What's the deal with raw eggs?
Researched and composed by Vic Goyaram
Exclusive for Bodybuilding Mauritius & South Africa
Summary:
- Cooking neither destroys nor reduces the protein in an egg, unless you forget the egg on the stove and burn it. Raw eggs do not contain any extra growth factor or some mysterious anabolic compound that cooking inactivates.
- Cooking destroys Avidin and Salmonella two of the bad guys in raw eggs.
- If you like to drink liquid egg, buy pasteurised liquid eggs.
- Adding 2-3 raw eggs to your shakes is quite unlikely to give you Biotin deficiency or Salmonella poisoning, unless the egg is heavily infected.
Fig. 1: Stallone in Rocky made drinking raw eggs popular |
Is drinking raw eggs hardcore?
It is good to have a
hardcore approach. But I believe that having a hardcore approach does not mean
you must not enjoy the things you eat. It does not mean that you must select a
chalk-flavoured whey protein if you have the option of a vanilla flavour. It
does not mean that you must add tuna to a protein shake when you can in fact
eat the tuna first and then wash it down with a protein shake. A hardcore
approach must rather be reflected, for instance, in the gym by the squat rack
and how you deal with challenging life situations. Likewise for eggs, there are
alternative ways that you can enjoy them rather than drinking them raw. If
there were real nutritional benefits of consuming raw eggs (v/s cooked) the latter
practice would have been understandable but as we will see in this article,
there isn't any real benefit of consuming raw eggs. Rather, there are more
potential drawbacks than any real benefit.
One of the right definitions of hardcore |
I agree that drinking raw
eggs is more convenient to get your egg protein because it takes less space in
your stomach. It is easier to gulp down 6 whole eggs than to cook and eat them
as cooking the egg increases the volume. Some people really struggle with
appetite and drinking the eggs may be a convenient option for them to obtain
their egg protein. However, there may be considerations before cracking up eggs
and drinking them like Salmonella and inhibitor of the vitamin Biotin (Avidin),
both of which will be discussed in the coming sections. If you struggle to eat
cooked eggs and would prefer raw eggs without its potential dangers then
pasteurised liquid eggs (whole or whites only) is a convenient solution. I am
not sure whether it is sold in Mauritius but where I am in South Africa these
are sold. The only major downside is the cost, however.
Fig. 2: Pasteurised eggs have undergone pasteurisation which is a process that kills bacteria in the eggs, thus reducing the possibility of infections if consumed raw |
Cooking denatures but does not destroy the egg protein
A very common reason which
is given to justify the consumption of raw eggs is that cooking denatures the
egg protein. Yes, this is true. Cooking does denature the albumen protein which
makes up the egg protein. But the important question is: does denaturation
affect the protein nutrition of the egg? The answer is NO.
Fig. 3: The process of protein denaturation by heating. |
Cooking in fact improves
the digestibility of egg protein because the changes in the protein molecule
induced by heating enable digestive enzymes to gain better access to the
peptide bonds that hold the amino acids together. Conversely, raw eggs have
been found to be less digestible because of the presence of trypsin (digestive
enzyme) inhibitors in the eggs. In one study, it was shown that after ingestion
of 25 g of raw egg protein, almost 50% is malabsorbed over 24 h.
Biotin is an important
vitamin of the B-group. It is sometimes called Vitamin B7 or Vitamin H. It
serves several functions like cell growth, fatty acid synthesis, fat and amino
acid metabolism and the maintenance of blood sugar levels. Biotin is also such
as meats, saltwater fish, cooked egg yolks, milk, poultry, legumes, whole
grains and brewer’s yeast. The issue with eggs and biotin that is often raised
is that consuming raw egg whites may set the stage to biotin deficiency. This
is because the egg white contains a protein called Avidin. This protein, in its
active form in raw eggs, binds to biotin and thus makes it unabsorbable by the
body. Cooking deactivates the Avidin. If you decide to consume raw eggs make
sure you consume the whole egg because the yolk contains a lot of biotin.
Consuming pasteurised egg whites is not a problem as pasteurisation neutralises
the Avidin protein. The bodybuilding diet is quite varied and includes good
sources of biotin as well as multivitamin/ mineral supplements so personally I
don't think biotin deficiency is a problem.
Email me for my rates and available packages ACHIEVE YOUR RESULTS vicgoyaram@gmail.com |
The risk of salmonella
poisoning is a very common reason given against the consumption of raw eggs.
Salmonella (scientific name: Salmonella enterica, serovar Enteritidis) is a
bacterium which can infect chicken and then get into the egg as it is formed.
Most people infected with Salmonella develop diarrhea, fever, vomiting, and
abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours after infection. In most cases, the illness
lasts four to seven days, and most people recover without treatment. In some
people, the diarrhea may be so severe that dehydration happens and
hospitalisation is necessary.
These little beasts are Salmonella bacteria |
Cooking the egg destroys
the salmonella. Pasteurised eggs are also devoid of salmonella. The issue here
is that for the consumer to be infected and subsequently develop symptoms,
there must be what we call and "oral infective dose". This means that
the bacteria must be present in sufficient amounts in order to progress to
infection, otherwise they are easily destroyed by the body's first line of
defence (e.g stomach acids). This means that if you are eating 1-2 whole eggs
you are very unlikely to get infected by salmonella. It all depends on how much
you are consuming and also where you are getting your eggs from as the type of
farming practice also has an impact on salmonella infection of eggs. The
industrialisation of egg production has made it more favourable for the spread
of Salmonella than traditional methods.
The basics of Salmonella infection and treatment |
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Join us for discussions on our facebook group
Free advice & daily bodybuilding talk
Your #1 Bodybuilding destination in Mauritius
Join us for discussions on our facebook group
Free advice & daily bodybuilding talk
Your #1 Bodybuilding destination in Mauritius
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Very informative and well written Vic.
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