Drinking Raw Eggs - Safe or Stupid?
From Rocky to footage and stories of olds chool bodybuilders in the Golden Era, drinking raw eggs is often portrayed to be an essential part of building muscle and getting jacked.
But should YOU actually drink raw eggs? Is it safe? Do you actually get any nutrients? Here's exactly what you need to know.
Protein - Raw Vs. Cooked
If you opt to consume your eggs raw you'll only be getting around half of the potential protein you'd otherwise be deriving from your eggs if you cooked them.
The availability of protein in a raw egg is 50% (roughly 3 grams of protein) while you'll be able to absorb and digest 91% of the available protein (6 grams) if your eggs are cooked.
This doesn't sound like that big of a deal if you're only having one egg, but if you start your day with half a dozen eggs like I do this can be the difference between getting 36 grams of protein if your eggs are cooked or 18 grams of protein if you drink your eggs raw.
Also, incase you haven't seen it below is the original clip of Rocky (Stallone) drinking raw eggs from 1976.
Vitamins - Raw Vs. Cooked
Although you'll be getting more protein if you cook your eggs you'll actually be losing out on a portion of the vitamins & minerals found in eggs...
You'll find the levels of Vitamin B6, Vitamin E and Choline (great for brain function) significantly higher in your raw eggs.
Now, if you're taking a multivitamin or supplementing specifically with this vitamins that isn't much of an issue at all, if you're eating your eggs specifically for the vitamin content them perhaps this could be a legitimate reason to go raw.
Getting Sick From Raw Eggs... A Legitimate Concern?
Over the last 20 years the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have reported that eggs have been responsible for just over 50 percent of the Salmonella cases that've been reported.
As such the CDC recommends only consuming eggs after they've been cooked as this eliminates the risk of contracting Salmonella.
If you insist on going for raw eggs like Rocky go for pasteurized eggs (these have been heat-treated in order to eliminate any bad bacteria) as a caveat however the pasteurizing process heats the egg and as such will likely decrease the availability of vitamins in the egg as discussed above.
My Recommendations In Short...
- The #1 reason for gym-goers to consume eggs is for protein, raw eggs only contain half the available protein
- Take a multivitamin and dont fret over the vitamins being lost by cooking your eggs
- Cook your eggs, buying eggs that've been pasteurized to drink raw defeats the purpose as the benefits of raw eggs have been eliminated due to the heating process
