Dear Mark: Raw Eggs
A glassful of raw eggs incites mixed reactions for many of us. It’s routine for some and revulsion for others. Commonly associated with bodybuilders and boxers (the Rocky scene) who want to bulk up, a lot of folks who fit neither category include them on a regular basis for simple nutritional reasons. However, there’s more to the picture, as this reader’s email suggests.
Dear Mark,
I have searched the site to see if there is any pros/cons of eating raw eggs. I know in the past, CW says that eating raw eggs can create a biotin deficiency in our bodies. I like having a couple of raw eggs in my whey protein drink after a workout. Do you have any information that would be helpful in the use of raw eggs?
Eggs in general are a nutritional (and wholly Primal!) powerhouse with impressive supplies of selenium, iodine, phosphorus, molybdenum, choline, lutein, vitamins A, B2, B5, B12, E, D and K. Add to this a healthy 5.5 grams of protein, 20% of your RDA for tryptophan and essential fatty acids. But what’s the specific draw to raw eggs?
A lot of folks choose to eat raw eggs because some nutrients can be diminished by heating. (Although this is true of cooking just about anything, cooking also makes certain nutrients more bioavailable – hence the constant pull and push between the raw foodists and traditional cooks.) Some people feel any change in the chemical structure is to be avoided. Others don’t. Although some vitamins (like vitamins C, B6 and B9) are more fragile and lose potency during heating (the more/longer heat, the more loss), other nutrients are enhanced. As reader Tuscoyote noted in the forum a few months ago, researchers have found that egg protein is more bioavailable when heated. (Thanks for the NPR link, Tuscoyote!) Here’s the study referenced in that interview. The study showed that egg protein is more digestible (94% versus 55-64%) when heated, probably due to alteration of the protein’s structure and the ability of digestive enzymes to infiltrate peptide bonds. Whether you eat your eggs heated or raw (or a little of both) in part depends on your goal in eating them to begin with.
As for drawbacks, there’s the well-circulated salmonella risk, which isn’t the dire prospect it’s often made out to be. The risk has been estimated as 1 in 10,000 (CDC) or 1 in 30,000 (Risk Analysis journal). And though washing eggshells can reduce much of the risk, it doesn’t eliminate it entirely. Salmonella can be present in the yolk due to infection in the hen’s reproductive tissue.
Of course, not all eggs are created equal when it comes to salmonella or nutrition. Not only are organic, free range eggs more nutrient-dense, one study found them to be significantly less contaminated than battery cage hens. Hens that graze and eat a natural diet as well as have more space to roam (to avoid living in feces) are naturally healthier. While the survey determined a quarter of battery cage groups to be contaminated, only 5% of those that were both organic and free range showed contamination. (Free-range, non-organic came up at 6.5%.) Simple refrigeration can keep any salmonella bacteria from multiplying, which minimizes the risk of actual illness from contaminated eggs. In those who are very young, pregnant or immune-compromised, salmonella risk is more of a consideration.
As you mention, eating raw eggs carries the eventual risk of a biotin deficiency. Although egg yolk is actually a rich source of biotin, the white contains avidin, a glycoprotein that bonds with biotin, preventing the nutrient’s absorption. Avidin is generally inactivated when cooked, which makes the biotin in the yolk fully available for absorption by the body. You don’t have to rule out raw eggs by any means. I wouldn’t advise eating them daily for long stretches of time without a biotin supplement (supported within a B-complex intake, since these vitamins work synergistically). If you’re eating them just a few times a week, the risk for deficiency isn’t as great, but I would still do a supplement or at least make sure I was getting a hefty amount of biotin rich food (swiss chard, tomatoes, carrots, liver and others) the days I eat raw eggs. As a compromise, some folks will just eat the raw yolks alone and cook up the whites later.
