Do you love eggs? In the UK, we consume over 13 billion eggs each year, but most of these come from 40.5 million egg-laying hens in the farming system. What impact does that have on our nutrition and health? Should we be forking out for organic free-range only? How do you trust the labels? Caroline explains all in this blog.
Let’s get straight to it, eggs are a good source of nutrition; that’s clear. I tend to avoid labelling foods but I might make an exception for eggs as they really are a superfood.
An average egg provides approximately 6g of protein and 4.6g of fat (1.3g saturated fat). It is also rich in vitamins and minerals, most notably vitamin A, vitamin D, and choline, and minerals phosphorus, potassium, calcium, selenium, and iodine.
With an excellent amount of protein and fat per egg, you’ll be glad to know eggs keep blood sugars stable and because protein and fat take longer to digest, eggs can keep you feeling fuller for longer too.
Eggs can provide a cost-effective, nutritious, and filling meal at any time of the day, and hard-boiled eggs can also be a great snack.
Eggs and cholesterol
Cholesterol is a fat-like substance critical for cell membrane health, synthesis of hormones, and your body’s ability to make vitamin D, as well as bile salts, which are used to digest foods. The cholesterol in your blood is mainly produced by the liver, but the foods we eat can play a role too.
When you eat larger amounts of foods high in cholesterol, your liver doesn’t have to produce as much; your liver will produce more cholesterol when your diet is low in this type of fat.
Unfortunately, historically, there has been some controversy about the cholesterol content of eggs. While eggs contain cholesterol, it is important to consider your overall food intake and your cholesterol metabolism.
Egg yolk contains more cholesterol than egg white, but the yolk is also packed full of nutrients that can contribute to a balanced diet & good health. Good nutrition is always about balance.
Some studies suggest that eating eggs helps to raise HDL cholesterol (known as ‘the good one’). HDL cholesterol helps to remove LDL cholesterol from the body, whereas LDL cholesterol (known as ‘the bad one’) can raise the risk of heart disease.
The ratio of HDL to LDL is also an important consideration and research has shown that eating eggs does not alter this ratio in healthy individuals. Therefore, foods that are supportive of HDL cholesterol can be beneficial.
In fact, the UK government dietary guidelines no longer suggest a limit on the amount of eggs consumed as part of a varied & balanced diet. Something we’re very happy about.
If you’re wondering what cholesterol metabolism means, the amount of cholesterol in your blood can also be influenced by how much exercise you do, family history and genetics, liver and gallbladder health, age, higher body weight, inflammation, and thyroid function.
As with most nutrition research studies are conflicting and nutrition is never one size fits all.
If in doubt, or just simply confused by food, we get it. A nutrition professional can analyse your dietary intake of all nutrients to ensure that you are getting the right balance for you.
Knowing your eggs
So are all eggs equal? What is the difference between organic and free range? I can imagine you’ve stood in the egg aisle wondering this very question as you compare labels on egg boxes to the ticket price on the shelf.
Naturally, hens only lay eggs during the months when daylight is at its maximum (14-16 hours); for hens to lay year-round, they must be exposed to artificial light for the same amount of time. Keep that in mind while we see what sets the different eggs apart.
Organic eggs:
Organic hens are kept in small flocks of maximum 3,000 hens.
Each hen must have continuous daytime access to a minimum of 10 sqm of outdoor space with vegetation. They are also required to have maximum opportunity to reach this space via plentiful pop holes in their hen house. This is more opportunity than free-range birds are required to have.
Hens raised on organic farms must be given access to outdoor space from 12 weeks of age, this is much younger than for free-range hens. Additionally, the outdoor space must be rested for 9 months between flocks to allow for vegetation regrowth & to minimise risk of disease in the soil.
It may also be important to consider that fewer hens per flock mean that it is easier to maintain welfare standards for each bird. Routine use of antibiotics is banned but can be used when necessary.
Free-range eggs:
Free-range hens may be in flocks of 16,000 hens but there should be no more than 13 chickens per 1 sqm of space – a huge difference compared to organic hens.
