I have a growing interest in strength training, and I work out daily on my home gym. I also am very strict about building muscle, completely naturally, without any drugs/steroids.
It’s a well known fact that it is good to ingest low fat, high protein foods and liquids, immediately after working out, to perpetuate muscle growth and regeneration…
Eggs are high in protein. I incessantly see muscle type guys downing raw eggs on tv and in movies…but is this really safe???
Years ago, I put an (allegedly nonspoiled) raw egg into some chocolate milk, simply to thicken it. I ended up with a nasty case of dysentery the next day, which lasted about a week. I have been paranoid about raw eggs ever since!!
I always test my eggs before using them in any way, regardless of the expiration date. I use the “float test”…I put an individual egg into a deep container of water… if it floats, or bounces alot, (instead of sinking like a brick) it’s very likely SPOILED and I toss it out.
Is it it safe to ingest raw eggs?? What are the risks, if any, even with nonspoiled raw eggs?
I really can’t afford the fancy expensive commercial made protein drinks/mixes.
I’m younger than alot of people on here so I am not as Wise…but I do know that ANY raw eggs are harmful. They can cause Salmonela or however ya spell it. That kills. Raw chicken and eggs both contain the germs that can cause salmonela (or however ya spell it). I wouldn’t risk it honestly.
The risk with raw eggs is indeed Salmonella, which is to poultry what E. coli is to us. That is, pretty much every chicken is going to have an intestinal tract swarming with the buggers. Thanks to the construction of your average chicken, the egg comes out the same hole as the poop. This means eggs come out pretty well covered by the bacteria. Modern egg producers clean them off pretty well, but they’re not perfect. Thus, there’s a nontrivial chance that when you break the egg, the bacterial will transfer from the shell to the edible stuff.
Interestingly, it appears that Salmonella is capable of transovarial infection. IOW, they can get into the egg while it’s forming, so you can get sick even with a perfectly clean shell. This seems to be relatively rare, but it does happen.
IIRC, you can buy pasteurized-in-the-shell eggs that should be free of salmonella. These are more expensive than regular eggs, but they should be safe to eat raw. You can also buy frozen pasteurized cholesterol-free egg product (it’s made from egg whites) that is also a decent substitute for raw egg.
Raw eggs used to be considered to be safe to eat. So, why is it that they now are not? Did people have stronger stomachs back then? Did they get sick and attribute it to something else (“It’s just stomach flu”)? I had assumed that something in modern farming methods made the eggs “dirtier” than they used to be…but if chickens have always contained salmonella, and if they are washing the eggs now, wouldn’t that make the eggs safer than they used to be? Is it just modern hype? Nowadays, my husband thinks it’s instant death if I take a bite of raw cookie dough.
Is this true? I was under the impression that while Salmonella might ruin a few days for you, it wasn’t quite deadly. At least not in the same league as real nasties like botulism and trichnosis.
As well you should be. You didn’t have dysentery; you had Salmonella.
The float test is good to test eggs you’re going to cook thoroughly, but it won’t tell you if salmonella is present inside the egg. Even fresh eggs can contain deadly levels of bacteria.
Smeghead:
You’re right, except for one thing: this is not relatively rare anymore.
Tamex:
In the past, only the shell was “dirty”; now, we must assume the contents of the shell are “dirty”, as well. People haven’t changed; the germs have.
Yeah, the salmonella you pick up from eggs can kill. It’s pretty rare, though, unless you’ve got no spleen or are very young, very old, or generally very sick.
On the other hand, Salmonella typhi (typhoid fever) kills all too frequently (maybe 15% of untreated victims). It is NOT transmitted by eggs or poultry but, rather, person-to-person.
Eggs contain a protein called avidin, named for the avidity with which it binds biotin. This protein is in its native, functional configuration in the uncooked egg. I’ve heard tell that it can bind biotin in the gut, making the nutrient unavailable.
I tried to find a cite for raw egg induced biotin-deficiency, but came up a bit short. I did find this, a study employing dietary avidin as a means to induce biotin deficiency in experimental aninals.
Perhaps the amount of raw egg consumption necessary to induce deficiency is too huge to make it more than a theoretical concern in humans? I remember learning this in Med school, though.
Depending on how many you plan to eat, your risk will vary enormously. Generally speaking, Salmonella is a much bigger problem with restaurants and buffets where dozens of eggs are blended together and poorly refrigerated, the one bad egg spoils the whole thing.