All that said, raw eggs can be part of your Primal fare. (There are advantages to cooked eggs, but it’s however you enjoy them.) If you like raw eggs, I’d say have at it – with the above info in mind. If you would rather cook them, I’d suggest going easy on the heat to avoid overcooking. Some folks suggest choosing cooking methods that leave the egg yolk intact and soft (like sunny side up or poached) because of concerns about oxidizing the cholesterol. I’m not too concerned about the small amount that might result from my breakfast routine. For myself, I take a middle road (mostly for taste). Sometimes I do my omelets, but just as often these days I’ll poach them so the egg white is cooked and yolk runny. Just had two for breakfast in fact.
Let me know your take on raw versus runny versus fully cooked. For those who go raw or not, how do you eat them? Thanks for all your questions and comments, and keep ‘em coming!
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Posted By: Mark Sisson
I eat about three eggs a day. I cook two of them (scrambled or fried with the yolks runny), and the third I crack into my hand, let the white run out, and swallow the yolk whole.
I make a Jay Robb chocolate egg mocha a few times a week. Frozen banana, water, one farm raised organic egg, ice, 1oz heavy cream, 1 tsp instant coffee, 1 scoop whey protein powder. Mix in blender, I use the Bella mixer (like the Bullet) and it tastes like a super smooth frappe from the old days.
I toss a raw egg from my own backyard chickens into a smoothie a couple times per week. Usually, I gently fry in butter or make a tasty veggie scramble.
Eggs are amazing. I eat them everyday.
As a kid, I always loved to eat my eggs Sunny Side up. I guess it’s true that we instinctively know what to eat when we’re younger.
I eat them scrambled every once and a while, but I can’t resist a classic.
An article from Dr. Mercola discussing raw eggs. Hope the link works!
Important Update on Eating Raw Eggs
add a little nutmeg, coconut milk and vanilla and you’ve got some egg nog.
I personally eat my eggs cooked. I enjoy an omelet filled with veggies 3 times a week. I cook on low to medium heat and leave the yolk runny. This makes for a perfect breakfast. A green smoothie beforehand makes it completely perfect of course!
I read this great article on eggs a while back from dr.Mercola
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2005/02/09/raw-eggs.aspx
there’s a couple of other articles on eggs there too.
I think I read something about eating the egg whole – both yoke and whites eliminated the deficiency issue – but I can’t be sure if it was completely – or to a minor point (which might be significant if one east a great deal of eggs a day)
Eggs are great
Everyday for the last 18 months my breakfast has been a smoothie consisting of: 4 (even 5 or 6 if in strength/size mode) whole raw free range eggs, frozen mixed berries, coconut cream, cinnamon, nutmeg, water.
Just this week I also started adding some psyllium husks & chia seeds – a bit of extra fibre to accomodate increased caloric intake through heavy strength phase.
I know I should use more variety – I do for other meals – but damn, this smoothie is delicious! I never get sick of it, and clearly have no allergic tendencies to the raw eggs.
Have given this recipe to several friends/family/clients too, and all feedback has been positive.
Raw eggs gets 2 thumbs up from me.
But some Biotin supps you say?….will look into that.
After a bad experience with raw egg as a child (I drank one thinking it was orange juice – I know, better for me, but not what I was expecting), I just recently started eating eggs again. I’m sticking with cooked for now.
I’ve been eating a lot of duck eggs lately because my brother and his family have a pet duck that lays like crazy. I don’t know what they feed her, but the yolks are huge and golden, almost twice the size of the chicken egg yolks. I’ve been frying them in a pan with some salsa, leaving the yolk a little runny. Delicious.
I have been eating raw eggs for about a year now. I always purchase free-range, organic eggs and wash the shell with water and grapefruit seed extract.
I sometimes have raw egg with orange juice, but I don’t think I can have them by themselves
*-I do the same thing too
.
I’ll have three eggs over easy, cooked in coconut oil with a dab of hot sauce on top.
Oh, and a cup of coffee.
Separate check from all these other folks, please.
