My boyfriend swears that there is poison in eggs, and that if you eat more than a few that it is bad for your liver and will make you very sick… I think this is just an old wive’s tale, but I can’t convince him of that! Please clear this up!
Amy
So this isn’t about Matlock?
Didn’t seem to do Paul Newman any lasting damage.
I can state categorically that there is no “poison,” in the common sense of the term, in bird’s eggs.
In fact, bird’s eggs might be one of the few things in nature that you can eat that are pretty much guaranteed not to poison you. (Admittedly some seabird eggs taste fishy and are not very appetizing, but you can eat them safely.)
Why? Because bird’s eggs normally contain a developing embryo. Most poisons act to disrupt metabolic pathways, and this can’t be tolerated in a rapidly developing embryo. Animals that are toxic often only become so after they are adults, when many metabolic pathways used in development are no longer subject to disruption. And toxins are often sequested in only certain parts of the body, such as the skin.
Now it is possible that eggs can become contaminated with toxins from pesticides or heavy metals, but this is an abnormal condition. Normal eggs are not toxic.
And I’m not going to get into the topic of whether or not eggs are healthy to eat, because of cholesterol or other factors - that’s a different issue.
Some insects have toxic eggs, but the toxins are usually sequestered in the shell, away from the embryo.
Likewise, in toxic seeds, the toxins are not contained by the embryo itself, but in surrounding tissue.
I didn’t realise this question was double posted. Since this is the longer thread, I hope it’s okay if I paste my reply from the other one into here.
What your boyfriend may be talking about is salmonella poisoning. Eggs can carry salmonella bacteria which, if not properly destroyed in cooking, can make you very ill. The way to avoid this is to eat fresh eggs and to make sure they are properly cooked throughout.
I’m not sure about eating “too many eggs” though - the only factor that this would affect is that the more eggs you eat, the more likely you are to be exposed to salmonella bacteria. It doesn’t accumulate the more you eat or anything.
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Umm, ah, a bit delicate and personal question here, if you don’t mind …
So if your boyfriend is chicken about eggs …
who came first? 
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You can tell it’s past 2am here. That was meant to be “I do NOT frequent GQ as much as I should”. Carry on.