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Egg Whites Vs. Whole Eggs
By Joe Fier | November 26, 2007
We have all seen the advertisements and have heard the popular diets calling to eat egg whites over whole eggs, but many of us have never heard why this is so important. For years, my family, along with many others around America, have cooked weekend breakfasts like our generations have before: a bunch of full eggs with bacon, sausage, and toast. This is what has been served at Denny’s for years and has tasted great. Little did we know, or really wanted to know, but we were sucking down countless amounts of calories and cholesterol in meals that gave no benefit to our bodies.
I have always thought that the color of eggs were yellow. That might sound like an ignorant statement, saying that there is a yolk and whites within the shell, but I grew up on scrambled eggs. When eating this type of meal after working out, I thought I was receiving the large amounts of proteins that I needed to keep my body growing. Finally after learning about eggs and doing some research, I found out that egg whites actually make up for two-thirds of the egg’s weight, which consists of proteins, vitamins, trace minerals, fatty material, and glucose. Looking back at the familiar yellow, all that the yolk contains are massive amounts of cholesterol, fat, and about half the protein as in the rest of the egg. As the yolk’s protein level is definitely enticing, it is not worth the large levels of cholesterol and saturated fats.
Let’s quickly break it all down:
Egg Yolks:
- Calories: 55 cals
- Fat: 4.5 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.6g
- Cholesterol: 210 mg
- Protein: 2.7g
Egg Whites:
- Calories: 17 cals
- Fat: 0.1 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.0 g
- Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
- Protein: 5 g
It’s very difficult for me to want to make anything with egg yolk after knowing the benefits and tasting the much more pure flavor of egg whites. These comparisons clearly show why egg whites are preferred during dieting and building muscle. As many times eggs are excluded from low-calorie recipes, egg whites are not.
Since companies have now realized the benefits of egg whites, and have also noticed that there are not always the easiest to separate from the yolk in the egg, they have created alternative products. Many natural food stores now carry small cartons of liquid and powder egg whites. These normally have a higher amount of protein and other very similar nutritional values compared to natural egg whites. There are an endless amount of uses for egg whites in cooking: breakfasts, sweet treats, low-calorie lunches, and dinner entrees. Once you try the pure taste of egg whites, after knowing their great nutritional value, you’ll never want to go back to your old-style, yolky egg recipes.
Topics: Food Health | 13 Comments »
April 27th, 2008 at 9:25 am
it was an exceptional..detail given..and very much rtue indeed…i too was in the habit of consuming these yolks..before in my childhood days but..now coz of my good frnds i came to know that it isnt true..its actually the white part which does the trick
anyways thanks to the xtra knowledge tat i hav gained..
March 1st, 2009 at 1:49 am
Very detail article, especially about calories etc… but I usually eat whole egg, not just white one, for fitness.
Anyway, great article.. Good job
April 8th, 2009 at 1:48 am
hi, you have made a reasonable argument, but i believe that this article is one sided. Just knowing the fat, cholesterol, and protein nutritional values cannot really tell us much. what about the sodium intake, or the vitamin D, and calcium? And for my last thought, it is known that egg yolks have Omega-3 which is very good for the body. please look at other articles such as http://www.fitsugar.com/364527 and http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1372360/egg_yolk_vs_egg_white_which_is_really.html?cat=5
April 26th, 2009 at 7:53 am
Although I am an egg-white lover myself, I’m afraid your facts are incomplete.
Egg yolks contain valuable protein, vitamins and minerals although yes, they do contain fat and cholesterol as well. In fact, 100% of the Vitamins A, D, E and K in an egg are in the egg yolk and not the white. Check out the comparison at this site:
http://www.cholesterol-and-health.com/Egg_Yolk.html
So the egg yolk and white are complementary and if cholesterol is not an issue for you, I would think it is better to eat the whole egg. Of course, all good things in moderation…
April 30th, 2009 at 1:21 am
I have high cholestrol problem, taking capsules alternative day. Shall I eat one egg white every day ?
Please reply.
pramod, dubai
April 30th, 2009 at 1:22 am
i have high cholestrol problem and taking medicne for the same. shall i have egg white (1 egg white) every day ?
May 21st, 2009 at 3:59 pm
Let me quess Jenny Craig sells egg white powder?
May 21st, 2009 at 4:03 pm
[...] Balnced View in the thread tells the scientific I pretty much just bash the retard that posted it, Egg Whites Vs. Whole Eggs | Be Healthy and Relax __________________ "You can’t be the fastest or the strongest but you can always work the [...]
May 21st, 2009 at 5:31 pm
Someone here that wrote this article need to get their facts straight. All essential vitamins, nutrients and omega-3 fat is in the yolk, silly
June 7th, 2009 at 9:01 pm
Years ago a study was published showing that whole eggs raised cholesterol. This was before they knew about HDL and LDL, the GOOD and BAD cholesterol. Now it turns out they were right, whole eggs did indeed raise cholesterol in those studies…. the GOOD cholesterol, which of course is a good thing.
May 14th, 2010 at 5:49 am
This is great post with lot of info. Thank’s from healthy dieting team.
July 2nd, 2010 at 7:28 pm
Egg yolks are gross.
July 12th, 2010 at 6:51 am
The most nutritious part of the egg is the yolk. Even healthier is the whole egg, which evolved to work as a nutrient-rich whole. People who eat egg whites for health or weight loss are ill informed lemmings following an ignorant crowd.
The whole egg is just about the healthiest thing you can eat. Throwing half of it away is foolish, especially since the yolk holds most of the nutrients. The whole egg also tastes better and is less expensive.