It will always be strange that some of the healthiest of foods on earth have been labeled as deadly. Especially since these foods have only been “deadly” for about 50 years – in reality these foods have actually been healthfully consumed since the beginning of humanity. Examples are the egg yolk, milk cream and the skin on chicken. I jokingly call these, “nature’s whole food booby traps”. Really though, do you think that nature’s design is so flawed as to set booby traps in its most wholesome foods? Perhaps some dietary studies from the 1960s could be what was flawed all along. Remember, the sugar industry funded studies that combined massive amounts dietary refined sugar included with saturated fats. The studies obviously showed detriment health effects and the results were used to demonize the fats alone.
A Complete Food
Think of the egg yolk as the bird’s version of mothers milk. Since there is no chicken milk, the nutrients have to be delivered through the egg yolk. The egg white is largely a protective coating though it does add building blocks, consisting of amino acids and some minerals. Just about all of the vitamins and other micronutrients required to develop the young bird lie in the egg yolk. Think about this, every body part and organ system in the chick has to develop and grow from what is inside the egg. This is the biggest indicator that the egg is a complete food and extremely dense with the nutrients we need to support our entire body.
Benefit Brain Health
Choline, known to promote nerve health and even growth as well as promote mood, memory and intelligence, is found in large quantities within egg yolks. One egg yolk provides almost 100% of the daily value making eggs perhaps the best natural choline source. Additional brain specific nutrients contained are vitamin B6, E, B12, folate, vitamin D and A. Every one of these nutrients are either 100% in the egg yolk only or the vast majority is in the yolk compared with the whites.
Do Egg Yolks Cause Heart Disease?
The same flawed, sugar industry paid study that fueled the lipid hypothesis is the reason many think that consuming cholesterol will kill you. There is a flaw in this thinking – cholesterol consumed does not actually affect blood cholesterol levels. Cholesterol is created in the liver and is required for survival. Even if the cholesterol you ate was absorbed, it still would not be bad for you. Cholesterol is found inside the protective membrane of every cell in your body and is used to heal wounds. Sex hormones such as testosterone are manufactured from cholesterol. It is well beyond time to move past the archaic mindset that cholesterol kills.
Eat Quality Eggs Only
Remember that the stress levels of the hens affect the nutrition content in the eggs. A hen stuck in a cage will have high stress levels and will use up extra nutrients dealing with that stress. A pastured hen does not have to deal with high stress levels (until a hawk is circling) and, additionally, gets to forage bugs and weeds all day. This makes for an extremely nutritious egg compared to a caged hen that only gets corn and soy meal. Also, grain-fed caged hens accumulate high amounts of inflammatory omega 6 fats and little to no beneficial omega 3 fats. Free range hens consume much less omega 6 and much more omega 3 from the insects and greens. I am so happy to have free range hens in my backyard and this has spoiled me. I never eat store bought eggs anymore. My hen’s yolks are golden orange due to the antioxidant carotenoids consumed through the weeds. When you look at even the highest quality store bought eggs, the yolks look almost pale off-white compared to pastured yolks.
Eating Raw Egg Yolks
This is a mental issue for some people but raw egg yolks do bring much more health benefits than cooked. Most people bring up salmonella risks. One study (Ebel et el 2020) showed that just one in 20,000 eggs has traces of salmonella. When you factor in the reality that only about 1 in 100 people that ingest salmonella will get sick, you realize the risk is very low. Also, this study mentioned was on factory farmed eggs, I’d expect that ratio to be even lower in healthier pastured eggs. Now, back to the benefits of raw egg yolks. Though the risks are very low, you still consume raw foods at your own risks!
Another study by the University of Alberta in 2011 showed that two raw egg yolks contains about twice as many antioxidants as a whole apple, which is a whole lot. This same study showed that when cooked, the antioxidant level plummeted closer to half.
Now to the number one reason I consume raw egg yolks which is because the raw egg yolk contains compounds called transfer factors. These are actually compounds which transfer the immunity of the hen into the developing chick. Miraculously, mammals like us can absorb and utilize the hens immune system when we eat the raw egg yolk! This is the quickest and most powerful way to strengthen your immunity. You are essentially downloading the immune antibodies that are effective against any pathogen that the hen came into contact with. If the egg yolk is not a superfood, I do not know what is!
One concern is that you should not eat raw egg whites. These contain an antinutrient called avidin which binds to the B vitamin biotin. If you eat raw egg whites every day, you will become biotin deficient. It is commonly thought that cooking deactivates avidin, and while it does to a degree, it does not completely. This is one more reason to avoid those bland “egg white only” dishes.
Summary
I hope I have provided some insight as to why egg yolks need to be in your diet. They are a complete multivitamin/mineral, a powerful antioxidant and even among the best immune foods. If you do not wish to eat them raw, try cooking them lightly sunny side up and keep the yolk runny. If trying raw seems icky, the best way to hide them is in your blender creations. A raw egg yolk 1,000% upgrades a chocolate banana smoothie!
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