Egg whites? Why not the whole egg?

lorelei68
lorelei68 Posts: 30 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I have been reading over recommend diet plans etc and keep seeing where they will use several egg whites as opposed to two whole eggs.

Are they meaning like the egg beater carton equivalents? or are they buy whole eggs, separating out the whites and throwing away the yolks?

I spent most of my childhood on my grandparents farm. My grandma would be so confused by what she would see as 'waste' in throwing out a perfectly good part of the egg!

Yes, I do get the whole cholesterol argument. But, this is so ingrained to not throw out something that can be used.... Guess I'm a little kerfuffled at the concept.

:ohwell:
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Replies

  • jayrudq
    jayrudq Posts: 475 Member
    Egg whites are...egg whites. Whether you buy them in a carton, or separate them from a yolk. They are egg whites.

    Why? Well, not because yolks are bad for you. They are not. Nor is the cholesterol in them. That nutritional mistake has long been corrected. What egg white are is pure protein and low calorie. You can bulk up any egg dish with egg whites for a low calorie impact - they are only about 10 calories each. That is the only reason I use them. And I always use fresh and just give my extra yolk to my skinny kid or husband (who both eat eggs just about every single day of their lives). Eggs are just about the perfect food. But unless you need the calorie deficit, I would eat the whole thing, and like your Grandma, I would never throw away the best part of the egg.
  • Hauntinglyfit
    Hauntinglyfit Posts: 5,537 Member
    Because like ohemgee, yolks are yellow!
  • notnikkisixx
    notnikkisixx Posts: 375 Member
    it is all about cutting calories while still having protein. If you feel wasteful throwing away the yolk, save it and make a nutrient-rich hair masque.
  • RaggedyPond
    RaggedyPond Posts: 1,487 Member
    I love eggs. I will eat four whole eggs for breakfast or lunch sometimes. You don't get high cholesterol from eating cholesterol.
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  • SkimFlatWhite68
    SkimFlatWhite68 Posts: 1,254 Member
    Hey Lorelei,

    I just had an omelette for lunch. I used 5 x egg whites and 1 whole egg. The reason that I do this is that I have limited calories for the day to use (around 1500-1600) and I like to eat a lot of food. So if I use egg whites, I get a big fluffy omelette that really fills me up, and is high in protein but with less calories than if I used 6 eggs. I like my macros for the day to be around 150g protein; 100g carbs; 50g fat, so it works for that combination as well.

    My omelette was about 330 calories. However if I used 5-6 whole eggs it would have been about 600-700 calories.

    I'm not at all worried about the cholesterol, as I dont think eating cholesterol gives you cholesterol.

    And yes, I do throw out the yolks (I've never purchased eggs any other way but in their shells), to me that's just like cutting fat off meat, yes, it's probably a waste, if I had some way to use them, like make mayonaise, I would, but I don't use mayonaise!!
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,218 Member
    Because you can have more for less calories, and most of the protein is found in the white. The yolk is not "bad" for you, but it is easier to cut calories while still being able to eat eggs when tossing the yolk.
    I keep hearing this but not very accurate information. Almost half of the protein is in the yolk and a yolk has about 50 calories, so not so much of a saving especially considering the nutrients lost when leaving out the yolk. Many people do use a combo of whole and whites, which I guess might be better but personally I never could understand tossing the yolk.
  • kristieshannon
    kristieshannon Posts: 160 Member
    I make scrambles with 1 whole egg and 2 whites. Not because of worrying about calories or cholesterol, but because it makes the eggs nice and fluffy. It's all a matter of taste!
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  • Lyadeia
    Lyadeia Posts: 4,603 Member
    I typically make omeletes with 4 egg whites and 1 whole egg simply because I need to get the protein from the egg without a lot of extra calories. I eat omeletes with 3 whole eggs when I am not on a deficit trying to watch my calories. Nothing wrong with the yolk, just saving calories for other things.
  • ElsaVonMarmalade
    ElsaVonMarmalade Posts: 154 Member
    I always eat the yolks. Full of nutrients and yes, protein.
  • sybrix
    sybrix Posts: 134 Member
    I always eat the yolk. It's the most delicious part to me. Love me some sunny side up eggs with whole wheat toast! I rarely eat more than 2 eggs in a day so the 140 calories don't set me back much.
  • BearEssentials
    BearEssentials Posts: 27 Member
    I always separate eggs. Whites for meringues, yolks for carbonara sauce, om nom nom :smile:
  • jetlag
    jetlag Posts: 800 Member
    Because you can have more for less calories, and most of the protein is found in the white. The yolk is not "bad" for you, but it is easier to cut calories while still being able to eat eggs when tossing the yolk.
    I keep hearing this but not very accurate information. Almost half of the protein is in the yolk and a yolk has about 50 calories, so not so much of a saving especially considering the nutrients lost when leaving out the yolk. Many people do use a combo of whole and whites, which I guess might be better but personally I never could understand tossing the yolk.

