Nationwide, specialty egg producers are seeing an increase in sales. Out of the $3 billion national egg market, designer eggs consist of nearly 5 percent. Studies show that compared to 2002, Eggland’s Best Eggs, the nation’s largest producer of designer eggs, saw a 25 percent increase in sales in 2003. Studies also confirm that a Pennsylvania-based company sold over a billion specialty eggs in the past 18 months.
The increase in sales of the designer eggs has a lot to do with the increasing numbers of consumers on high-protein, and other more health conscious, diets. Studies show that more people are spending the extra dollar on the specialty eggs to maintain good health, rather than opting to buy the regular eggs.
Yahoo! News January 7, 2004
Organic eggs are a phenomenally inexpensive and incredible source of high-quality nutrients that many of us are deficient in, especially high-quality protein and fat. Although they may be a bit pricier than typical commercial eggs, the extra price is well worth it for the benefits they will bring to your health.
The best way to consume eggs is raw, and as many of you know, I am a fond proponent of using raw eggs as a major food in the diet. Ideally, you will want to secure eggs from chickens that are raised cage-free and fed healthy foods with additional sources of omega-3 fat, like the ones talked about in the article above.
The best place to purchase your eggs is from the farmer directly; this way you can be certain of the quality. It is also wise to not refrigerate your eggs. If you visit countries outside the United States you will find that it is actually quite uncommon for eggs to be refrigerated as they lose some of their nutritional value this way. If you cannot find a farmer to sell you eggs directly, then organic eggs from the store would be your next best option.
When I bring up raw eggs, many people wonder about salmonella. If you’re concerned about salmonella, please review my article on raw eggs for information that will relieve your concerns. Even if one acquires a salmonella infection, it is usually not serious, and is typically self-limiting and easily treated with good bacteria.
If you are not used to eating fresh raw eggs, you should start by eating just a tiny bit of it on a daily basis, and then gradually increase the portions.
For example, start by consuming only a few drops of raw egg yolk a day for the first three days. Gradually increase the amount that you consume in three-day increments. Try half a teaspoon for three days, then one teaspoon, then two teaspoons. When you are accustomed to that amount, increase it to one raw egg per day and subsequently to two raw eggs per day or more.
One should not consume raw egg whites without the yolks as raw egg whites contain avidin, which can bind to biotin. If you cook the egg white the avidin is not an issue. However if you consume them with raw egg yolk (whole egg) there is more than enough biotin in the yolk to compensate for the avidin binding.
There is a potential problem with using the entire raw egg if you are pregnant. Biotin deficiency is a common concern in pregnancy and it is possible that consuming whole raw eggs would make it worse. If you are pregnant you have two options. The first is to actually measure for a biotin deficiency. This is best done through urinary excretion of 3-hydroxyisovaleric acid (3-HIA), which increases as a result of the decreased activity of the biotin-dependent enzyme methylcrotonyl-CoA carboxylase.
Alternatively, you could take a biotin supplement, or consume only the yolk raw (and cook the whites).
If you choose not to eat your eggs raw, cooking them soft-boiled would be the next best option.
Related Articles:
Biotin: The Forgotten Vitamin Another Reason Why Eggs Actually Lower the Risk of Heart Disease Infants Tolerate Adult Equivalent of 40 Eggs Per Week Eggs Not a Likely Source of Salmonella Contamination Efforts Needed to Prevent Salmonella Infection from Eggs
Biotin: The Forgotten Vitamin
Another Reason Why Eggs Actually Lower the Risk of Heart Disease
Infants Tolerate Adult Equivalent of 40 Eggs Per Week
Eggs Not a Likely Source of Salmonella Contamination
Efforts Needed to Prevent Salmonella Infection from Eggs