Which egg?

Rosemary Stanton has examined the wide range of eggs on the market and has some advice on what's what and whether the new styles of egg have any extra nutritional benefits to offer.

The range

The following eggs are available from supermarkets and grocery stores: Free range eggs - eggs produced by hens that are not in a battery.
Vegetarian eggs - eggs produced by chooks fed totally without any animal products. (Note: Hens are not naturally vegetarian and do eat meat products.) Brands shown were: RSPCA Four Grain Barn Eggs and; Veggs.
Eggs with omega 3 fatty acids. Brands shown were: New Start; Body Egg; and Vita Egg.
Eggs from happy chooks (supported by the RSPCA). Called Happy Eggs these eggs are laid by chooks which the label says "are free to express themselves".

Note: There are the standard four different sizes of regular eggs 55g+, 60g+, 65g+ and 80g+). Some larger sizes are also now available.

How do you choose?

Given the huge range of eggs, how do you choose what's best for a healthy diet. Rosemary appraised the eggs by examining their appearance, nutritional value and omega 3 fatty acids.

1. Appearance of egg. When samples of the different eggs were broken into a bowl and compared there was very little visual difference between them. The slight difference in the colour of the yolks (from pale to deep rich yellow) relate to the birds' diet. A diet that is higher in green vegetables (which contain beta carotene) will have a deeper yellow coloured yolk.

2. Nutritional value. All eggs have the same amount of fat, about 5g (equivalent to around 1 teaspoon of margarine), and the same amounts of cholesterol. Note: It's not cholesterol in food that's a health concern but the saturated fat content. Eggs do differ in their saturated fat levels but the difference is only slight.

3. Omega 3 fatty acids*. While some eggs are produced by hens fed an omega 3 fatty acid-enriched diet and so contain omega 3 fatty acids, only small amounts of this beneficial fat are provided by eggs. Better sources of omega 3 fatty acids are obtained from fish (salmon or sardines) and linseeds (for example included in soya and linseed grain breads). See details in table below.

* Omega 3 fats are valuable in our diet as in general they suppress blood clotting, inflammatory reactions and immune responses. Omega 3 fats may be useful in controlling or treating some aspects of coronary heart disease, organ transplants and certain types of arthritis.

Comparison of Omega 3

Omega 3 levels vary according to the size of the egg (some egg distributors include the weight of the shell and some ignore it, making comparisons difficult), so it is best to compare the values in 100g.

• 100g of New Start Eggs has 0.61g or 610mg omega 3s (one egg 55g claims 0.34g or 340mg)
• 100g of Body Eggs has 0.7g or 700mg omega 3s (one egg 48g or 43.5g edible portion claims 0.34g or 440mg)
• 100g of Vita Eggs has 0.85g or 850mg omega 3s (one egg 54g excluding shell claims 0.46g or 460mg)
• 100g of salmon has 2.6g or 2600mg omega 3s (15g has 380g)
• 100g of canned sardines has 2.2g or 2200mg omega 3s (16g has 352mg)
• 100g linseeds has 23.4g or 23,400mg omega 3s (1.5g has 350mg)
• 100g of Burgen Soy-Lin bread has 2.1g or 2100mg omega 3s (half a slice or 20g has 420mg)

Should we eat eggs?

As far as your health and cholesterol is concerned, limit eating bacon and eggs to once a week. However, there is nothing wrong with eating a straight egg of any kind four or five times a week. If children like eggs it is perfectly alright and quite healthy to let them have one every day.

Further information

For more of Rosemary Stanton's advice on food and nutrition consult: Rosemary Stanton's Complete Book of Food and Nutrition (Simon & Schuster, revised edition, 1995, rrp $29.95); or
The Good Gut Cookbook by Rosemary Stanton, (HarperCollins Publishers, revised edition, 1998, rrp $19.95).

Copyright CTC Productions 2006