    This is what I thought, as well. Besides, all the rest of the goodness is in the yolk.. A 3 egg omelette is very filling and only 240 calories. This focus on more protein at the expense of actual nutrients is just another "carbs are evil" hysteria.

    Google "reasons to eat egg yolks". Here's a good one to get you started:

    http://primaldocs.com/opinion/10-reasons-to-eat-your-yolks/
  • jetlag
    jetlag Posts: 800 Member
    Because you can have more for less calories, and most of the protein is found in the white. The yolk is not "bad" for you, but it is easier to cut calories while still being able to eat eggs when tossing the yolk.
    I keep hearing this but not very accurate information. Almost half of the protein is in the yolk and a yolk has about 50 calories, so not so much of a saving especially considering the nutrients lost when leaving out the yolk. Many people do use a combo of whole and whites, which I guess might be better but personally I never could understand tossing the yolk.

    ok so more protein per calorie

    And considerably less choline, chromium, sulphur, vitamin k, etc etc.

    There is more to food than bloody protein!
  • __Di__
    __Di__ Posts: 1,658 Member
    A whole egg contains approx 6g of protein, take out the yolk, it leaves around 4g, so yes much of the protein is indeed in the white however, nearly all of the nutrients are in the yolk.

    An egg is just 70 calories, is full of nutrients and is HDL cholesterol meaning it is a good cholesterol - it goes around the bloodstream removing the bad cholesterol otherwise known as LDL.
  • jayrudq
    jayrudq Posts: 475 Member
    "This is what I thought, as well. Besides, all the rest of the goodness is in the yolk.. A 3 egg omelette is very filling and only 240 calories. This focus on more protein at the expense of actual nutrients is just another "carbs are evil" hysteria."

    No, this would come under the "calories are evil" hysteria. There are no carbs in eggs or egg yolks.
  • jetlag
    jetlag Posts: 800 Member
    Sorry, misworded, I meant it's just another example of the carbs are evil TYPE hysteria, but in reverse. Protein is king, regardless of the cost. They'll throw away the egg yolk and take supplements, which might not even work, to replace the stuff they threw away. It's insane.





    Note: eggs do have carbs, but only a tiny bit.
  • cubsgirlinny
    cubsgirlinny Posts: 282 Member
    I don't care for the yolks. Once in a while if the eggs are scrambled, they are tolerable, but my taste buds say no more often than not. I save then and use them when I cook for the rest of my household.
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  • LeanneGoingThin
    LeanneGoingThin Posts: 215 Member
    "This is what I thought, as well. Besides, all the rest of the goodness is in the yolk.. A 3 egg omelette is very filling and only 240 calories. This focus on more protein at the expense of actual nutrients is just another "carbs are evil" hysteria."

    No, this would come under the "calories are evil" hysteria. There are no carbs in eggs or egg yolks.

    It's an easy way to cut calories, that's all.
  • succubaeangel
    succubaeangel Posts: 73
    Tossing the yolk is like tossing protein powder away in the garbage. Of course, the yolk protein is much cheaper and tastes better.

