Eggs

Why Do Chickens Lay Different Colored Eggs?

What’s The Difference Between White And Brown Eggs?

A black Ameraucana chicken standing in the grass. — AMERAUCANA CHICKENS -United States

A yellow-gold Buff Orpington chicken standing in the grass. — ORPINGTON CHICKENS – Great Britain

All About the Olive Egger Breed — Olive Egger – cross-breed in the United States

Color

Eggs come in lots of different colors. Though you might think the color of an eggshell says a lot about the egg inside it, it only reveals one simple (and not-so-important) bit of info: the breed of hen that laid it.

Leghorn chickens lay white eggs, while Orpington chickens lay brown eggs, according to Michigan State University. Meanwhile, other chickens produce even more colorful eggs. Ameraucana chickens lay blue eggs, while Olive Eggers produce eggs with an olive green hue.

Easter Eggers can include any colored chicken egg, with descriptions like sky blue, pink (a lighter brown), and any shade of green. Olive Eggers will lay a green egg ranging from a lighter blue-green or spearmint green egg to a rich dark olive.

The phrase “Olive Egger” refers to a chicken that lays green-colored eggs. This can be achieved by combining two breeds of chickens, one that carries a blue egg-laying gene, and another that carries a brown egg-laying gene. Put those two together and then you have beautiful green eggs!

Though all eggs start white, different hens essentially dye the shells with varying pigments before releasing them, hence the spectrum of eggs on store shelves.

Side note:

In some cases, changes in the eggshell color of a particular chicken’s eggs can indicate defects or issues, says North Carolina State University. (If a hen’s usually-white eggs start popping out slightly yellow, for example, she’s stressed AF.) However, while these issues might affect a shell’s shade, they won’t turn a brown egg completely white or vice versa.

Nutritional Value\

Eggs are an incredibly nutritious food. Cooking them also destroys any dangerous bacteria, making them safer to eat.

They contain relatively few calories, but they’re packed with:

- - - - proteins
      - vitamins
      - minerals
      - healthy fats
      - various trace nutrients

That said, the way you prepare your eggs can affect their nutrient profile.

Brown eggs are not necessarily better for you.

“Because brown looks like a more ‘natural’ color and sticks out more, it often gives the impression that brown eggs are healthier,” Taub-Dix says. “But that’s really not true.”

Remember: The color of an egg’s shell has nothing to do with its nutritional quality. “All eggs are generally good sources of vitamins D and B12 and an inexpensive source of high-quality protein,” Taub-Dix says.

Like many other products, brown eggs are simply marketed to us as ‘healthier’

and more natural.

Ultimately, quality comes down to the kind of environment the chicken lives in. Raise two different types of chickens in the same conditions and on the same feed, and though their eggs may look different, they’ll offer similar nutrition.

Cooking Eggs

Choosing pasture-raised or organic eggs or a quicker cooking method may result in more nutritious eggs. When frying eggs, opting for high-heat cooking oil can help reduce harmful free radicals.

Eggs must be refrigerated and should be cooked fully because there’s an increased risk of salmonella with raw eggs. Common ways of cooking eggs include boiling, poaching, scrambling, or frying.

For people who like fried eggs, Carson recommends using a non-tropical vegetable oil such as corn, canola, or olive oil: “Certainly not adding animal fat would be a good thing to do. If you’re going to use fat in your food, use a heart-healthy oil … instead of butter or bacon grease,” she said.

Boiled eggs may be the healthiest choice and how to avoid oxidized cholesterol. The combination of healthy elements like protein and choline in hard-boiled eggs helps to get your brain going, especially just after breakfast. Hard-boiled eggs are also a source of vitamin A, vitamin D, calcium, and iron. Since eggs are a source of saturated fats, they can raise your LDL cholesterol levels.

Different Methods of Cooking

Boiled

Hard-boiled eggs are cooked in their shells in a pot of boiling water for 6–10 minutes, depending on how well-cooked you want the yolk to be.

The longer you cook them, the firmer the yolk will become.

Poached

Poached eggs are cooked in slightly cooler water.

They’re cracked into a pot of simmering water between 160–180°F (71–82°C) and cooked for 2.5–3 minutes.

Fried

Fried eggs are cracked into a hot pan that contains a thin layer of cooking fat.

You can then cook them “sunny side up,” which means the egg is fried on one side, or “over easy,” which means the egg is fried on both sides.

Baked

Baked eggs are cooked in a hot oven in a flat-bottomed dish until the egg is set.

