# Can raw egg whites get you sick?



## bigss75 (Oct 14, 2002)

I wan to put egg whites in my shake could I get saminella


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## bigss75 (Oct 14, 2002)

i know i spelled it wrong i wish the spell chek was back


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## david (Oct 14, 2002)

salmonella I think Bigss!

Scientifically I cannot explain but logically because it's liquidy with potential bacteria etc., I would believe there is a high potential of getting ill.  But on the other hand, you may not.  At one time for kicks in college, I ate 17 egg whites raw in front of my roommate and no, I did NOT get sick.


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## Mudge (Oct 14, 2002)

I'm sure its possible, but usually when the eggs get are salmonella (or whatever) poisoned its airports who let the stuff sit in the sun before loading etc


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## Robboe (Oct 15, 2002)

Can't remember exactly, but i think salmonella is only present in the yolks.

I also think there's a 1 in 10,000 chance of a salmonella infested egg getting through the net, but again, don't hold it against me cause i can't remember exactly.

Either way, it's still odds i don't like.

I know someone who got salmonella and dropped 28lbs in 3 weeks i think. Not pretty.

Just cook the whites and eat them at the same time.


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## Redsol1 (Oct 15, 2002)

Yo bigss75!

I wouldn't put raw egg in your shake for a number of reasons. first is the infection risk. as  The_Chicken_Daddy stated the chances of the bacteria contaminating the yolk or white is very low. however, cross contamination from the outside of the shell is a posibility. second, (and this is something i did not know untill recently), eggs must be cooked for the protein to be usable to humans. cooking does something to the chains of proteins in the egg that makes them digestable. i'll try to did the info up and post it as a responce.

La'
   Redsol1


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## Fade (Oct 15, 2002)

Could also depend on the persons eating habits too.

When I was growing up my dad would bar-b-q chicken and beef. We would eat some that night then the rest would sit on the counter untill the next night and we would finish it off. I also had a bad habit of taking chuncks of raw hamburger meat and eating it. It grossed my mom out, that's why I did it. Fixing a mocha shake with a couple of raw eggs in it is another thing I regularly did as a kid.

Now, if I cook some meat that's passed date and eat it I'm fine, but if Cory or Butterfly eat it they'll get sick. I've also eaten bad seafood with no illeffects.


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## Stacey (Oct 15, 2002)

Fade your a freak!! 

I'm kidding!!!


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## Mudge (Oct 15, 2002)

> _*Originally posted by Redsol1 *_
> (and this is something i did not know untill recently), eggs must be cooked for the protein to be usable to humans. cooking does something to the chains of proteins in the egg that makes them digestable. i'll try to did the info up and post it as a responce.
> 
> La'
> Redsol1



They are digestible raw, just poorly so. When you cook the egg the proteins unravel (it turns white when this occurs) into its amino form.


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## Mifody (Oct 16, 2002)

i used to put 8 egg whites in with a scoop of whey.  they were the pasturized egg whites that come in the cartons.  never had a prob.   are those pasturized ones poorly digested as well?  does that mean you dont get as much of the protein from them?


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## butterfly (Oct 17, 2002)

Here's a good article on the subject http://my.webmd.com/printing/article/1671.51385

some highlights...

The Salmonella scare emerged in 1985 when Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) researchers first found the bacteria Salmonella enteritidis not just on the outer shells of eggs, but also inside them. The odds of buying such eggs are extremely low, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) -- one in 20,000. The problem is, there's no way to tell which ones are infected. To be safe, in July the FDA recommended that eggs be kept refrigerated and used within 30 days of purchase. 

Salmonella infection can range from mild to severe, but its symptoms are usually clear: abdominal cramps, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, chills, fever, or headache. These typically appear anywhere from six to 72 hours after you eat a salmonella-tainted meal, leaving you to wonder, was it the chicken? The burger? The eggs in the no-bake cheesecake? 

In fact, it could be any of them, or it could have been from salmonella lurking on your kitchen sponge. That's because salmonella is everywhere -- not just in eggs. Chances are that if you tested, you'd find the pesky bacteria on your fingertips right now. Not a problem if you have a normal immune system, which can fight off the infection in a day or two. But it can lead to serious complications for the very young, the pregnant, the elderly, the ill, and those with weakened immune function. 

