ARE  EGGS  ARE  VEGETARIAN?

A hen has an ovulation period of 1 day. It lays an egg every 24-26 hours. If the table eggs are not fertilized, they can never hatch into a chick. If not consumed, the eggs go stale in 21 days from the date they are laid. Therefore, eggs are considered as vegetarian food by many.

CAN YOU CONSUME THEM RAW?
NEVER.

Eggs may contain bacteria (Salmonella Enterica bacterium). If consumed raw, there is a 25% chance that it can cause a serious condition called Salmonellosis (diarrhoea, vomiting, fever, abdominal cramps for 24-72 hours and this can last for 7 days, serious dehydration and hospitalization). So its best to cook the eggs properly. Heat treatment kills bacteria. Cooking will not harm the protein quality or quantity in any way.

SHALL WE CONSUME EGG YOLK
Yes, of course.

Egg yolks are densely packed with protein, vitamins, minerals and good fats. The biological value of the whole egg protein (yolk+albumin) is 100 and it falls considerably when we consume only the egg whites. The cholesterol in egg yolks poses no threat as the dietary cholesterol does not change into the body cholesterol.

Also, yolks have healthy balance of saturated and unsaturated fats, which makes sure there is no threat to the cardiovascular health. Had it been too high on saturated fat, there would have been a problem. But that is not the case, so the whole egg is absolutely safe.

However, one thing that has to be kept in mind is that the entire fat of an egg is in yolk and fat gives 9 calories per gram compared to protein and carbs, which give only 4 calories per gram. If the person is on a fat loss diet and not on body building ketogenic diet (which has only 5% carbs), the yolk intake should be reduced to respect law of thermodynamics. Calories that will not be used will be stored as fat.

One egg white has 17 calories and the whole egg has 72 calories. The correct combination of yolk and egg whites needs to be arrived at by keeping the fitness goal and other elements of diet in mind. Make sure you are throwing at least one egg yolk between the whites to keep up the biological value and also to get important vitamins, minerals and omega 3 that stays dissolved in the egg yolk.

CAN EGGS CAUSE BIRD FLU?

Bird Flu is not spread by eating properly cooked eggs and chicken. Even if they are infected, properly cooking them makes them absolutely safe for consumption. There is no need to stop consuming poultry when there is a bird flu reported.

Avian/Bird flu is actually spread by coming in contact with secretions and excretions of infected birds.Before and after handling any raw egg and chicken, the hands should be washed for at least 20 seconds. The utensil to clean/cook poultry should be kept separate from other utensils. Hygiene assures health.

I hope this post helped you. If you feel it will help your friends (esp those who eat eggs), please share it with them by clicking the share button.

Also , you can find more food facts on FactRetriever.

Health, Strength and Shape to you. Amen!