Can you eat raw eggs and soft-boiled eggs? You should understand these principles before eating

Recently, many people on the Internet have been discussing the issue of eating raw eggs . Some experts say that the nutritional value of raw eggs is not as high as that of cooked eggs. Some experts also say that eating raw eggs has safety risks.

But many consumers said: When I eat Sukiyaki, I dip the shabu-shabu meat with raw eggs. It is really smooth and delicious, and it makes my stomach feel very comfortable!

Some people also say: Westerners often use raw egg whites when making desserts, which have a particularly delicate and delicious taste.

Someone else said: There is a folk remedy in my hometown. If your throat is swollen, drink some raw eggs, and it is very effective in reducing swelling...

More netizens think: I can choose not to eat raw eggs, but I really can't give up the delicious taste of soft-boiled eggs. Is it okay as long as the egg white is cooked, and it doesn't matter if the yolk is not coagulated?

In fact, this topic involves several aspects. Each expert's answer focuses on different points, so the statements are also different. (The full text is 3,800 words. Friends who don't have the patience to read the whole text, please turn to the end to read the summary.)

The first question: food safety when eating eggs.

Eggs are laid from the cloaca of chickens, and the eggshells are very susceptible to contamination by pathogenic bacteria, especially salmonella . In Europe and the United States, large quantities of eggs are often recalled or destroyed because of salmonella contamination, causing bacterial food poisoning.

Salmonella infection is no small matter. Mild symptoms include gastroenteritis such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. Severe cases include systemic infection, fatigue, weakness, chills, fever, hepatosplenomegaly, and even bacteremia.

Therefore, I have repeatedly reminded consumers on TV programs and in popular science articles that they must be very careful with eggs that have not been sterilized. After breaking the eggs, do not leave the eggshells lying around, but throw them directly into the kitchen waste bin. After touching the eggshells, wash your hands immediately with hand soap and running water.

There are currently no national standards for raw eggs, but some companies have launched raw eggs based on the production procedures of similar products in Japan, and they have been accepted by some consumers.

According to the introduction of these products, the main features of raw edible eggs are that various measures are taken during the production process to prevent the eggs from being contaminated by pathogenic bacteria : there is no pathogenic bacteria contamination when the eggs are laid, there is no pathogenic bacteria contamination in the environment and feed of the chickens, and there is no pathogenic bacteria contamination during the packaging and transportation process. Of course, achieving these requirements will indeed lead to an increase in costs.

There is no national standard or mandatory testing for whether such products can meet safety standards. Since experts cannot guarantee the quality of the eggs produced by companies, they are usually cautious in their comments. Most experts suggest that, for safety reasons, it is better to cook eggs before eating, especially for infants, pregnant women and patients. After all, worldwide, many people are hospitalized every year due to salmonella infection caused by eating raw egg-related products or delicacies.

Raw eggs don't promise to be more nutritious; their main advantage is their food safety.

However, even if the eggs you buy are qualified and can be eaten raw, and they do meet the various standards claimed by the company, you must still avoid subsequent contamination problems.

For example, supermarkets should separate raw eggs from other unpasteurized eggs for sale , and the packaging of raw eggs should have a small seal, because it cannot be ruled out that a small number of consumers will open the box and touch the surface of the eggs, causing cross contamination.

After purchasing, if consumers put edible eggs together with raw fish, raw meat, raw vegetables, etc., cross contamination may occur, and the eggshells may be contaminated with harmful bacteria. When packing eggs in the supermarket, they should be packed separately from raw food . After returning home, they should be refrigerated in time and stored separately from non-edible eggs and various raw foods in the refrigerator.

In addition, before eating raw eggs, you should wash your hands before beating the eggs , because our hands may also be contaminated by pathogenic bacteria. The bowls and chopsticks used to stir the egg liquid must also be kept clean and cannot come into contact with raw food.

If the company's product quality is reliable and all subsequent aspects are done well to eliminate food safety risks as much as possible, then raw eggs can be enjoyed occasionally, and soft-boiled eggs are even more of a problem.

The second question: bioavailability of nutrients.

Eggs are a cheap, delicious and easy-to-cook food, and a nutritional gift from nature. They are the best source of high-quality protein and contain 12 vitamins needed by the human body. Except for vitamin C, all other vitamins can be found in eggs.

Chinese people generally do not take in enough vitamin A, and egg yolks are a good source of vitamin A. Egg yolks also provide vitamin D, vitamin E, and vitamin K, as well as vitamin B1, B2, B6, niacin, pantothenic acid, biotin, folic acid, B12, and more.

In addition, egg yolks contain lutein and carotene, plus vitamin A and vitamin B2, which are very beneficial to eye health.

By the way, if you throw away the yolk when eating eggs, it would be a waste of food. Most of the vitamins, minerals and health-promoting ingredients are in the yolk.

However, the bioavailability of the protein in eggs can only reach over 95% if they are cooked . If you eat raw eggs, the bioavailability is only about half.

This is because raw egg white contains a variety of ingredients that hinder protein digestion and absorption. For example, ovomucin inhibits the activity of proteases in the human body, hindering the absorption and utilization of protein. At the same time, raw egg white also contains ingredients that inhibit the bioavailability of vitamins, the most famous of which is "biotin binding protein (avidin)". Once it encounters biotin in egg yolk or other foods, it will firmly bind to it, making it impossible for the human body to absorb and utilize biotin.

Biotin is a B vitamin that is not well known because it is not so easy to be deficient and it is not lost much during cooking. If other B vitamins are not deficient, we usually do not need to worry about biotin deficiency.

The best way to create biotin deficiency is to eat raw egg whites for a long time. Biotin deficiency can cause hair loss and skin damage.

