Some Truth About Eggs

Here’s What 7 Tricky Terms Mean…

With the summer months finally coming to an end I’m sure we all have been offered fresh eggs by someone that we know and with many of my clients getting their own I was starting to get asked a lot of questions about the differences in eggs. Now we all know the research has been in for a while that the controversy of eggs being bad for you is over. They are quite good for you. They contain great sources of key nutrients, proteins and fats that are good for all over the body and well-being… For crying out loud they are a zygote – the first cell of life – there’s plenty of great things in there. Where the problem is starting to arise in that shopping for eggs now require some sort of labeled decoder ring thanks to the new categories of these “designer” eggs and they can often be confusing for the normal person. So I decided to go out and do my own research so before you spend extra money on these “specialized” eggs you would have an idea of these common terms.

Brown – Surprise! There’s no reason to choose brown eggs over white, unless you just find the color more appealing. Shell color is usually a reflection of the feather color of the chicken so… brown eggs come from chickens with brown feathers, white eggs come from chickens with white feathers, multi-colored eggs come from chickens with multi colored feathers and pastel purple and lime eggs come from the Easter bunny. Ha.

Cage-free or Free-range – These eggs come from hens that are not confined to cages but thousands of them can be crowded into a barn or warehouse. Free range hens have access to the outdoors however there is no independent auditing of these practices unless the eggs are also certified organic (see below). So just because these chickens are “free range” for some part of the day does not mean the other 23 hours (or however long) of the day they are any better conditions than other hens.

Impact on nutrition? None. More humane? Maybe.

Certified Humane – If a carton bears an official looking seal such as “Certified Humane,” or “Animal Welfare Approved” or “Food Alliance Certified” or “Some Other He-be-gee-bee-ness” , it means that the manufacturers claim of cage-free, free-range, or pasture-raised has been verified by an independent third-party. (Did you catch that…? Independent. Third. Party.). And the labeling has everything to do with humane treatment and nothing to do with nutritional content. There are multiple third-party certifiers and each one of them has it on requirements, for example: CH says the free range hens has six hours of daily outdoor access and at least 2 ft.² of outdoor space while AHC says free range hens get 21.8ft.² of outdoor space but no minimum outdoor time. If you want a full list of trustworthy certifications you can go to GreenerChoices.org\ego–labels. Then search “egg certifiers.”

Impact on nutrition? None. More humane? Yes – to varying degrees, depending on the certifier.

Omega 3 – Enriched – These eggs come from hens that are fed a diet rich in algae, flaxseed, chia seeds and/or fish oil – which are all good sources of healthy Omega-3s. How does this diet affects the eggs though? While a conventional egg contains about 40 mg of omega-3′s, an omega-3 enriched egg has about 225 mg. To put those amounts into perspective the American Heart Association recommends at least two 3.5 ounce servings of fatty fish per week for heart health which is a total of about 3,500 mg of omega-3′s. Vegetarian who avoid fish may want to try omega-3 enriched eggs or hens that are fed vegetarian diets (see below). Or if you have a fish allergy they’re probably not a bad choice either. However though if you eat fatty fish several times a week and/or take a daily supplement or make your morning smoothies with algae, flaxseed, chia seeds and/or fish oil like I do… (Not to mention but if you did the math, you still need about 16 omega enriched eggs a week to meet the AHA recommendations.) Might as well save the money and skip the enriched eggs.

Impact on nutrition? Yes. More humane? No.

Organic – This label means that the USDA has certified that these eggs come from hens raised on feed that is free of pesticides, commercial fertilizers and animal byproducts. Again it also means that the hens weren’t given any antibiotics and are cage free with some amount of access to the outdoors. In fact, eggs from hens that are treated with antibiotics cannot be labeled anabiotic free even though the eggs them selves actually DO NOT contain anabiotic residue. Hormones are generally not used in any form of a production as well. And if you’re concerned about pesticides and fertilizers in your food, of course as always, you want to buy organic BUT … No research indicates that organic eggs are more healthy than conventional eggs. (Yes… I just said that). The Cornucopia Institute, a nonprofit group that conducts research on sustainable in organic agriculture has an organic egg scoreboard that rates individual organic brands based on the amount of outdoor access an indoor space there birds receive, farming practices, and other criteria. Cornucopia.org/organic-egg-scoreboard.

Impact on nutrition? Possibly/Probably. More humane? Mildly.

Pastured/Pastor Raised – Ding! Ding! Ding! If you don’t mind paying extra, which is usually about twice as much, these eggs could be the ideal choice for anyone seeking both enhanced nutrition AND humane treatment. Pastured hens move about freely outdoors, have an organic diet and are allowed to eat grass, worms and bugs, all of which produce the deeper colored yolk, creamier texture and richer flavor that you are definitely missing out on if you have not experienced them. A study published in the journal renewable agriculture and food systems found that eggs produced by pasture raised hens contained more than double the Omega 3s and twice as much vitamin D as conventionally raised eggs.

Final verdict…

Impact on nutrition? Yes. More humane? Yes.

Vegetarian – Eggs are considered vegetarian if the feed a chicken consumes doesn’t contain any animal byproducts(even though they come from an animal and turn into an animal… hmmm). But chickens are omnivores by nature, not vegetarians – wild chickens eat bugs and worms, etc. So if your eggs are labeled vegetarian and free range they might not be real “vegetarian” eggs as roaming hens probably eat a bug, or two, or 2000. There’s no nutritional difference between vegetarian and non-vegetarian eggs.

Impact on nutrition? Nothing. More humane? Nope.

So there you have it. Now, its also obvious that there can be combinations of these wordings together. For instance, A Certified Humane and Omega 3 Enriched is going to well… be more human and more nutritional. Now, go get natures prepackaged, protein pumped, healthy fat glob, and nutritional zygote and get crackin’.

Train Smart. Eat Smarter. Stay Fit.