Nutrition Facts Egg Whites
Eggs have always been an excellent source of nutrition. However, people have become more concerned with calories, fat and cholesterol over the past couple of decades. As a result, many people focus on eating primarily egg whites rather than egg yolks, which is where most of the undesirable food content is.
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Composition
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The egg white makes up most of an egg's weight. It is almost completely comprised of water, but 40 kinds of protein can be found in the watery mix along with trace amounts of minerals, fat, vitamins, and glucose. The amount of fat in egg whites is usually regarded as negligible, which makes it a healthy source of protein.
Nutritional Data
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The exact nutritional values for eggs will vary depending on an egg's size or the species the egg came from. On average, a large chicken egg white will contain around 5g of protein, 0.3g of carbohydrate, 60mg of sodium, with a total of about 20 calories. Egg whites have no cholesterol, but contain trace amounts of invaluable minerals such as potassium, magnesium, calcium, phosphorous, copper, zinc and iron.
Cholesterol Reduction
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Cholesterol is a health concern that is growing apace with America's growing obesity problem. Whole eggs have a bad reputation of being very high in cholesterol. However, the high cholesterol content is found in the egg yolk alone, with no cholesterol or saturated fat being found in egg whites. In fact, according to a 2008 article published on the National Center for Biotechnology Information's website, researchers have found evidence that a substance within egg whites tends to counteract the negative effect of cholesterol in the yolk. (Find a link in the References section.)This means that a few whole eggs every now and then may not have a drastic effect on a person's cholesterol levels.
Side Effects
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An excessive amount of any kind of food can cause unwanted side effects. One noticeable physical symptom of eating too many egg whites is constipation and sulfur gas, which is caused by the egg white's binding effect in the digestive system. Another negative point of consuming too many egg whites is the amount of sodium present. A large egg white may contain around 400mg of sodium. Thus anyone on a controlled sodium diet should carefully monitor their egg white intake.
Versatility
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Egg whites are versatile in culinary use. They can be used in dishes such as egg white omelets, sandwiches or salads. Egg whites have a bland flavor in comparison to the egg yolk, which allows the whites to easily pick up the flavors of other ingredients used in a dish. This versatility allows them to be consumed with all the nutritious benefits of an egg, minus the negative aspects of the egg yolk.
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