Microblog: The Nutrition Facts of the Whole Egg

Excerpt from @CarnivoreCure.

🥚Eggs are one of nature’s perfect foods. Because the yolk supplies all the food the embryo needs to thrive, it’s no wonder such a small food packs so much nutrition. The yolk is rich in fats, good cholesterol, proteins, iron, and other minerals, as well as lecithin and other emulsifiers.

🧬If you have sensitivities to chicken eggs, try duck or quail eggs. The albumin makes up 12 percent of egg whites in chicken but only about 2 percent in egg whites from ducks. Studies show that if you have sensitivities to one poultry egg, you may not be sensitive to all poultry eggs.[1]

🍳Consuming raw egg whites can cause biotin depletion in the body. Biotin deficiencies can lead to seizures, skin disorders, hair loss, severe joint pain, and lack of muscle tone and coordination. When eggs are cooked, the heat causes structural changes to avidin, making biotin more bioavailable. Shorter cooking times are ideal for removing avidin while keeping most of the nutrients intact.[2]

👨🏼‍🌾The best egg sources are local farmers whose operations are certified organic—albeit not guaranteed—and whose chickens are pasture-raised (with no soy or corn feed). These eggs usually have richer, amber yolks, and probably a better nutrient density. But don’t focus solely on the yolk color for nutrient density.

🥕Darker orange egg yolks usually mean the hens were pasture-raised and able to forage. The color of the egg yolk is indicative of the hen’s diet. The darker the color yolk, the more likely the hen ate carotenoids—the natural orange pigments found in plants.

💡That said, a chicken’s optimal diet is not vegetarian but omnivorous. Carotenoids alone determine the color of the yolk. Carotenoids are good, but you want the chicken to have eaten insects and animal proteins by foraging in their natural environment.

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[1] Feeney et al., “Comparative Biochemistry of Avian Egg White Proteins.”
[2] Staggs et al., “Determination of the Biotin Content of Select Foods.”