Are Eggs Healthy And Is There A Limit?
At Fortitude Nutrition Coaching, we’ve been delivering seminars and workshops to gyms, sporting groups and organisations for years. The most common questions we get at these talks are about eggs. Are eggs healthy and is there a limit on how many we should eat?
Why are eggs in question?
Over 100 years ago, questions were raised in relation to cholesterol and heart disease. It was established that eggs contain cholesterol so a potential risk was identified and reported. Since then, we’ve learned that dietary cholesterol has limited effects on cholesterol levels in the body. (1)(2)
The Simpsons actually did a great job of summarising things:
Homer Simpson : I saved your life! That egg sandwich could've killed you by cholesterol.
Lenny : Pfft, forget it, Homer. While it has been established that eggs contain cholesterol, it has not yet been proven conclusively that they actually raise the level of serum cholesterol in the human bloodstream.
What about a limit on how many eggs we should eat?
The current Australian Dietary Guidelines have no set limit on the amount of eggs we should eat in a day.
They are recommended as a nutritious, affordable protein option. A meat alternative and a versatile protein-dense food.
In relation to heart disease, this is taken directly from the Guidelines:
There do not appear to be any increased health risks associated with consumption of eggs. There is recent evidence to suggest that consumption of eggs every day is not associated with increased risk of coronary heart disease.
Depending on your age, gender and other considerations like pregnancy, the Guidelines recommend 2-3 serves of lean protein per day.
A serve of eggs is 2 large eggs, approximately 120 grams.
For an adult male aged 19-50, 3 servings of lean protein per day is recommended. With no consideration for variety, that is 6 eggs per day. Note here that variety is absolutely encouraged!!
So whilst there are no set limits on eggs in the Australian Dietary Guidelines, they are recommended within the portion guidelines for protein and with the encouragement of variety in choices. (2)
What about diabetics or those with high cholesterol?
Whilst there are no set limits in the Australian Dietary Guidelines (2), the Australian Heart Foundation does make a separate recommendation for those with cardiovascular disease, high LDL cholesterol or Type 2 diabetes.
The recommended limit for people with those conditions is seven eggs per week.
This is directly from the Heart Foundation recommendations released in 2019:
The Heart Foundation does not set a limit on the number of eggs you should eat a week. However, some people are more sensitive to eating dietary cholesterol than others.
What about bodybuilders drinking eggs raw?
Firstly, from the Australian Dietary Guidelines; pregnant women should avoid eating foods containing raw eggs, because of the risk of salmonella.
The other consideration is bioavailability. How much of the nutrients will be digested and available for the body to actually use.
The digestibility of raw eggs is only about 50%, which is not great. We only digest half the nutrition of raw eggs and the rest passes through.
The digestibility of cooked eggs though is up over 90%, so those bodybuilders drinking raw eggs were not getting the most bang for their buck.
2 large eggs contain roughly 14 grams of protein but only absorbing about 7 grams of that and increasing the risk of salmonella doesn’t sound like a great motivation to down a glass of raw eggs. (4)
What about just eating the egg white?
Most (but not all) of the protein in eggs is in the white.
All of the fat is in the yolk.
If we only eat the whites, then we can reduce our fat intake, get all the bodybuilding benefits of the whites and stay lean whilst we gain muscle….right?
Interestingly, the muscle building potential of protein sources isn’t always simple. You might hear about a food matrix, which is basically just referring to the idea that whole foods or food combinations may be more potent that isolated parts of foods.
With eggs, we can break the food matrix and isolate the egg whites easily. What if though, there is something about the whole egg that our body just prefers?
There may be something about the nutrients in the yolk that actually helps us use the protein from the egg more effectively.
A small study of 10 young men tested the muscle building response of whole eggs versus egg whites.
After a short weight session, the men consumed either 3 whole scrambled eggs or the equivalent amount of scrambled egg whites. The meals were equivalent in protein, 18 grams but the whole eggs meal obviously had more fat and more Calories.
The study found a greater muscle building potential from the whole eggs.
Now it’s not as if egg whites completely switched off muscle building, but potentially the vitamins and minerals in the egg yolks enhance the potential. (5)
Summary:
If you enjoy eggs, continue doing so in the context of a varied approach to nutrition.
They are a great, affordable and versatile source of protein and are best absorbed cooked.
Whilst the egg yolks do contain the fat and have more Calories, one study has indicated that eating whole eggs may be beneficial for muscle.
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