Egg whites Nutrition: high protein, poor in others

Nutritional value of egg whites and whole eggs

Egg whites are the clear, thick liquid that surrounds the bright yellow yellow of an egg.

In a fertilized egg, they act as a protective layer to protect a growing chicken from harmful bacteria. They also provide nutrients for growth.

Egg whites contain about 90% water and 10% protein.

So, if you remove the yolk and you choose only the egg white, the nutritional value of your egg changes dramatically.

The graph below shows the nutritional differences between the egg white of a large egg and that of a large whole egg (1):

As you can see, an egg white contains fewer calories and micronutrients, as well as less protein and fat, than a whole egg.

RESUME A white egg contains fewer calories than an entire egg. It is also low in protein, cholesterol, fat, vitamins and minerals.

Egg whites are high in protein but low in calories. In fact, they contain about 67% of all the proteins contained in eggs (1).

This protein is high quality and complete, that is, it contains the nine essential amino acids in the amounts that your body needs to function at its best (2).

Because of their high protein content, the consumption of egg whites can have beneficial effects on health. Protein can help reduce your appetite, so eating egg whites can make you feel full longer (3, 4).

Getting enough protein is also important for maintaining and building muscle – especially if you are trying to lose weight (5, 6).

Since whole eggs only provide you with slightly more protein for some extra calories, egg whites can be an attractive choice for people looking to lose weight.

RESUME The egg whites of a large egg provide 4 grams of protein and only 17 calories. This can make it a good food choice for people trying to lose weight.

In the past, eggs were a controversial food choice because of their high levels of saturated fat and cholesterol (7).

However, all the cholesterol and fat of the eggs are in the egg yolk. Egg whites, on the other hand, are almost pure proteins and contain neither fat nor cholesterol.

For years, this meant that eating egg whites was considered healthier than eating whole eggs (8).

But studies have now shown that for most people, cholesterol levels in eggs are not a problem (9, 10).

Nevertheless, for a small number of people – called "hyper-responders" – the consumption of cholesterol will slightly increase blood levels (11).

Hyper-responders have genes that predispose them to high cholesterol, such as the ApoE4 gene. For those people or people with high cholesterol levels, egg whites may be a better choice (12, 13, 14).

In addition, since egg whites contain almost no fat, their calorie intake is much lower than that of whole eggs.

This can make it a good choice for people trying to limit their calorie intake and lose weight.

RESUME Egg whites are low in cholesterol and fat. This makes it a good choice for people who need to limit their cholesterol intake, as well as for those looking to lose weight.

Potential Riques

Egg whites are usually a safe food choice. However, they carry risks.

The allergies

Although egg whites are safe for most people, egg allergies can occur.

Most egg allergies occur in children, who often overtake them when they reach the age of five (15).

An allergy to eggs is caused by your immune system mistakenly identifying some of the proteins in eggs as harmful (16).

Mild symptoms can include rashes, hives, swelling, runny nose and itchy, crying eyes. People can also suffer from digestive disorders, nausea and vomiting.

Although this is rare, eggs can cause a serious allergic reaction called anaphylactic shock.

This causes a number of symptoms, including a drop in blood pressure and significant swelling of the throat and face, which can be fatal if they are combined (17).

Salmonella food poisoning

Raw egg whites also present a risk of food poisoning due to the bacteria Salmonella.

Salmonella may be present in the egg or on the eggshell, although modern agriculture and cleanliness practices can minimize this risk.

In addition, cooking the egg whites until they are solid greatly reduces the risk of this problem (18).

Reduced biotin absorption

Raw egg whites can also reduce the absorption of biotin, a water soluble vitamin, found in a wide variety of foods.

Biotin plays an important role in the production of energy (19).

Raw egg whites contain avidin protein, which can bind to biotin and prevent its uptake.

In theory, this could be a problem. However, you will have to eat large amounts of raw egg whites to cause a deficiency of biotin.

In addition, once the eggs are cooked, the avidin does not have the same effect.

RESUME The consumption of raw egg whites presents some risks, including allergic reactions, food poisoning and biotin deficiency. However, the risk for most people is low.