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Egg Protein Nutritional Information

Eggs are one of the most important foods. Their unique properties make them essential to many baked goods. They contain many important vitamins and minerals, and some believe they can actually lower cholesterol levels if substituted for saturated fat foods. But traditionally, and probably most importantly, eggs are known for their protein. Eggs offer a complete protein that is highly digestible. The biological function of eggs is to support the growth of an embryo, so naturally it is full of beneficial nutrients.

  1. Identification

    • According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, one large raw egg is about 50 g in mass. Though egg shells are edible, they are not usually consumed. The nutritional data provided for eggs is based on the content of the yolk and the albumen, or egg white. Many species of animals, from turtles to fish, produce eggs, but the most commonly eaten eggs in America are chicken eggs. The information provided here is the egg protein nutrition in a single large chicken egg.

    Protein Content

    • The vast majority of an egg is water. In a 50 g serving, almost 40 g is water, and only about 6.3 g (roughly 12 percent of the total mass) is protein. A little less than half of this protein is in the yolk, and the rest is in the egg white. The total protein content drops just slightly when an egg is cooked. Though this is not a huge quantity of protein, eggs are still considered one of the best protein sources because they provide protein of very high quality.

    Amino Acids

    • Eggs are considered a complete protein because they provide all the essential amino acids required by humans in their diet. The eight essential amino acids are phenylalanine, valine, threonine, tryptophan, isoleucine, methionine, leucine and lysine. Just as importantly, eggs contain these amino acids in quantities proportional to human nutritional needs. This helps ensure the protein is available and quickly utilized rather than converted to fat.

    Digestibility

    • A major nutritional issue is whether the nutrients in foods exist in a form available for use by the body. A 1998 study on the digestibility of egg protein at the University Hospital Leuven in Belgium (published in The Journal of Nutrition, Vol. 128 No. 10) found that egg protein is actually better digested when cooked rather than consumed raw. This is believed to be a result of the change in the protein structure that occurs when raw egg protein is heated. The study found that egg protein is about 91 percent digested when cooked.

    Powder

    • Bodybuilders have long looked to eggs as a source of protein for adding muscle mass. But because they consume such large quantities of protein, eating enough eggs is not always a practical option. Several protein supplements use a powdered form of dehydrated egg albumen protein that is claimed to be 100 percent digested. Like eggs themselves, egg protein supplements are a complete protein.

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