Scrambled

Scrambled eggs are beaten in a bowl, poured into a hot pan, and stirred over low heat until they set.

Omelet

To make an omelet, eggs are beaten, poured into a hot pan, and cooked slowly over low heat until they’re solid.

Unlike scrambled eggs, an omelet isn’t stirred once it’s in the pan.

Microwaved

Microwaves can be used to cook eggs in many different ways. It takes much less time to cook eggs in a microwave than it does on a stove.

However, it’s usually not a good idea to microwave eggs that are still inside their shells. This is because pressure can quickly build up inside them, and they may explode.

High-heat cooking may damage other nutrients

Although cooking eggs makes some nutrients more digestible, they can damage others.

This isn’t unusual. Cooking most foods will result in a reduction of some nutrients, particularly if they’re cooked at high temperatures for a long period.

Studies have examined this phenomenon in eggs.

One study found that cooking eggs reduced their vitamin A content by around 17-20% (6Trusted Source).

Cooking may also significantly reduce the number of antioxidants in eggs (7Trusted Source, 8Trusted Source, 9Trusted Source).

One study found that common cooking methods, including microwaving, boiling, and frying eggs, reduced the number of certain antioxidants by 6–18% (10Trusted Source).

Overall, shorter cooking times (even at high temperatures) have been shown to retain more nutrients.

Research has shown that when eggs are baked for 40 minutes, they may lose up to 61% of their vitamin D, compared to up to 18% when they’re fried or boiled for a shorter period (11Trusted Source).

However, even though cooking eggs reduces these nutrients, eggs are still a very rich source of vitamins and antioxidants (5Trusted Source).

SUMMARY

Cooking eggs can reduce their vitamin and antioxidant content. However, they’re still very high in nutrients.

High-heat cooking oxidizes the cholesterol in eggs

Egg yolks are high in cholesterol.

In fact, one large egg contains about 212 mg of cholesterol, which is 71% of the previously recommended intake of 300 mg per day (12).

There’s now no recommended upper limit on daily cholesterol intake in the United States.

However, when eggs are cooked at high temperatures, the cholesterol in them may become oxidized and produce compounds known as oxysterols (13Trusted Source, 14Trusted Source).

This is a concern for some people, as oxidized cholesterol and oxysterols in the blood have been linked to an increased risk of heart disease (15Trusted Source, 16Trusted Source).

Foods containing oxidized cholesterol and oxysterols are thought to contribute to the blood levels of these compounds (17Trusted Source).

The main dietary sources of oxidized cholesterol may be commercially fried foods, such as fried chicken, fish, and french fries (18Trusted Source).

It’s also worth noting that cholesterol that’s oxidized in the body is thought to be more harmful than the oxidized cholesterol that you eat (15Trusted Source).

Most importantly, studies haven’t shown a link between eating eggs and an increased risk of heart disease in healthy people (19Trusted Source, 20Trusted Source, 21Trusted Source, 22Trusted Source, 23Trusted Source, 24Trusted Source).

SUMMARY

High-heat cooking can oxidize the cholesterol in eggs. However, eating eggs hasn’t been linked with an increased risk of heart disease in healthy people.

5 tips to cook super healthy eggs

Eggs are nutritious, but you can make your eggs even healthier.

Here are five tips to cook super healthy eggs:

1. Choose a low-calorie cooking method

If you’re trying to cut back on calories, choose poached or boiled eggs.

These cooking methods don’t add any extra fat calories, so the meal will be lower in calories than fried or scrambled eggs or an omelet.

2. Combine them with vegetables

Eggs go really well with vegetables.

This means that eating eggs is a great opportunity to boost your vegetable intake and add extra fiber and vitamins to your meal.

Some simple ideas include adding the vegetables of your choice into an omelet or scrambled eggs, like in this recipe.

Or simply cook the eggs whichever way you want and have vegetables on the side.

3. Fry them in an oil that’s stable at high temperatures

The best oils for cooking at high heat, like when pan-frying, are those that remain stable at high temperatures and don’t oxidize easily to form harmful free radicals.

Examples of good choices include avocado oil and sunflower oil. If using extra-virgin olive oil or coconut oil, it’s best to cook at temperatures lower than 410°F (210°C) and 350°F (177°C), respectively.

4. Choose the most nutritious eggs you can afford

Several factors, including the farming method and chicken’s diet, can influence the nutritional quality of eggs (25Trusted Source).

