Egg yolk is a nutritious food source primarily designed for the unborn baby chick
Free-range hens. In the U.S., the term "Free-range" allows hens to walk around inside barns and simply have access to the outside, but not necessarily to any grass, or even any decent space, when and if they go outside. i.e. there may be a door at the end of the shed, but why would a chicken leave its food source inside the shed? The eggs of non-pastured chickens have high omega-6 and low omega-3 content (although omega-3 enriched eggs can be obtained by feeding hens flaxseed), and yellow ingredients (e.g. marigold flowers) added to chickens' diets can make their egg yolks a richer color.
Cage-Free hens. Allows chickens to walk around inside manure-laden barns.
Vegetarian-fed hens. Some producers tout eggs from vegetarian-fed hens - this is to let you know that the hens have not been fed animal by-products. Just for the record, chickens are not vegetarians!
Pasture-raised hens. Hens actually go outside and eat their natural diet of grass, bugs, grasshoppers, worms, etc. from which they obtain their omega-3 and protein to pass through to the eggs. Laying hens typically obtain up to 30% of their diet by ranging, the rest is supplied by the farmer / producer as grain.
| Attributes of Eggs from Pastured Hens |
|---|
|
High Omega-3 (gives a naturally bright orange yolk) Quality lecithin Not watery |
USDA Certified Organic. Fed vegetarian, organic feed (i.e. not GM food, free of antibiotics and pesticides). Ethically, the "USDA Certified Organic" label also means that the laying birds have a life outdoors on pasture. However, the watch-dog organization, the Cornucopia Institute, has released a report exposing the distorted definition of "organic" by primarily the larger organic farms, who are taking financial advantage of the trend towards buyers purchasing organic products, whilst their laying chickens are still confined inside by the hundreds of thousands and not actually going outside. To see this report and their scorecard identifying the good and bad egg producers in the U.S.:
The Cornucopia Institute's report
Preferably from "Pasture-raised" hens fed organic grain
Generally - the less cooked the better
Raw, lightly boiled or poached, and over-easy eggs protect their cholesterol content - more than scrambled or in an omelet. An egg's cholesterol is more prone to oxidation when an egg is chopped up or cooked due to the greater exposure to light, heat and air. Oxidized cholesterol is an artery-irritant - a forerunner to heart disease. Avoid liquid eggs, powdered eggs, or egg substitutes, for the same reason.
Cooking damages valuable, vision enhancing, bioflavanoid nutrients. E,g, lutein and zeaxanthin present in egg yolks.
The yolk contains the highest concentration of biotin. A B vitamin necessary for healthy skin, hair and nerves, and essential for digestion of fat and protein.
The egg white and yolk were meant to stay together. Avidin in raw (uncooked) egg whites binds biotin in the body, but the yolk compensates for this by having an abundant amount of biotin. However, if you consume just raw egg whites without the yolk, you are setting yourself up for a biotin deficiency.
Lecithin is a mixture of fats essential for human cells. High amounts found in egg yolks and soybeans
MAIN dietary source of choline. Lecithin is converted to acetylcholine - essential for nerve transmission.
Lecithin in the egg yolk helps the body process fats, and in particular, interferes with the absorption of egg cholesterol, markedly lowering its uptake by the intestine. Sung I. Koo et al, 2001
There is no difference nutritionally or in flavor. Hens with white feathers lay white eggs; hens with reddish brown feathers lay reddish-brown eggs.
A protective layer coats eggs referred to as the "bloom" (more technically the cuticle). This seals the pores to reduce moisture loss and prevent bacterial development. This protection is lost when the egg is washed. In the U.S. eggs that are washed must be kept refrigerated. Unwashed eggs from small farming operations do not have USDA-grading certification, but can be kept unrefrigerated for some time without detriment. In fact, most countries, including the UK and EU, do not wash their eggs.
Cold eggs placed at room temperature begin to sweat. This facilitates bacterial growth and its movement through shell to the inside egg. Eggs should not be left outside of the fridge for more than 2 hours.
Washed or not, eggs keep longer when refrigerated.
The USDA requires that commercial USDA-graded American eggs are washed and sanitized before they reach the consumer. "the USDA requires producers to wash eggs with warm water {...} then dried to remove excess moisture. The last step is crucial because bacteria cannot penetrate a thoroughly dry shell." - Nadia Arumigam, Forbes
Sanitization must used USDA approved chemicals. E.g Diluted chlorine water.
Note: Europe does not require eggs be refrigerated, but they must also not be washed, which removes the protective cuticle on the surface of the shell. Additionally, however, the European hens are treated against salmonella. Interestingly, the Europen approach is more effective against salmonella than the American tactics.
Eggs should be kept outside the fridge for at least an hour prior to checking them (BTW - most of the world actually stores their eggs outside of a fridge):
(1) Don't eat an egg if its shell is cracked
(2) Egg shouldn't smell
(3) An egg rolled across a flat surface should roll "wobbly"
(4) Eggs should have a gel-like (not watery) white, and a firm, round yolk that doesn't easily burst;
(5) Fresher eggs will rest on the bottom of a bowl of water - whereas old eggs will float.
It is estimated that 1 in 20,000 eggs produced in the U.S.are infected with salmonella enteritidis. At the typical consumption rate of 250 per person per year, you would run into one every 80 years!
There is no better way to "build you up" than consuming eggs raw - Some people chug them straight down from a glass, others add them to shakes. The yolk has a taste similar to vanilla.
Powerful daily tool to resurrect a "broken body", or just maintain a strong, healthy body:
Consume up to 3 or 4 raw eggs per day
(1) From pastured hens fed organic feed
Or (2) Pasteurized eggs. To alleviate the contaminant danger of eating raw eggs (E.g. Salmonella), eggs can be pasteurized in the shell by a patented process --- Heating them in warm water at tightly controlled temperatures for about an hour. Pasteurized eggs taste and cook the same as a quality farm-fresh egg. Sold in parts of the U.S. under the brand name Davidson's® Eggs.
Shake Recipe: Blend 2 raw eggs, 1 C fruit juice, ½ banana, ½ tsp. ascorbic acid powder(Before cracking the eggs, wash the shells with soapy water or spray with 3% hydrogen peroxide, then rinse and dry).
Are there eggs in there? You won't see or taste them!