    Also, I think that birds like the yolk so if you hate it, you can give it to them.
  • rduhlir
    rduhlir Posts: 3,550 Member
    Because you can have more for less calories, and most of the protein is found in the white. The yolk is not "bad" for you, but it is easier to cut calories while still being able to eat eggs when tossing the yolk.
    I keep hearing this but not very accurate information. Almost half of the protein is in the yolk and a yolk has about 50 calories, so not so much of a saving especially considering the nutrients lost when leaving out the yolk. Many people do use a combo of whole and whites, which I guess might be better but personally I never could understand tossing the yolk.

    ok so more protein per calorie

    And considerably less choline, chromium, sulphur, vitamin k, etc etc.

    There is more to food than bloody protein!

    Not to mention Omega 3 and Omega 6! And Zinc, potassium, magnisium (sp?), etc... While yes the whites are less in calories, the yoke holds 90% of the nutrients in the egg. Not to mention healthy fats which have been proven to help hold off hunger.
  • BeachIron
    BeachIron Posts: 6,490 Member
    Don't waste yolks, eat the whole egg. I usually have 3 whole eggs, plus a full cup of egg beaters in the morning to bump the protein up.
  • RhonndaJ
    RhonndaJ Posts: 1,615 Member
    Never figured out the whole egg white thing, unless you happen to be using it for meringues or such. ~chuckles~

    Much prefer the whole egg.
  • Contrarian
    Contrarian Posts: 8,138 Member
    Egg yolks are gross.
  • EvgeniZyntx
    EvgeniZyntx Posts: 24,208 Member
    Because you can have more for less calories, and most of the protein is found in the white. The yolk is not "bad" for you, but it is easier to cut calories while still being able to eat eggs when tossing the yolk.
    I keep hearing this but not very accurate information. Almost half of the protein is in the yolk and a yolk has about 50 calories, so not so much of a saving especially considering the nutrients lost when leaving out the yolk. Many people do use a combo of whole and whites, which I guess might be better but personally I never could understand tossing the yolk.

    ok so more protein per calorie

    In a very large 4 egg omlette its about 220 caloried difference with 10g of protein lost.
    Enough to eat half a donut and get some trans fats, instead. I'll stick to eggs.

    Yolk prevents thickening in certain recipes but I would guess that it's mostly a throw-over from "no cholesterol" thinking.
    Egg substitutes taste like the debil.
  • Cranquistador
    Cranquistador Posts: 39,744 Member
    I always separate eggs. Whites for meringues, yolks for carbonara sauce, om nom nom :smile:


    MMmmmm...when's dinner?
  • Fullsterkur_woman
    Fullsterkur_woman Posts: 2,712 Member
    It's much easier for me to pour out a certain number of grams of egg white/egg beaters from a carton than it is to crack and weigh individual eggs. If I suddenly could not do it that way for some reason, my cats would be the happy beneficiaries of more egg yolks in their raw homemade diet, and my husband would have fried eggs with four+ yolks each. He's bulking, so that's totally cool too. :laugh:

    Also, I like to eat low-fat so that I can get a high volume for my calories. More fat does not equal more satiety for me. I know this is true for many other people, but not me. Call me a special snowflake if you like. I do IIFYM, so when I get to the end of the day, and I need more fat, I add delicious, delicious peanut butter, real mayonnaise (mixed with fat-free if I want to bump up the volume for fewer calories), and avocado. I ate 6 ounces of avocado last night at dinner, to meet my fat requirements, oh, and knock out a couple of servings of fruit at the same time. Egg yolks don't do that for me.

    I usually end up eating 3-5 egg yolks a week anyway from getting breakfast tacos Friday, Saturday, Sunday or some combination thereof. And I seriously doubt I'm malnourished given the other nutritional choices I make with all my other foods.

    If you'd rather eat whole eggs all the time and cut back somewhere else, knock yourself out.
  • mrslcoop
    mrslcoop Posts: 317 Member
    It’s because I HATE the taste of yolks. Simple as that otherwise I’d eat the whole thing. My dogs however love yolks…..

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