These egg white components that hinder the absorption and utilization of nutrients are also proteins. After being heated and denatured, they lose their ability to hinder digestion. Therefore, healthy people can easily obtain the various nutrients in cooked eggs.

In short, if your goal of eating eggs is to supplement protein and vitamins, then it is correct to eat cooked eggs, at least the egg white should be solidified.

It is not important whether the egg yolk is solidified, because even if the egg yolk is eaten raw, the nutrients in it can be used by the human body. If safety is not a concern, it is even better to heat the egg yolk for a shorter time. Because the egg yolk contains a lot of cholesterol and phospholipids, they may be oxidized to varying degrees after being heated for a long time. Lecithin and cholesterol are important components for building human cell membranes and brain cells . However, oxidized cholesterol and oxidized phospholipids are not good for health.

Therefore, eating soft-boiled eggs is not a bad habit in itself, and it is beneficial and harmless to obtain the nutrients in eggs . The key is to ensure food safety and avoid the harm of pathogenic bacteria.

The third question: the health-care and therapeutic effects of diet.

Although the nutrient utilization rate of raw eggs is relatively low, if your goal of eating eggs is not to obtain nutrients but for other therapeutic effects, you may need to use raw eggs.

This public account has previously explained in an article that although eating raw egg white is not good for nutritional value, you can obtain some antioxidant protein components in it. Lysozyme, ovomucin, ovotransferrin, avidin and other components in egg white have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effects.

When eating raw eggs, these proteins may play an anti-inflammatory role when passing through the throat , or they may enter the intestines due to their inherent anti-digestive enzyme properties, and play a role in adjusting the intestinal flora and suppressing the inflammatory response. At the same time, the vitamin A and vitamin D in the egg yolk are also helpful in protecting the health of the mucous membrane.

People have a practice of drinking boiled eggs, egg tea, or even raw eggs to reduce throat inflammation, such as drinking eggs with hot tea, drinking eggs with mung bean water, or drinking eggs with hot water. This may be based on this principle.

However, the details of when this kind of diet therapy is most appropriate and how to achieve adequate therapeutic effects have not yet been studied clearly and need further scientific explanation. Therefore, it is not recommended for frequent use.

If you really want to use this diet therapy, you don't have to consider the digestibility and absorption rate of egg protein, but you must ensure food safety and avoid introducing pathogens. Otherwise, if the inflammation is not eliminated, coupled with bacterial food poisoning, it will be very troublesome.

The fourth question: food habits and taste enjoyment.

Many people fell in love with the taste of raw eggs after eating the Japanese dish "Sukiyaki". Dipping meat slices in raw egg liquid or adding raw egg white to desserts is not to increase nutrition, but to improve the taste and make it smoother.

In fact, eating raw eggs once in a while will not cause biotin deficiency . You need to eat them for half a month or a month to have that risk. Of course, it will not cause protein deficiency (when eating sukiyaki, you eat so much meat...)

The Japanese have a way of eating natto mixed with raw eggs and served with rice. Most Chinese people find this difficult to accept, but this way of eating does not cause serious nutritional deficiencies. After all, the Japanese do not eat like this every day or for every meal.

When eating raw eggs occasionally for the sake of deliciousness, the only issue that needs to be considered is food safety. Therefore, restaurants and dessert shops must do a good job of bacteria management of raw egg ingredients and be responsible for the health of consumers.

In short, many questions, including whether to eat raw eggs, do not have a one-size-fits-all standard answer or a perfect solution .

Most of the time, we have to weigh the pros and cons. Between safety and nutrition, between safety and food, between nutrition and food... we have to struggle over and over again. In addition, we may also have to struggle over the price of branded eggs.

Finally, let’s summarize:

1. Raw edible egg products only have an advantage in terms of food safety, which does not mean that they have higher nutritional value. However, making such eggs will increase production costs.

2 If your main goal of eating eggs is to obtain protein and vitamins , and you are accustomed to eating cooked eggs on a daily basis, then buying raw eggs is less cost-effective.

3 If you really want to eat raw eggs, you can choose edible eggs. But also pay attention to avoid contact with raw fish, raw meat, raw vegetables, and other foods that may carry pathogens after shopping, during storage and cooking, in order to avoid cross contamination .

4 Because egg white contains natural anti-nutritional ingredients, when the egg white is not heated and coagulated, the protein digestibility is low and the vitamin utilization rate is also low, especially biotin, a B vitamin, which cannot be used by the human body.

5. Raw egg white contains a variety of antibacterial, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory protein components . They lose their biological activity after heating.

6 As long as the egg white is heated and coagulated, the utilization rate of the egg's nutrients can be guaranteed. If the egg yolk is not coagulated, it will not affect the absorption and utilization of nutrients. In fact, reducing the heat of the egg yolk is helpful to avoid the oxidation of cholesterol, phospholipids, and fat-soluble health-care ingredients.

7. The various concerns about soft-boiled eggs are mainly due to food safety considerations . People are afraid that the eggs are not heated enough to kill all pathogens. However, because egg white contains a variety of antibacterial ingredients, the possibility of pathogens passing through the egg white and entering the egg yolk is small. When making boiled eggs or poached eggs, even if the egg yolk is not completely solidified, the risk of pathogens is not high.

8 If you eat raw eggs occasionally, for diet therapy or for food, don't worry about the nutritional content. The most important thing is to ensure food safety.

9. No matter how expensive eggs are, they are only 3 yuan each, which is cheaper than a box of potato chips, a pack of biscuits, and many sweet drinks, and the nutritional value of protein and vitamins is much higher than them. Therefore, if your economic level has reached the level of "egg freedom", you don't have to worry too much, just buy it if you can afford it. However, please meet the requirements of the third point!

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