Until 1985, researchers thought bacteria lurking on the shell surface was the most likely source of salmonella contamination in eggs. Today, this risk is minimized because eggshells are washed and sterilized during processing. But researchers were surprised in the mid-'80s by a new finding -- salmonella lurking in the yolk membrane itself. These bacteria are literally born in the egg, entering from the infected ovaries of the laying hen, says Bessie Berry, manager of the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Meat and Poultry Hotline. An added problem for the farmer is that the laying hen does not appear sick in any way. 

The birds can become infected with salmonella in two ways: Either they're born from an infected mother hen, or they pick up salmonella along the way, perhaps when an unlucky fly lands on the hen's food tray and is gobbled up. Farm eggs and free-range eggs are not immune from contamination either, says Berry. 

Testing the laying hens is the only way to determine infection. But testing is a staggering task when you take into account the numbers: There is one laying hen for every man, woman, and child in the United States -- about 260 million birds, according to FDA statistics. Finding the one infected egg in 20,000 is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Nevertheless, the FDA will require testing of commercial flocks -- the ones who lay the eggs for market -- by 2001. 

Even if salmonella bacteria are within the egg, they still have to gain access to the nutrient-rich yolk to multiply -- a process hindered when the egg is fresh and the yolk membrane is intact. At that stage, the number of bacteria is very small. Refrigeration provides additional protection by limiting bacterial growth and preventing the breakdown of the membrane. So your best bet is to buy fresh eggs -- check the sell-by date on the carton, if there is one -- and keep them in the fridge. Also, make sure to use them within four weeks of purchase. 

In the rare chance that you do buy an egg contaminated with salmonella bacteria, there's some reassuring news: Cooking kills the bacteria. There is no way for you to know at home if the egg is contaminated -- the egg won't look, smell, or taste different from any other egg, says Marjorie Davidson, a food safety education expert at the FDA. Because of this, she recommends cooking all eggs thoroughly: Salmonella bacteria are killed at temperatures above 160 degrees Fahrenheit. Both the FDA and USDA recommend cooking raw (unpasteurized) eggs until the yolks and whites are completely firm. 

*Pasteurized eggs are available in test markets around the country for those who want to make, for example, a protein shake containing an uncooked egg or sunny-side-up eggs with a runny yolk. These eggs have been heated to 145 degrees Fahrenheit for three and a half minutes. Egg products in containers, such as Egg Beaters (essentially egg whites that have been colored), are also pasteurized. *
 

Ok, so that's a lot of highlights... but it's a really good article


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## crackerjack414 (Oct 17, 2002)

wouldnt even worry about it unless you arnt a healthy adult


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## david (Oct 18, 2002)

> _*Originally posted by butterfly *_
> Here's a good article on the subject http://my.webmd.com/printing/article/1671.51385
> 
> some highlights...
> ...



But I LOVE my raw eggs!!!!!!!


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## cytrix (Oct 18, 2002)

Th reason you should not eat raw egg whites (the yolks are ok to eat raw), is because there is something in egg whites that interferes with the absorption of a certain vitamin, I'm not sure right now which one.


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## butterfly (Oct 18, 2002)

> _*Originally posted by cytrix *_
> Th reason you should not eat raw egg whites (the yolks are ok to eat raw), is because there is something in egg whites that interferes with the absorption of a certain vitamin, I'm not sure right now which one.


Did you just skip right past the article I posted


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## Robboe (Oct 19, 2002)

lol, it would appear so.

By the way, what cytrix is referring to is the protein avidin that needs to be cooked to deactivate it so it doesn't prevent biotin (B vitamin) absorption.


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## Robboe (Oct 19, 2002)

Well I'll be damned.

Here's a snippet from a mercola interview on t-mag:

T: I know you have some rather odd recommendations concerning eggs. Tell us about those. 

Mercola: Eggs are probably one of the best values in protein and a bodybuilder could easily eat a dozen a day as long as he didn't heat the yolk. This may surprise many people as they'll be concerned about the risk of salmonella, but the reality is that salmonella is a relatively uncommon infection in healthy, cage-free, organically fed chickens. 

