Friday, September 14, 2012

Egg sizes explored


Little Sprouts sells eggs unsorted, meaning cartons randomly contain eggs that would be considered any size from extra small to extra large. We do mix the sizes somewhat evenly so the average weight of a carton remains constant. But does it really matter? We have discovered something quite interesting about egg sizes.

When you compare sizes... it is mostly the whites that differ, not the yolks. Even when comparing an extra large egg to an extra small one, the yolks are virtually identical. The whites can vary hugely accounting for the difference in shell size. The pictures here show just such a comparison.

Why is this significant? Well for one thing... as we now know it is the yolk that contains virtually all of the nutrition of the egg. The yolk is loaded with nutrients our bodies desperately need. Most healing diets (such as gaps, body ecology, etc)  use raw egg yolk as a primary healing food. Egg whites, being mostly just protein, are actually discarded. Bottom line.... egg yolks, especially raw, are the important part. Egg whites, are more of a filler than a nutrient.

During our journey on gaps, where our family healed a long list of common and not so common ailments, we relied heavily on egg yolks. Often going through 3 to 4 dozen egg yolks per day for 2 adults and 3 children. They truly are a miracle food, especially raw.

Note.... this post only applies to farm pasture raised soy free eggs... never consume eggs from factory farms raw and always limit those "eggs" as conventional wisdom dictates. Factory produced eggs are a negative nutrient at best... life threatening at worst. Pastured soy free eggs are a totally different product than storebought factory produced "eggs".

So.. from a health perspective, the size of the shell is immaterial. Once cracked, it becomes difficult if not impossible to tell between a extra large and an extra small egg. If your eating for health, smaller eggs represent no less benefit.

Here are some pictures of an egg comparison. Try this yourself!
The egg on the left would be considered small by weight standards, the  one on the right an extra large or even jumbo

The yolks are amazingly similar, in fact the smaller egg on the left appears to have a slightly larger yolk.

The side view shows the extreme difference in white content. 





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