should one cook the eggs. Hard boiled would be ideal but I'm too impatient to wait for water to boil. I like mine fried sunny side up or scrambled with bacon. yumm.

If you go the hard boiled route, consider making many at the same time. I make 48 at once so I have enough for mid day protein at work. You can add baking soda or white vinegar to the water when boiling to help with peeling them.

[EasyDoesIt]

We talked about whole eggs on the forum not to long ago. Nice explanation of the "why eat whole eggs". Funny the egg white eaters are usually fat, not referring to people that workout, but the average person that thinks there doing the right thing by eating whites. Where the heck do these trends get started? I am going to save this and make it a PDF, saved on my phone and shoot it off every time this conversation comes up. Thanks for packaging this info so nicely. I have my pile of eggs every day. They digest great!

[kelkel]

First time reading this Austin. Very nice.
Remember guys, testosterone comes from cholesterol, which most don't realize.

Speaking of cholesterol and all the myths surrounding it. I highly encourage reading Dr. Stephen Sinatra's book titled "The Great Cholesterol Myth" to educate yourself on it. He also has many youtube video's you'll find interesting.

Dr. Stephen Sinatra's Informational Site - Heart MD Institute

[Father Oblivion]

Great information! Found out recently that I am allergic to eggs - specifically the protein in the whites. All those years of flu shots and spinach and tomato omlettes...lol. Wonder if I can just eat the yokes...

[JimmySidewalk]

Nice ! What about how to eat them ? Can we throw them raw in the blender with other things or do they really need to be cooked in order to fully benefit from what they have to offer ? I am strictly speaking nutritional wise, not salmonella or other things such as that.

[EasyDoesIt]

Pretty sure like most all foods, uncooked holds most nutrients, but i would not touch them today raw. When i was a kid we ate them raw all the time. I mentioned this before on another thread. Vince Gironda use to mix heavy whipping cream and raw eggs together for pre workout. Unfortunately with salmonella it's to risky with eggs. I do them scrambled or hard boiled and i cook 12 at a time when hard boiling, but lately just scrambling. For super protein, try cooking ground lamb and pine nuts together separating lamb into little chunks, then throw eggs on top. It's a middle eastern dish. You will not be able to stop eating. It's not for cutting diet.