T: Why exactly do you suggest we not cook the yolks? 

Mercola: The reason I advise not cooking the yolk is the incredible destruction of highly perishable nutrients that occurs once the yolk is heated. Just imagine that virtually all that's required to grow a mammalian life form is present in the egg in the perfect combinations. Once you heat the yolk above 105 degrees, just like your own body, you will rapidly damage the sensitive architecture of life, including most of the enzymes and fragile biochemicals that facilitate health.

Imagine a delicate crystal vase. Now imagine someone smashes it with a hammer and then tries to convince you that it's the exact same vase as before they destroyed it because, hey, all the pieces are still there! Well, obviously it's not the same. It not only looks different, but it can't perform the important function of holding fluids or displaying the beauty it had prior to being smashed with the hammer.

Well, an unheated egg yolk may seem similar to a cooked egg yolk, but it's far more complex and precise. We just don't appreciate that as we can't see it at the molecular level. If we could, the picture would be just as clear as with the vase.

One of the major dangers of heating the yolk is that you can damage the cholesterol in the egg and oxidize it, especially if you mix it with egg whites, so scrambled eggs or omelets containing the yolks are one of the worst ways to prepare eggs. If yolks must be cooked, it's best to hard or soft-boil them.

It may take some getting used to eating raw egg yolks, but if one starts slowly it's not much of a problem. I also advise adding them to the leftover pulp one creates when vegetable juicing. If you add a little oil, the mixture turns to a mayonnaise type substance that actually tastes quite good.

T: Okay, so we should eat our egg yolks raw, but you're not advocating that we eat the whites raw, too, are you? 

Mercola: It's important not to eat your egg whites raw because egg whites have a substance called avidin that will bind to biotin (a B vitamin) and can cause deficiencies over time. You can put the whites in a skillet with some water and put a lid on it and cook them over a very low heat so all the whites are solid white and not burnt.

Eggs are high in protein, which is good, but if people only eat one organic food, it should be eggs. Organic eggs contain a 1:1 omega-6 to omega-3 ratio, while commercial eggs contain a 19:1 omega-6 to omega-3 ratio. Commercial eggs are not unhealthy due to the cholesterol, but due to their excessive omega-6 fats.

Most people can eat one to two dozen eggs per week if cooked properly, as they won't cause your cholesterol to increase with appropriate preparation. However, it's important not to eat eggs daily or an allergy to them can be developed. If the eggs are prepared conventionally, eat them no more than five days per week.


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## cytrix (Oct 19, 2002)

> _*Originally posted by butterfly *_
> 
> Did you just skip right past the article I posted



No, everything yoou wrote is good, but still, besides the salmonella danger, even if you were sure the egg is free of it, still there is another reason to cook egg whites  that's all I meant to say. As TCD already explained, it's the vitamin biotin.


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## w8lifter (Oct 19, 2002)

I've read that from Mercola before....now I'm curious if anyone actually eats the yolks raw?


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## Robboe (Oct 19, 2002)

Never.


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## tenchi (Oct 23, 2002)

> _*Originally posted by The_Chicken_Daddy *_
> ....
> 
> Mercola: It's important not to eat your egg whites raw because egg whites have a substance called avidin that will bind to biotin (a B vitamin) and can cause deficiencies over time. You can put the whites in a skillet with some water and put a lid on it and cook them over a very low heat so all the whites are solid white and not burnt.
> ....



Does the pastuerization process that products like Egg Beaters or Simply Egg Whites undergo enough to not only kill the bacteria, as stated by butterfly's article, but solve the avidin/biotin problem as well?


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## butterfly (Oct 23, 2002)

Who is Mercola and what evidence does he base his theory on?


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## Redsol1 (Oct 24, 2002)

> _*Originally posted by butterfly *_
> Who is Mercola and what evidence does he base his theory on?



Mercola is a O.D. who has come up with some odd theories on health and diet. Some call him a kook, others believe in what he states. He does have some strainge theories tho, like people shouldn't eat fish, only drink warm water, ect. check out Mercola.com and read the entire interview at T-mag.com.

la'
   Redsol1


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