Are Egg Yolks Healthier Than Egg Whites?

Eggs are amongst the healthiest natural foods. They are a power house of nutrients. In fact, two eggs a day can take care of a lot of our daily essential nutrient requirement. But many of us feel that the egg yolk is unhealthy and stay away from eggs for that reason. Those on a weight loss diet, discard the egg yolks from the whole egg and only eat the white (which according to many contains most of the protein, which is not entirely true). Here we will highlight the benefits of the egg yolk and egg white by comparing their nutritive values.

Egg whites are slightly higher in protein content than yolks. Egg white contains around 3.6 gm while yolk has 2.7 gm of protein. So if you are avoiding the yolk, you are basically throwing away 40% of the protein content of the egg. Egg whites are very low on calories, i.e., 17 calories, while the yolk contains around 59 calories. Egg whites are rich in sodium, i.e., 55 mg of sodium per single egg white, whereas an egg yolk contains 8 mg of sodium per egg yolk.

In case of fat, an egg white contains .06 gm of fat and no saturated fat, where as an egg yolk contains 4.5 gm of fat and 1.6 gm of saturated fat. The same is with the cholesterol content. Egg white contains no cholesterol while the egg yolk contains 210 mg. An egg white has 0.24 grams of carbohydrates, where as an egg yolk has 0.61 grams of carbohydrates.

The yolk contains 100% of the carotenoids, essential fatty acids like omega-3 fatty acid DHA and omega-6 fatty acid arachidonic acids. It even contains vitamins A, E, D, and K. The white does not contain any of the above mentioned nutrients.

The yolk contains more than 90% of the calcium, iron, phosphorus, zinc, thiamin, B6, folate, and B12, and 89% of the B5. The white does not contain more than 90% of any nutrient, but contains over 80% of the magnesium, sodium, and niacin.
The yolk contains between 50% and 80% of the copper, manganese, and selenium, while the white contains between 50% and 80% of the potassium, riboflavin, and protein.

As you can tell, eating an egg yolk is almost equivalent to consuming a multi vitamin. Also, research has shown that eating 4 or less egg yolks a week does not affect the heart in any way. The next time, do think twice before discarding an egg yolk.