Egg White Nutrition: Better Than Whole Eggs?

When dieting, fitness enthusiasts are famous for ordering piles and piles of egg whites instead of ordering whole eggs. We see these folks occasionally in restaurants, or perhaps you sat next to me at IHOP.

?I?ll have 10 egg whites and a bowl of oats please,? they say as they gaze at the server petrified that the order will be cooked in butter or it will have less eggs than the order indicated.

Related: The Fat Loss Factor Book by Marc Lobliner

Is this necessary? Should people order egg whites instead of whole eggs? Are egg whites better than whole eggs? This article will delve into that and let you know what you should order when at IHOP, and if egg white nutrition is better than whole eggs.

Egg Whites - The Vitamins, Minerals and Gains

When it comes to micronutrients, whole eggs drop a people?s elbow on egg white nutrition. Here are the numbers:

• Whole eggs have 4% of your daily value (DV) of iron while egg whites have 0%.
• Whole eggs have 8% of your DV of phosphorus while egg whites have 0.5%. Phosphorus is essential for bone health and also helps transport cellular energy with ATP (adenosine triphosphate). Yes, the same ATP that creatine helps with.
• Whole eggs have 3% of your DV of zinc while egg whites have 0%. Zinc is essential for immune health and testosterone support.
• Whole eggs have 5% of your DV of folate while egg whites have 0%. Folate is essential in blood cell formation. Folate helps convert carbohydrate into energy.
• Whole eggs have 4% vitamin A versus 0% in egg whites. This is vital for healthy vision.
• Whole eggs have 8% vitamin D while egg whites have 0%.
• Whole eggs have 26% choline and 191mg lutein and zeaxanthin.

There is no doubt about the health benefits from micronutrients. But what about macronutrients?

• Both have less than one gram of carbs.
• Whole eggs have around 5g fat versus 0g in egg whites.
• Protein is 6-7g in whole eggs versus 3 grams in a white.
• Pastured whole eggs have around 280mg cholesterol versus 0 in egg whites. (I will explain the different eggs later on)

The Differences Between Egg Whites and Whole Eggs

If going for overall wellness and macronutrient count is not a concern, whole eggs reign supreme. But for body composition, macros are king. This is why the fat in whole eggs forces those dieting with a lower fat diet to use egg whites.

Trust me, as a bodybuilder, I prefer the taste of whole eggs and I am sure most of my brethren do as well. BUT one still needs some fat in the diet and the fat and nutrients from whole eggs is a great thing to have, or is it?

While regular, inexpensive eggs are okay, they are not great. We try to get ?pastured? eggs, but if needed settle for ?omega 3 enriched? eggs. What is the difference?

• Commercial Eggs: Chickens raised in packed coups, fed low-quality, grain-based food.
• Omega-3 Eggs: Feed is supplemented with flax seeds and they may have some access to outside.
• Pastured Eggs: Chickens are allowed to roam free and eat plants and insects - their NATURAL diet.

Always opt for pastured eggs. When those are not available, get omega-3 eggs. When those are not available, as an absolute last option, use commercial eggs.

The Take Home

When watching macronutrient intake, I recommend you keep at least one egg in your daily intake of food. For example, if I needed 42 grams of protein but wanted to keep fat to around 10 grams for my meal, I would have:

• 2 whole eggs: 12g Protein
• 10 egg whites: 30g Protein

If you are just a person trying to eat whole, healthy meals and not counting macros, a good breakfast would be:

• 2 whole eggs
• 2 Slices Ezekiel bread
• Grapefruit

The Whole Story

If you were wondering about egg white nutrition and if egg whites were better than whole eggs, I hope this cleared up all of the confusion you had over what is best for you. Because eating whole eggs for better health and eating egg whites for a sexy body?That's not a game!