Scrambled, poached, or sunny side up; no matter how you enjoy them, eggs are a protein packed, nutritious and delicious addition to your diet
Easter is here and Spring is in the air, so lets talk about the star of the season, Eggs! Chocolate eggs, candied eggs, dyed easter eggs, the possibilities are endless. Easter or not, eggs are a common staple food in many cultures and whether you are eating them on their own, mixed into a salad, or baked into bread, they get into our diets one way or another.
Eggs come in a wide variety of shapes and colours; some brown, some white and some chickens even lay blue eggs. The colour of the egg shell is determined by the genetics of the breed of the hen that lays the egg, but the inside of the egg, particularly the yolk, is a different story.
You may have cracked an egg open and wondered, why is this yolk a different colour than the previous egg? Some yolks are pale yellow, some look more orange while others are so dark they almost appear red. Does that too just depend on the chicken that laid them or is there more to it? Does the colour effect the taste or the nutrient content?
Generally, the colour of an egg yolk is most affected by what food a hen eats and can give a hint to the nutrient content, however, this is not always the case. What few may know is that the colour, particularly in non-organic eggs, is often artificially manipulated by synthetic colouring that farmers will feed the chicken. Farmers can choose between 15 different colouring for the yolks between pale yellow and dark orange. So, for those synthetically dyed eggs, the colour of the egg yolk, provides no insight into the nutritional value in the egg.
So how can you decide which type of egg is the best in terms of nutritional value if the colour of the yolk no longer provides clear insight? Well, the nutrition in an egg is determined by how they are raised and what they are fed. Unfortunately, choosing the right type of egg can be a daunting task when you don’t know what to look for. There at least 10 different options on the market to choose from; cage-free, free-range, pasture-raised, and grade A, omega-3 and many more. From a branding perspective, all of these names give the appearance that you are purchasing a high-quality egg from a chicken raised in a good environment, but is this truly the case?
Let’s start with cage-free; what does that actually mean? Well, it means that they’re not in a cage, they are cage free. Sounds good right? Unfortunately, cage-free does not actually mean that the chickens can go outside, in reality, there are no requirements for going outdoors. The term is simply a government defined label that requires farmers to provide only 1.2 square feet per bird. While this does sound better than a life trapped inside a cage, some argue that without cages, hens have an increase risk to cannibalization from other chickens, predators and disease pressure.
So if cage-free doesn’t guarantee outdoor space for the hens, what about free-range? Like cage-free, free-range is another standardized term that requires each bird have 2 square feet of outdoor access. While this sounds better than cage-free as these birds are required to have access to outdoor space, there are no requirements for the quality of the outdoor access nor how much time the chickens spend outside. Again, like cage-free, the reality of free-range is far different than what is marketed to us.
Pasture-raised, unlike, cage-free or free-range, is the only classification that is not regulated by the government. This means that there is no regulation and producers can use their own definition of pasture-raised eggs. While this can mean that the producers understanding of “pasture-raised” may not match with your perception, there are many producers that strive to provide hens with year-round outdoor space and access to natural grass and insects to feed on. Compared to cage-free or free-range, pasture-raised hens can have the highest quality of life and access to their natural, species-specific diet but like, with anything, it is important to research where your food is coming from to ensure the producers are meeting certain standards.
One lesser known brand of egg you can find in some grocery stores is vegetarian fed eggs. While this may sound appealing to vegetarians or those looking to eat fewer animal bi-products, this again is simply a marketing ploy and not one that is necessarily beneficial. Chickens are naturally omnivores, their natural diets should consist of grasses, worms and bugs. Vegetarian fed means that the chickens are only fed them grains such as soy, and corn. This means that not only are they fed a heavily GMO diet, they are deprived of their natural diets (not to mention that vegetarian fed eggs are typically sold for a higher price than other options).
Last but not least in our discussion we have Grade A and Grade AA eggs. These classifications do not have any reference to how the chickens are raised or housed, it simply just means the shape of the egg is really nice and the shell has no cracks in it with Grade AA having slightly higher standards to meet. In Reality, it’s really just a marketing thing.
So with all these options, how do you go about ensuring that the eggs you eat are the best option available to you? My personal opinion would be to purchase organic, pasture-raised eggs from a producer that guarantees high standards of living for the chickens with quality outdoor access year-round. This guarantees that the chickens are raised outside, where they have access to their natural diet; bugs, worms, insects and fodder (processed organic barley). Pasture-raised eggs have nutritional differences as well. Compared to cage-free or free-range, they have more vitamin A, omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin E. This is most likely due to the varied diet and cleaner, less stressful lifestyle with access to fresh air and sunlight.
We’ve found the best option of egg to eat but that begs the question, why eat eggs anyway? There are many benefits to eating eggs. Eggs are very high in protein, and have a superior anabolic effect than other many other protein options. It has the ability to build protein tissue in the body and a high percentage of it is converted into body proteins like your muscles and joints. If we exclude breast milk production, the protein in eggs has a 48% conversion rate to body tissue, this is incredibly high compared to meat and fish which is only 32%. Soy protein and egg whites only 17%, and whey protein is only 16%. This high conversion rate is ideal as the rest of the protein will be converted to glucose and used as fuel.
Now lets talk about the insulin index for a minute, this is the scale of a non-carbohydrate food, influencing insulin. Whole eggs have a much lower insulin effect than egg whites and when you remove the fat from the protein and try to make it more of a pure protein like whey, the more it will cause an insulin spike. This is not good if you are trying to lose body fat.
Another benefit of eggs is choline, which is very good for your brain. Choline acts as a bio salt in your liver and helps break down cholesterol, making it an excellent antidote for gallstones and fatty liver. Eggs also have lecithin, which is another antidote for keeping your cholesterol in check. Eggs have a lot of K2 which keeps the calcium out of your arteries and your joints. Eggs have vitamin D which works together with K2 and vitamin E which is good for your heart and vitamin A, the type that is extremely boilable, called retinol. Eggs also have omega3, especially if the chickens are raised outside. Eggs are also loaded with B vitamins, B1,2,3,6 and 12. They have trace minerals and carotenoids, which is nutrient dense pigment that give the yolk its colour and also has a lot of other health benefits.
The health benefits of eggs are seemingly endless and if you choose the right type of egg, these benefits are multiplied. So feel at ease knowing that whether you enjoy them scrambled, over-easy, poached or added to a recipe; you are enjoying on of natures best, healthiest and protein packed superfoods!
Sources:
https://ask.usda.gov/s/article/What-are-the-egg-grades
https://www.foodnetwork.com/healthyeats/healthy-tips/2019/08/pasture-raised-eggs
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/proven-health-benefits-of-eggs#TOC_TITLE_HDR_5