Of course, for kids and the elderly, raw or undercooked eggs are a real no-no, even if the odds are low, the risk is too great.
My understanding is that eggs used to be the “pure” food, but recently (I don’t know the scope) the bacteria have been found inside the egg, via that pre-ova thing Smeghead was talking about.
So, yeah, it used to be okay, but the germs got tricky and now it’s not.
Of course, I got my info from Alton Brown on the food network, but he seems like a good enough guy.
This is probably a dumb question, but how is mayonnaise made safe? Are the yolks pasteurized before inclusion in the mayo? I noticed a recipe for mayo in a cookbook I bought recently, and it stresses the importance of using fresh eggs, but doesn’t talk Salmonella at all (of course, it was translated from German, and maybe they aren’t as concerned. I dunno.).
silly question, probably, but why not cook them first? surely you don’t have to eat them raw? - isn’t it just part of the whole macho bodybuilding hardman image; “hey I eat raw eggs and wrestle crocodiles” - that sort of thing.
Cooking them does alter the proteins though; Perhaps a nutritionist can tell us what difference this makes in terms of the human body’s absorption?
Eggs either have salmonella or they don’t. It has nothing to do with how long you keep 'em - a fresh egg can have it and a 2 month old egg can be safe. MSK, your float test is no guarantee against bad eggs. If you have an egg that’s gone bad from being old, you’ll know it as soon as you crack it - it will stink to high heaven. Eggs will keep four to five weeks in the fridge.
As far as salmonella goes, yes, most chicken and eggs have salmonella. But most of us also have it. If you’ve eaten chicken and/or eggs in the past 10 or 15 years, you’ve got a healthy community of salmonella living in your gut already. The average healthy adult can eat quite a bit of salmonella before getting sick. However, if you do get sick, it can be painful and/or deadly. Most at risk are young children and old people.
If you’re really worried about salmonella, cook your eggs thoroughly, and eat 'em while they’re hot. No runny yolks. I personally eat eggs over easy all the time, and have never had a problem. But, to each his own. You can reduce the risk quite a bit by cooking the eggs thoroughly.
Beadalin: Most commercial mayonnaise is as close to real mayonnaise as it is to say, motor oil. The stuff you buy in the jar is a whipped up bunch o’ chemicals and stabilizers, with maybe some powdered eggs thrown in. That’s how mayonnaise is “safe.”
REAL mayonnaise, the stuff you make with raw eggs and oil, is “unsafe” if you’re worried about salmonella. However, I’ll take a risk of salmonella any day over the risk of all the crap they put in the jars of “mayonnaise.”
Figures, doesn’t it? I can’t remember the list time I bought a jar, so the ingredients didn’t spring to mind. I’m glad they didn’t, though-- ugh.
I love the stuff in tuna salad, bleu cheese dressing, and tartar sauce. Thanks to this new cookbook of mine, I can now have the real thing, dangerous microbes and all! I love to live (and eat) on the edge! Thanks for the info.
Ain’t real mayonnaise great? WAY better than the processed stuff, and not hard to make. Ya don’t even have to have a recipe - just throw an egg yolk in a bowl, start to whisk, add oil sloooooooowly until it starts to thicken. Continue to add oil until it’s the consistency desired.
From there, you can add any flavorings you want - lemon juice, salt, herbs, etc. etc. etc.
Didja know that one egg yolk contains enough proteins to stabalize (there’s a better word for this, but my brain doesn’t work right now) something like 25 quarts of oil? Amazing, isn’t it? 'course, it would taste like crap, but neat nevertheless.
I ask because I always add a raw egg to milk shakes and milk shakes are my favorite food group. (Heck, malt shops used to price malteds with and without egg.)
MagicalSilverKey, suggest experiment to confirm cause and effect. Try again using a different brand egg.
When I was eight, I came down with a case of salmonella because of undercooked eggs. I was in the hospital for 5 days because of dehydration and my kidneys shut down on me. Two months later I had a relapse (evedently salmonella lives in your body for a long time unlike bad versions of e-coli) and was in the hospital for another 5 days. I would not recommend playing what I would call “russian roulette” with raw eggs. Also the egg-beaters can and do sometimes get salmonella contamination, so watch out. I don’t want ya getting sick like I did.
Ben