Re duck eggs – be cautious about eating these raw as they have a porous shell which means that they’re more likely to be contaminated. Fine to eat cooked.
Goose and turkey aggs are good too.
Anyone tried ostrich eggs? Now that would be a good find for Grok.
I like to add hard boiled eggs to salads. (but not ostrich, obviously!)
Last week, I tried a whey protein shake with raw egg, vanilla and frozen berries. Mmmmh, it was delicious! I like them more and more. Half a year ago, when I made the transition from low carb to PB I needed about 10 eggs, a week. Now this is not enough: 15 – 20 ! I just recognize: The more eggs I eat, the better I feel
Thanks Mark. Not much out there on eggs. I wonder if anybody has some info on what type of eggs to buy at the store. I know the best way is to get them from a local farm you have visited but until I get around to do that, How can I trust that the cage-free eggs were fed quality food; and that the free-range eggs, were not merely given a ten minute window with an open door to the barn?
I love eggs, especially lightly poached in vinegar and then with crumbled blue cheese on top. Divine.
Here’s a favorite egg dish I haven’t seen mentioned yet:
Brown 1 lb. hamburger
Add 1 box organic tomato soup
Add Italian spices
Bring to a slow boil
Poach some eggs in it
o_O CW must be crying out: “You are killing yourself, no more than 2 whole eggs a week… cholesterol will kill you” lol
hi, dear all,
in singapore,for breakfast ,
we enjoy softboil egg, some where in between raw and cook….
one day 5 softboil egg
one day 5 egg omelete
hehe
Raw eggs is the only way I will eat them.
Even as a baby I refused egg flavored food and despise eggs.
Only in a protien shake can I have raw eggs, so that is how I started doing it. Cooked eggs alone? No.
Sadly this limits me as 85% of all breakfasts in business or anything include eggs. Funny sometimes that nobody expects someone may not like them.
I eat raw in smoothies 2-3 times during the week (wash the shell with Veggie Wash). On the weekends, I eat huge omelettes with some combination of peppers, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, cheese, some kind of meat, and various seasonings according to mood. On the side is fruit and yogurt with some ground flax meal. This will hold me all day even if I am playing disc golf for 7-8 hours, on my feet the entire time. Pretty much all ingredients are organic and/or free-range.
You guys need to check out Egg Whites International:
100% pasteurized liquid egg whites that are tasteless, mix great with protein powder, and are truly safe to eat.
http://www.eggwhitesint.com
I buy them in gallon containers.
I’ve read recently that raw yolks contain so much biotin that even if raw egg white binds some of it, there’s enuff leftover to take care of any deficiency. I suppose you can find at research to support both views. What makes sense to me (evolutionarily speaking) is that Mr and Mrs Caveman, if/when they found some bird eggs, probably would not have waited to arrive at the homestead and make an omelet, but would have eaten it right then and there as a delicacy.
I add an egg or two (raw) to my protein shakes, and during the week also eat cooked eggs.
If you eat raw eggs, do NOT eat the whites (gross!), only the yolk.
Here is info on the benefits of raw egg yolk:
http://www.13.waisays.com/egg-yolk.htm
Enjoy!
Whites are not gross to everyone my dear.
Hey. I’m so glad I found this site. I just recently started drinking 42 eggs per week. And I feel awsome! I’m a weight lifter. And I feel so much stronger and energetic. But can someone tell me if I’m over doing it? Am I harming my body cholesterol-wise? Or anyother way? Please let me know. E-mail me at socalpolarbear88@gmail.com thanks!
What a great website! Lots of info! Question: Can someone tell me definitively if eat ting the whole egg raw is better than eating just the yolk raw, cholesterol-wise and biotin-wise? I eat them raw for the protein, but my Doc told me I need to lower my count last week. I don’t think it’s high because of the eggs, tho’.
Thanks.
Excellent post, I just bought your cookbook and can’t wait for it to ship. Keep up the great work. Thanks!