The Egg Nothing Omelete

Many people fearing the fat and cholesterol in egg yolks eat egg white omelette's instead of regular omelette's.

This fear of course is unwarranted as there is not a shred of scientific evidence to suggest that the amount of cholesterol you eat will raise your cholesterol level nor is there any to suggest that your cholesterol level, no matter what it is, matters a jot. There are many well respected scientists and doctors who are struggling to get the correct information into the mainstream.

OK - back to the egg.

An egg is a nearly perfect food. A single egg has most of the vitamins and minerals needed for optimal health. (Remember, the more cholesterol you eat, the less your body needs to make.)

The egg has two parts - the white and the yolk. An interesting comparison is revealed when you look at the nutrient content of the white vs. the yolk. Do take a peek at this and return to this blog.

The only nutrient found in the white in superior quantities than the yolk is potassium - and there is a fair amount in the yolk too. There is also far more sodium in the white. In fact, as you can see from the list, the white has, comparatively speaking, almost no nutritional value whatsoever.

So next time you have an omelet, go for the whole egg version. Otherwise you are essentially eating a 'Nothing Omelet.'

 

Comments

[Anne]

Thanks for the information Anna !

I've heard of the biotin thing but I wonder how animals manage because they never cook their eggs...at least not in the wild, and eggs are very sought after by animals aren't they.

I eat 3 eggs raw in a smoothie twice a week after I have done my Slow Burn exercise and I find them so good. Other times I have eggs it's normally in an omelette.

all the best,
Anne

[Anna]

Anne,

My two cents, for what it's worth: my understanding is that raw yolks are fine, in fact preferable to cooked yolks, but raw whites can bind with the biotin, preventing absorption. My guess is that isn't an issue if raw white is consumed occasionally, but might be more of an issue with regular consumption, such as daily or in large amounts.

One reason I say this is the raw cat food recipe I use (www dot catnutrition dot org) calls for raw yolks mixed with the ground poultry (meat & bones, plus heart), but the egg whites, if included, need to be cooked because of the biotin issue. Of course, cats are obligate carnivores and have very specific nutritional needs with have far less variety of food sources in their diets than humans, so biotin availability is probably more critical for them than for us.

Normally, egg whites are not added to this recipe, btw, but my older cat has some renal damage and the whites are beneficial to him (in fact, this recipe has normalized his kidney lab values, after previous lab tests indicated Chronic Renal Failure when he was eating commercial cat food - this was before the infamous cat food contamination and recalls, btw).

Yolks in industrially processed eggs are probably quite damaged by oxidation, so they should be avoided (boxed mix foods, egg noodles, "carton" egg products. Note that these types of eggs are used a lot in the food manufacturing and baking industries as well as restaurant and hospitality industries, not to mention institutional kitchens like nursing homes, prisons, and schools (such as scrambled egg mixtures from a carton or powdered eggs). Yuck. I've gotten pickier about where I eat eggs.

I don't think there's much worry about beating egg yolks at home, then consuming them fairly promptly. It's not like the eggs you prepare at home sit around on a shelf for months. Heat will denature the protein in yolk, so the gentler the heat, the better if you are cooking them.

Our family consumes raw eggs occasionally in the following ways:

I make smoothies with raw whole eggs, mostly for myself and my 10 yo son. Sometimes I add an addition yolk or two if I really want to enrich it or make it more like egg nog.

I also make a small batch (1 cup) of mayonnaise nearly every week with 1 or 2 whole raw eggs and vinegar or lemon juice (which should help to prevent oxidation).

I also make ice cream now and then with whole raw eggs, rather than a cooked ice cream base (I'm too impatient to wait for the cooked base to cool down).

Also my husband and I have 2-3 eggs nearly every morning for breakfast: cracked open and gently cooked over low heat in ample hot butter (with a lid) until the whites are just set and the yolks are warm, but still soft and runny (if I lose track and the eggs firm up, I eat them anyway). My son eats them prepared this way, too, but he doesn't want eggs every day.

I preheat the pan on Medium, then turn to Low when I place the lid on. I do not use heat high enough to make the egg white edges brown and crispy as in "diner-fried eggs".

[Anne]

What is your view on raw eggs Fred ? I really do like to make a smoothie of raw eggs (from free range organically fed hens) and berries, but am confused by conflicting advice about the nutrition of raw eggs, and about beating them, something about damaging the proteins. I find raw eggs very digestible.

Anne

[Anna]

Don't forget all the flavor is in the yolk! I sometimes separate the whites to wave for something and add the extra yolk or two, to maximize the flavor and the nutrients.

Also, eggs, even premium pastured eggs (not merely "free-range" or "cage-free" - unregulated terms, BTW, but actually out in pasture eating greens, bugs, grubs, and any small creepy crawlies they can catch in their naturally omnivorous ways) are a nutritional bargain when one considered cost per serving with other high quality proteins.

And egg recipes are often very easy and fast to prepare and can take on a multitude of flavors, from plain and eggy to sweet to savory. Let's hear it for the incredible egg! Humans have been eating eggs for a very, very long time, long before beans.