Egg protein is among one of the cheapest but yet one of the best. As compared to other protein types, egg protein is absorbed in the body much more faster. Eggs are very accessible and preparation is done usually quite fast either boiled, scrambled, poached, fried and as omelette. Also readily available are egg powders which can be easily used in cereals like oatmeal and as a protein shake. Egg powders contain only egg whites and no yolks. Many body builders consume eggs on a regular basis due to the protein quality found in them. An egg is made up of a yolk and the albumen which is the white part when cooked. Both the yolk and the albumen contain protein but the albumen contains most of them and does not have fat. On the other hand, the yolk has fat and cholesterol.

An average sized egg contains about 6.3 grams of protein. The albumen has 3.597 grams of protein and the yolk has 2.696 grams of protein. The yolk has also a total fat of around 5.6 grams and 210 mg of cholesterol.

The yolk is still a good choice if you limit your intake per day and is recommended when bulking up. For instance if you are eating 2 eggs a day, you can consume both yolks. If you're eating 3 eggs a day, limit it to 2. If you go above 3 eggs a day, just eat the egg whites and go for maximum 2 yolks in all. If you're active and exercising, eating two yolks everyday is not risky. Regular exercising will reduce cholesterol levels as well. Note that the egg yolk has only about 1.7 grams of saturated fats which is quite minimal and the rest are healthy fats ie unsaturated fats like monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. Egg yolks have also lots of vitamins and minerals.

Some people avoid egg yolks like the plague because of its high level of cholesterol content but in fact, dietary cholesterol does not increase the bad cholesterol levels the way saturated fats do according to research. The main culprit is saturated fats like animal fats which are responsible for the rise in high blood cholesterol levels and can cause cardiovascular diseases.

Important: If you have diabetes, you need to limit your egg intake in your diet to 3 per week.

If you don't eat eggs at all, consider egg nutrition and add them in your daily meals primarily during breakfast. An effective way to consume eggs and bypassing the yolks completely is to hard boil them, separate the whites from the yolks and eat the whites only. As a result, you will waste the yolks. A better solution is to buy readily available egg white protein powders like the Optimum 100% Egg Protein.

About the author

Jean Lam is the webmaster of Body Building Resource which provides articles on weight training, nutrition and fitness, body building book and DVDs.