In general, pasture-raised and organic eggs are thought to be nutritionally superior to caged and conventionally produced eggs.

This article goes into detail about the nutritional differences between eggs produced by different methods.

5. Don’t overcook them

The longer and hotter you cook your eggs, the more nutrients you may lose.

Using higher heat for longer may also increase the amount of oxidized cholesterol they contain, which is particularly true of pan-frying.

SUMMARY

To make your eggs as healthy as possible, choose a low-calorie cooking method, combine them with vegetables, fry them in a heat-stable oil, and don’t overcook them.

Health of Body Systems

Heart

For most people, an egg a day does not increase your risk of a heart attack, a stroke, or any other type of cardiovascular disease. “Eating an egg a day as a part of a healthy diet for healthy individuals is a reasonable thing to do.”

Researchers studied nearly half a million Chinese adults over nine years and found up to one egg per day led to a lower risk of heart disease and stroke. Experts have pointed out, however, that participants in that study were not eating a Western diet.

Another study from May, published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition(link opens in new window), found that eating at least 12 eggs a week for three months did not increase cardiovascular risk factors for people with prediabetes and Type 2 diabetes. That result went hand-in-hand with a healthy diet designed to help study participants lose weight. The American Heart Association suggests one egg (or two egg whites) per day for people who eat them, as part of a healthy diet.

In the past, it seemed logical to think eggs would be bad for your heart health. We knew that the cholesterol in eggs came from egg yolks, and we knew that high levels of cholesterol, especially LDL (bad) cholesterol, in the blood, increased the risk of cardiovascular disease. So, it seemed logical that avoiding cholesterol in the diet made sense.

Since then, however, research has shown that most of the cholesterol in our body is made by our liver-it doesn’t come from the cholesterol we eat. The liver is stimulated to make cholesterol primarily by saturated fat and trans fat in our diet, not dietary cholesterol. But a large egg contains little saturated fat-about 1.5 grams (g).

Multivitamins

Research has confirmed that eggs also contain many healthy nutrients: lutein and zeaxanthin, which are good for the eyes; choline, which is good for the brain and nerves; and various vitamins (A, B, and D). In fact, just one large egg contains 270 international units (IU) of vitamin A and 41 IU of vitamin D. One large egg also contains about 6 g of protein and 72 calories.

The American Diabetes Association considers eggs an excellent choice for people with diabetes. That’s because one large egg contains only about half a gram of carbohydrates and 7 grams of high-quality protein as well as other important nutrients.

Digestion

Cooking eggs makes them safer to eat, and it also makes some of their nutrients easier to digest.

One example of this is the protein in eggs.

Studies have shown it becomes more digestible when it’s heated (3Trusted Source).

In fact, one study found that the human body could use 91% of the protein in cooked eggs, compared to only 51% in raw eggs (4Trusted Source).

This change in digestibility is thought to occur because heat causes structural changes in the egg proteins.

In raw eggs, the large protein compounds are separate from each other and curled up in complex, twisted structures.

When the proteins are cooked, heat breaks the weak bonds that hold them in shape.

The proteins then form new bonds with other proteins around them. These new bonds in the cooked egg are easier for your body to digest.

You can see these changes occurring as the egg white and yolk change from a thick gel to rubbery and firm.

The protein in raw eggs can also interfere with the availability of the micronutrient biotin.

Eggs are a good source of biotin, which is an important nutrient used in fat and sugar metabolism. It’s also known as vitamin B7, or vitamin H.

In raw eggs, a protein in the egg whites called avidin binds to biotin, making it unavailable for your body to use.

However, when eggs are cooked, the heat causes structural changes to avidin, making it less effective at binding to biotin. This makes biotin easier to absorb (5Trusted Source).

SUMMARY

Bottom Line: Cooking eggs makes the protein in them more digestible. It also helps make the vitamin biotin more available for your body to use.

Taste!

For decades, researchers have identified a chicken’s diet as the biggest influence on the flavor of its eggs. The amount of fat a hen eats, for example, has a notable impact. (Again, it’s the chicken’s environment that really matters!)

An egg’s freshness—and how it’s stored—can also affect how it tastes. According to North Carolina State University, eggs stored near strong-smelling foods (like in the refrigerator) often absorb them.

Side note:

The color of the egg doesn’t change the flavor, either. Just as an eggshell’s color doesn’t affect the nutritional value of its contents, it also doesn’t mess with flavor.

References: