Drinking raw eggs may not be so bad

Rocky's raw eggs: myth or genius trick?

My memories of Rocky are fuzzy, but one thing sticks in my mind: the scene where Rocky drinks five raw eggs first thing in the morning. At the time, I thought, "Is this really helping him? Isn't that rather silly?"

Why did we think it was nonsense?

Rocky's training inspired a lot of athletes. But many of them soon learned that pounding frozen meat wasn't as effective as it looked in the movie. There was also a wave of raw egg eating, which I found questionable to say the least.

I was particularly concerned about the lack of biotin. Raw egg whites contain avidin, which binds to biotin in the body and can lead to biotin deficiency. My advice has always been to boil the eggs, as cooking denatures the avidin and prevents it from binding to the biotin. Another problem I saw was in the protein dynamics. Digestion and absorption of amino acids from raw eggs was estimated to be only 51%, whereas for cooked eggs it was up to 91%.

However, protein digestion and absorption is different from muscle protein synthesis, especially after exercise. To date, no one has addressed the comparison of raw and cooked eggs in these areas.

Surprising discoveries about raw eggs

Dutch researchers decided to investigate the effect of raw and cooked eggs on recovery after exercise. They randomly assigned 45 healthy young men who exercised regularly to the study. Each volunteer completed 15 minutes of cycling followed by 45 minutes of exercise. They were then given either a low-protein control breakfast, five raw eggs, or five boiled eggs.

Muscle biopsies (from the m. vastus lateralis) were taken before breakfast, two hours after exercise, and five hours after exercise. What did they find?

• Consumption of boiled eggs resulted in 20% higher maximum plasma amino acid concentrations than consumption of raw eggs.
• Post-meal protein synthesis was 20% higher after eating raw eggs and only 18% higher after eating boiled eggs (compared to a control breakfast).

Thus, there was essentially no significant difference in postprandial muscle protein synthesis between the consumption of five boiled eggs and five raw eggs.

Explanation of unexpected findings

These results suggest that higher plasma amino acid availability does not necessarily mean greater muscle protein synthesis. Although boiled eggs were better digested and their protein was more available, this did not translate into muscle building in the final analysis.

Perhaps the situation would have changed if fewer eggs had been used in the experiment. Five eggs provide about 30 grams of protein, which is the optimal amount for maximum stimulation of muscle protein synthesis (usually quoted as a range of 20 to 40 grams). If you take in less, the cells may not be stimulated enough for muscle growth. If you take in more (say 40 grams), you may gain an "extra layer", but it will not have any additional benefit for muscle protein synthesis.

It's important to remember that no protein will go to waste because it's not just muscles that need protein. They are used to build and repair cells and tissues (including hair and skin) and are essential for the production of hormones and enzymes. This may be the source of the myth that "the body can't absorb more than 30 grams of protein". The propagators of this nonsense may be confusing plasma protein levels with the amount of protein needed for maximum muscle protein synthesis. Although more than 30 grams is "unnecessary" for muscle protein synthesis, the body will certainly use it - just not to build more muscle.

Eating raw eggs is not so unreasonable

It turns out that Rocky's morning ritual with raw eggs wasn't as silly as has been debated in recent years.

The question remains, of course, whether it is wise to eat raw eggs. The avidin/biotin problem still exists, but you would probably have to eat large quantities of raw eggs over an extended period of time to develop a deficiency of this B vitamin. Additionally, you can compensate for any biotin deficiency by taking 10 mg of biotin daily.

There is also the risk of salmonella, but that doesn't seem to be that big of a problem. The risk of poisoning from eggs is less than 0.0006%.

So neither of these problems is probably a good reason to avoid raw eggs. But why eat them at all? Maybe it makes sense if you're in a hurry, don't have access to cooking, or are simply a big Rocky fan!

What do you think? Have these findings changed your perspective on raw eggs?

References:

• Fuchs CJ et al. Raw eggs to support post-exercise recovery in healthy young men: did Rocky get it right or wrong? J Nutr. 2022 Aug 9;nxac174. PubMed
• Sources: mensxp.com, T-nation, Author: TC_Luoma