The Truth About Eggs And Diet

The Truth About Eggs And Diet

Eggs are quite possibly the world's perfect protein source. The six grams of protein in each egg has the highest biological value -- a measure of how well it supports your body's protein needs -- of any food, including beef. The yolks contain vitamin B12, deficiencies of which can cause attention, mood, and thinking problems.

Depending on where you're getting your eggs, though, you could be getting a lot more of stuff you don't want. First you'll get some arsenic, added to feed to promote growth in hens but linked to various forms of cancer in people, and an extra dose of antibiotics, also used to promote growth but linked to antibiotic resistance and even obesity in people. Then add a heaping helping of salmonella. A 2010 study published in the journal Veterinary Record found that the eggs from hens confined to cages, as they often are in factory farms, had 7.77-times greater odds of harboring salmonella bacteria than eggs from non-caged hens.