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
If you think about it, homemade ice cream is just raw eggs, milk and sugar and everyone loves homemade ice cream.
Here is a good article on eating the whole egg. Maybe it will clear up the biotin issue for you. I eat two raw whole eggs blended in almond milk, stevia, and cinnamon every mornng.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2005/02/09/raw-eggs.aspx
I eat 12 eggs a day raw or cooked as long as I’m getting 12 in im fine! Vince Gironda the iron guru used to consume 36 eggs a day with half and half to get the most muscle gains his maximum definition diet!
I tried raw egg for the first time this morning I went crazy sick I threw up for the first time in 8 years I was so gutted because I was planning the rvaf diet and eggs were defanatly the bonus, I didnt even get through the whole egg it was just one bite of the white, does anyone have any tips on what I can do instead of cooking it, what to combine it with that wouldnt make me feel as sick my throat is so gluggy right now from it Im experiencing difficulty in breathing and Im not weak or anything im a 21 year old female and immensely healthy with natural muscles I just can’t get over the disappointment.
Any tips would be much appreciated thanks.
maybe you were very unlucky to get a really bad salmonella egg, or maybe your imune defense system is not good with salmonella.. i read that you can become imune to salmonella ..anyway, always buy organic eggs, never eat raw cage eggs..
I find all of the info above very interesting – however, have recently been told by a health professional that eating raw egg white is a waste of time as you cannot absorb any of the nutrients and so cooked is the only way to go. Has anyone got any factual information to support or deny this. Thanks
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I have never tried that is it good to drink raw eggs
Though I see some do is it good for you
Every morning for the past 2 months i have been blending 1 large cup consisting of milk, 2 raw organic free range eggs, and 2 table spoons of organic honey. It really tastes amazing, better than any shake I have had, plus it keeps your energy up. Perfect for my 2 hour daily martial art classes.
Just so you know Mark the important amino acid tryptophan in eggs is very heat sensitive meaning you lose out on many health benefits such as melatonin and serotonin production which is so necessary for feeling good and regulating our sleep patterns.
Timely blog piece! Late Spring we got ourselves six pullets strictly because, while don’t over-indulge in eggs we don’t believe in factory chicken farming and the
), no heart disease. She ate red meat every day also, using animal fat for cooking and never used any spread but pure butter. I love raw eggs…sometimes about an ounce of goat’s milk added, sometimes just the egg and not completely flipped..the yolk only slighty punctured by a knife, first. I don’t do diets per se (although I am very careful of how we eat…organic beef when we can find it, organic chicken, wild caught fish and lots of veg…but I can say that on the days I have a raw egg for b’fast I’m never hungry until dinner (bonus!). It’s been quite some years since I had the raw egg regimen and yet no stomach discomfort or distress at all, from day one.
“cage free etc” in stores didn’t quite satisfy either. Once they began laying it was amazing and, since late Fall, I have gone back to something my mother gave us on winter mornings…raw egg flipped just a little in about an ounce of milk and a little salt. Her mother taught her…Gran had a raw egg in milk every winter morning. Gran lived to reach her century, no HBP, no high cholestrol (that she or we knew of, anyway
I like raw eggs that’s all, sems like I am addicted I can’t stop it
I believe the raw egg yolk is a blessing. I eat only the raw yolks, avoid eating the egg whites, and limit the calories to 1,500 so I can get thin and live longer. Check out http://aptarticle.com//health/how-10003-live-longer.html if you don’t believe me. I don’t eat the egg whites. I give them to a neighbor who believes in cooking all of her food.
I use to cook my eggs for 6 months, then I switched to raw eggs for another 6 months. Main reason I switched was because of the oxidation of the eggs when cooked, but this post really cleared up a lot. I’m going to start cooking my eggs again and leave the raw eggs for my after workout protein shake.
I make 1 cup of milk 1 raw omega 3 egg and 2 tbsp of nesquick powder. My mom always made it for us as kids growing up.When we didn’t have time to eat in morning. Now as an adult I make it for breakfast when I want something fast.
