Compared to egg whites, the yolk contains most of an egg's good stuff, including the bulk of its iron, folate and vitamins. The yolks also contain two nutrients—lutein and zeaxanthin—that support eye and brain health.
Egg yolks and whites provide the most nutrition when a person consumes them together as part of a whole egg. Most nutrients in an egg are present in the yolk. The results of lab studies suggest that some compounds in egg yolk can help prevent gastrointestinal distress, boost immune function, and reduce blood pressure.
Much of the confusion around eggs has stemmed from the fact that egg yolks contain cholesterol. While egg yolks are high in cholesterol and are a major source of dietary cholesterol, it is saturated fatty acids that have a greater effect on our blood cholesterol levels and, therefore, heart disease risk.
The yolk contains the fat and cholesterol content of an egg. If you want to get the nutrition of egg without the less-healthy nutrients, take out the yolk before cooking with eggs. When you take away the yolk, you lose many vitamins like A, D, E, K, as well as DHA. Egg whites have fewer calories and no fat.
People with raised cholesterol often wonder if it's OK to eat eggs, as egg yolk is rich in cholesterol. Generally speaking, it should be fine for most people, as the cholesterol in eggs does not have a significant effect on blood cholesterol. It's much more important to limit the amount of saturated fat you eat.
My Egg Yolks Are Freakishly White : The Salt If you think deep yellow yolks are an indicator of higher nutritional value in eggs, think again, scientists say. Egg yolks come in a rainbow of colors — from pale white to red orange or pink. They may look strange, but they're still good for you.
Despite the risks, most healthy people shouldn't worry too much about eating runny yolks. “While certainly at a greater risk for foodborne illness, runny yolks are typically safe to eat,” noted registered dietician Kylene Bogden, a co-founder of FWDfuel.
Chicken eggs are an affordable source of protein and other nutrients. They're also naturally high in cholesterol. But the cholesterol in eggs doesn't seem to raise cholesterol levels the way some other foods, such as those high in trans fats and saturated fats, do.
“The yolk contains choline, folate, lutein, zeaxanthin and vitamin D, along with almost half the egg's protein content. These ingredients are good for your eyes and brain.” However, the con lies in it's cholesterol content — nearly 213 mg per yolk.
Compared to egg whites, the yolk contains most of an egg's good stuff, including the bulk of its iron, folate and vitamins. The yolks also contain two nutrients—lutein and zeaxanthin—that support eye and brain health.
Additionally, if you're going to eat runny eggs, it's best to buy pasteurized eggs. “This means that before they were packaged, the eggs were slightly heated to the point that kills any dangerous bacteria,” Holtzer said. The pasteurization process, she noted, doesn't cook the egg.
Cooked for five to six minutes, a runny yolk contains up to 50 percent more nutrients than a boiled or cooked yolk. This is the recommended method to cook an egg for the lowest calories with the most nutrients. It's quick and easy, too, and involves minimal dish-washing.
Yolk color is the result of pigments in the chickens' feed. Dark and light yolks have the same nutrition. Ultimately, we get the biggest nutritional bang for our buck by eating the whole egg since all those nutrients work together in our bodies.
The food a hen eats affects the yolk colour of her eggs. Generally speaking, if she eats a wheat-based diet, she lays eggs with pale yellow yolks. Feed that contains corn or alfalfa produces eggs with medium or darker yellow yolks.
What colour egg yolk is healthy? Dark orange, light orange or pale creamy-coloured yolks all contain the same nutritional value. But to really get the best from your egg, you need to think about the white, not just the yolk; the nutritional content is split, so eat it all up.
Experts believe that eggs are best stored at room temperature. Storing eggs in too cold a temperature, i.e. in the refrigerator can make them inedible. Keeping eggs in the fridge cause the growth of bacteria on the shells and this turn and enter the insides of the eggs, in turn making them inedible.
Side effects of eating eggs every day
As per the studies cited above, eating eggs every day may place you at risk of elevated cholesterol and life-threatening illnesses like heart disease, stroke, diabetes and even cancer.
They should discard eggs with any unusual discoloration inside, such as a pink, iridescent, or greenish egg white or yolk. However, eggs that develop a green ring on the hard-cooked yolk after cooking are safe to eat, according to the USDA.
In fact, you should cook the eggs until both the yolk and the white are firm, not runny. This is because eggs can contain salmonella, which is an organism that causes foodborne illness, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service.
Cooking reduces the number of bacteria present in an egg; however, an egg with a runny yolk still poses a greater risk than a completely cooked egg. Undercooked egg whites and yolks have been associated with outbreaks of Salmonella infections.
In eggs, both the yolk and whites can be infected through the porous shell. A person who contracts salmonella will suffer unpleasant flu-like symptoms.