Importantly, free-range means uncaged, but it does not mean that the hens have access to outdoor space. Some might have continuous daytime access to open-air runs that have the required 1sqm of vegetation per chicken, others won’t, but you won’t know that from looking at the box.
RSPCA assured labelled free-range eggs come from farms that must give hens the option to spend time in an outdoor space. Read on for further details on this.
Caged eggs:
While the old battery cage method of farming hens for eggs was banned in Europe in 2012, 28% of eggs are still laid by hens kept in cages. The amount of space each hen gets in a cage is approximately the size of an A4 piece of paper, cages are required to have a small nesting area, perches, a small scratching area (a natural hen behaviour), and space for hens to stretch their bodies (think legs and wings), therefore providing space for more movement than was previously provided pre-2012.
A hen’s physical & mental health is negatively affected when kept in a cage, and distress amongst caged hens is common. It can lead to fighting, plucking feathers (their own or their fellow cage-mates) and sitting in their own excrement. Due to the high ammonia content this can cause burns on their legs which are sometimes seen on ready to cook whole chickens.
Antibiotics are used routinely to prevent disease in caged hens, there is some risk that humans can develop antibiotic resistant infections because of overuse of antibiotics in the animal products that we consume.
Caged hens may be kept in flocks of 100,000.
Reading egg stamp marks
RSPCA stamped eggs ensure that no hen is ever kept in a cage, hens must be kept on free-range farms or in large barns where they can roam.
Look for their stamp on the egg box to ensure RSPCA standards.
The barn system ensures only 17 hens per 1 sqm of barn space and allows for; 15cm of perch space per hen, one nest box per 5 hens or communal nests, raised water & feeding so that food is not scattered, litter must cover ⅓ of ground space to allow for natural behaviours of dust bathing and floor scratching. Flocks must not exceed 6,000 hens.
Eggs must be stamped with a number to indicate the method of production as follows:
0 – Organic. 1 – Free-range. 2 – Barn kept. 3 – Caged.
All shop-bought, commercially produced eggs must be stamped as follows to ensure they are safe for consumption.
If you aren’t sure about different coloured shells of eggs, it simply relates to the breed of hen that laid it.
Which egg to buy for health benefits?
There is little data to suggest that the way an egg is produced has any impact on nutritional value; however, one Canadian study did find that free-range eggs had slightly less cholesterol than cage-produced eggs. Egg yolk colour can be influenced by the diet that the hen has been fed.
This leads us to branded eggs. Our supermarkets now stock a vast array of different eggs from what appear to be different companies, but actually, what you are seeing is egg branding to satisfy consumer demand.
For example, The Happy Egg Co., Purely Organic and Big & Fresh, are all produced by the same company so you’ll need to look at the stamp on the eggs (above) to understand how each brand of egg was actually produced.
If welfare is a consideration, and we recommend it is, buy organic or free-range eggs if you can. Even better, during the natural laying season can you find someone local to you that has egg laying hens? These eggs may taste better as they aren’t subjected to processing & shipping, and therefore are much fresher when they reach your plate.
The verdict
Eggs are an excellent source of nutrients, they pack a nutrition punch with 6g of protein & 4.6g of fat each, plus other essential nutrients.
Eggs are versatile, cheap, and easy/quick to cook so if you have a busy life they can be extremely helpful in supporting a well balanced and blood sugar friendly diet.
Although the type of cholesterol we eat is important; cholesterol from eggs is unlikely to have a detrimental effect on total cholesterol or harmful LDL cholesterol, which is very different to the unwelcome effect of cholesterol from ultra processed foods.
If budget allows, choose organic eggs and in the laying season see if you can find someone nearby with egg laying hens.
We love eggs cooked any way – scrambled, fried, boiled, hard boiled (great for an on -the-go snack), omelette, frittata, but they are also brilliant for adding into baked oat recipes, pancakes, and shakshuka.
How do you like your eggs? Perhaps you have a novel way of cooking eggs or have a favourite recipe? Here’s ours!