I am not in the best of health , I feared I had an egg allergy but realise it is only when I eat cooked or overcooked eggs I suffer with problems , also realise I did not have theses problems when I was doing raw eggs. I am back on raw tomorrow , I seriously need the benefits and can try to find out what is causing problems in my diet, thanks , this site has awakened me – I dont know why I cannot process cooked eggs but I enjoy and feel the benefits of raw – lightly poached eggs do it for me , hard boiled causes excessive wind (pardon me) – I am trying to find the culprit in my diet but i know raw eggs arent the culprit. I can drink em down fine – milk,honey, banana and egg , mmmmmmmmmmmmm breakfast , but if i have hard boiled, like i did last week – i suffer like you would not believe. Still have trapped wind behind left shoulder, not slept in days, at times feel like a woman on the verge of giving birth it is THAT sore. sorry , digressed – im back on eggs, totaly raw tomorrow and hope it lifts my health. thanks for the site and thanks for al the comments (apart from the obviously insane and deleted ones) I dream of owning my own chickens , my friend had some chickens at her home and the difference in the eggs is like chalk and cheese – i never have seen yolks like these since – shame i live in the city in a dark and unpredictable one aswell. I shall give eggs a try. My son loves the milk honey and egg mix for breakfast – i usually throw in some blueberries or whatever and it works for him . keep up the eggs people!
Great article that explained the topic in an easy to understand way. I usually drink two raw eggs every day, 5 days per week and have done so for years accompanied by intense workouts. It’s the perfect and easy “snack” in the afternoon and I have only positive experiences from it. I think too many people overthink things and thus become afraid. It’s not a big deal, just like this article so greatly pointed out.
I have about 9 raw eggs a day. My fave way is
Blend up 150g cottage cheese until it is a liquid. Crack in three or four whole raw eggs, a splash of milk and a banana and blend it all together and drink.
Banana is optional for different taste
I eat them raw, with a cup of milk, and 2 tea spoons of honey, mix them up and drink them, never have had any problem, When I drink them a lot, I gain muscles burn a lot of fat and stay active all the day long. and guess what, I feel so strong I used to have a back issues from a car accident and when I kept drinking it I feel much better than before.
I eat it also, cooked, boiled, and sunny side eggs, but the best of the day when you drinking it, and you feel the heat in your body and start sweating and you feel the energy kicking out.. you would like to punch the wall to see how strong you are. LOL….
thanks
I eat raw eggs only to add proteins in my fruit smoothie, but I normally prefer to have them cooked mainly because of the salmonella thing…
I heat up some coconut oil in a pan, add in 4 eggs and make some only-just-cooked scrambled egg, I add some butter (homemade from local grass-fed cream) on top while it cools down, and then separate 2 new yolks from the whites and pour the yolks over the scrambled egg. Merrily merrily merrily merrily, life is but a dream.
Raw yolk, cooked white! Support your local farmers market!
The best way that I’ve found to eat (or stomach as the case may be) raw eggs has been in homemade “ice cream.” My favorite has 2 raw egg yolks in it and includes coconut milk, raw yogurt, strawberries, pineapple and shredded coconut with a little honey to taste. Yummy and full of nutrients.
I buy eggs from trader joes. Organic free range are tuese safe to consume raw?
I eat about 18 whole raw eggs a day.
Specifically, I blend the following 2-3 x per day:
-6-9 Whole Raw Eggs, the cheap eggs
-Strawberries, half container
-Banana, whole
-Peanut Butter, 2 tbs
I’m a bodybuilder looking to put on weight, I’m 165 lbs, ~ 7% body fat, workout an hour each day doing a free weight/crossfit type workout.
Do you think I should stop the shakes? Honestly I love them, and feel they are very rich in vital nutrition.
Thanks!
Scott
Does anyone know if blending raw eggs alters the structure enough to reduce absorption/benefits, compared to just consuming whole?
im about to try my first 2 raw eggs after a workout is that ok for my age
my son was 5 years old he eats raw egg dialy.is it good for him or not?
i love taking raw eggs.i have been taken it daily for a year now and it is best for bodybuilding.