Recent social media trends have shown influencers consuming raw eggs, particularly after workouts. That has been popular at times over the years, and was featured in the original Rocky movie. It has returned and become a phenomenon to include raw eggs in protein shakes or smoothies. However, given the potential consequences of eating raw eggs, it is important to think twice about this issue. Is it good for you to eat raw eggs, and can it really help build muscle mass?
According to the Cleveland Clinic, it is not safe to consume raw eggs under any circumstance (1). Most eggs are pasteurized, meaning they are heated in a warm water bath to kill bacteria that could make you sick. However, even pasteurized eggs can still contain Salmonella, which can lead to diarrhea, cramps, or more serious illness. In a 2019 report by the European Food Safety Authority, eggs and egg products comprise 5.3% of all foodborne Salmonella outbreaks and are the foods most commonly associated with Salmonella (2). Therefore, physicians recommend eating eggs that are both pasteurized AND cooked.
Another reason physicians recommend not consuming raw eggs is that you can receive the same benefits from eating a cooked egg. One study compared muscle growth in 45 young men randomly assigned to consume 5 raw eggs or 5 hard boiled eggs after exercise (3). Between the two groups, researchers found no significant difference in muscle protein synthesis rates between young men who ate raw versus hard boiled eggs, suggesting that eating raw eggs did not offer an advantage for building muscle.
In this vein, another study showed that raw egg is more poorly absorbed during digestion than cooked egg, and cooking eggs can facilitate more complete digestion (4). However, this study investigated digestion of 5 participants, so more research is needed to conclude how raw versus cooked eggs are digested. Nevertheless, cooking is known to increase digestion of many foods.
Given this research, you don’t need to follow influencers by consuming raw eggs or put them in protein shakes to build muscle mass. A hard- boiled egg will do the trick! Remember to always Think Twice!
Sources
Cleveland Clinic. “Is Eating Raw Eggs Bad?” April 6, 2022. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/can-you-eat-raw-eggs
Oh, Hyemin et al. “Quantitative risk assessment of foodborne Salmonella illness by estimating cooking effect on eggs from retail markets.” Journal of animal science and technology vol. 65,5 (2023): 1024-1039. doi:10.5187/jast.2023.e18
Fuchs, Cas J et al. “Raw Eggs To Support Postexercise Recovery in Healthy Young Men: Did Rocky Get It Right or Wrong?.” The Journal of nutrition vol. 152,11 (2022): 2376-2386. doi:10.1093/jn/nxac174
Evenepoel P, Geypens B, Luypaerts A, Hiele M, Ghoos Y, Rutgeerts P. Digestibility of cooked and raw egg protein in humans as assessed by stable isotope techniques. J Nutr. 1998 Oct;128(10):1716-22. doi: 10.1093/jn/128.10.1716. PMID: 9772141.