I love eggs and eat 3-4 of them for breakfast, every single day.
I don’t lose sleep over it, because research shows that they are good for my health.
But depending on what the hens themselves ate, the nutritional value of the eggs can differ greatly.
The Different Types of Eggs Are a Confusing Mess
There are several different types of eggs, which can leave people confused.
What all of them have in common is that they come from chickens, but they vary depending on how the chickens were raised and what they were fed.
- Conventional Eggs – These are your standard supermarket eggs. The chickens are usually raised in an overfilled hen house or a cage and never see the light of day.
They are usually fed grain-based crap, supplemented with vitamins and minerals. May also be treated with antibiotics and hormones. - Organic Eggs – Were not treated with antibiotics or hormones and received organic feed. May have had limited access to the outdoors.
- Pastured Eggs – Chickens are allowed to roam free, eating plants and insects (their natural food) along with some commercial feed.
- Omega-3 Enriched Eggs – Basically, they’re like conventional chickens except that their feed is supplemented with an Omega-3 source like flax seeds. May have had some access to the outside.
Conventional vs. Omega-3 Eggs
A study compared the fatty acid composition of 3 types of eggs: conventional, organic and omega-3 enriched (1).
- Omega-3 eggs had 39% less Arachidonic Acid, an inflammatory Omega-6 fatty acid that most people eat too much of.
- Omega-3 eggs had 5 times as much Omega-3 as the conventional eggs.
- There was very little difference between organic and conventional eggs.
It is clear that hens fed an omega-3 enriched diets lay eggs that are much higher in Omega-3 than conventional eggs.
This is important because most people eat too little Omega-3.
Unfortunately this study didn’t measure other nutrients, only the fatty acid composition.
Conventional vs. Pastured Eggs
In 2007, Mother Earth News magazine decided to test the nutritional value of pastured eggs and received such eggs from 14 different farms.
They were measured in a chemical lab, then compared to the USDA standard conventional egg.
Full chart here.
As you can see, eggs from pastured hens are more nutritious than the conventional eggs you might find at the supermarket.
They are higher in Vitamin A, E and Omega-3s. They are also lower in Cholesterol and Saturated Fat, but I don’t think that matters.
A study I found on pastured eggs produced similar results (2).
Other Terms For Eggs
There are other more loose and confusing terms, including Free Range and Cage Free, which may or may not be any better than conventional eggs.
Free range could mean that there’s a small window on the hen house where the hens have the option of going outside.
Cage free just means that they aren’t raised in a cage. They could still be raised in a smelly, dirty overstuffed hen house.
Take Home Message
At the end of the day, pastured eggs are your best bet. They are more nutritious and the hens were allowed free access to the outside and ate a more natural diet.
If you can’t get pastured eggs (like me) then Omega-3 enriched eggs will be your second best choice. If you can’t get either pastured or Omega-3 eggs, then try to find eggs that are either free-range, cage-free or organic.
But even if that’s not an option, then conventional eggs are still among the healthiest and most nutritious foods you can eat.
To sum up:
Pastured > Omega-3 > Organic > Free Range/Cage Free > Conventional
This just goes to show that what we eat isn’t all that matters… it also matters what our foods eat.
Kris,
I go through about a dozen eggs a week, so opting for Omega-3 eggs is an easy way to improve the Omega-3 content in my diet. I also take a krill oil supplement daily. They are slightly more expensive, but well worth it in my opinion.
Alykhan
Kris,
I really like your website. It’s visually pleasing and I think your topics are intriguing. I’m a follower of Marks Daily Apple, Diet Doctor, Diagnosis Diet, Gary Taube’s, Living La Vida Low Carb and Chris Kresser. I look forward to your posts every morning with my coffee.
Thanks
Awesome, thanks :)
Great article. One major caveat people should be aware of: Omega-3 eggs are from hens fed flax seeds that are probably not whole or protected from air, light and heat. Omega-3 fatty acids are inherently prone to oxidation from air, heat and light.
It’s therefore likely the hens are consuming rancid flax seeds/Omega-3s — and that you are then consuming concentrated, rancid Omega-3s. Dr. Mercola alludes to this (for example, see http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/03/10/The-Sunny-Side-of-Eggs.aspx)
One producer I’m aware of (http://goldcirclefarms.com/) offers Omega-3 eggs that include marine algae AND flax in the hens’ diets.
While cage-free, these eggs are neither free-range nor organic. And they still include some flax. Best bet: pasture-raised or organic, free-range eggs.
Kris, enjoy your daily articles from here in Australia.
Do you know of a recipe for a healthy, weight safe breakfast shake? I do not have gluten, sugar or milk in my diet and cannot face eggs every day.
Sarah
Sure. You mean in a blender, right?
I personally like shakes with coconut milk and berries (either blueberries or strawberries). It is very satisfying, keeps me satiated for many hours. I put one raw egg in my shake instead of protein powder.
Thanks, great feed.
Hi Kris,
Great article, thanks for writing it. I always thought there was something funny about egg producers advertising “from vegetarian-fed hens.” Cows graze, but chickens attack (ie, peck). Would you go so far as to say that if you can’t find or afford pastured eggs, then just don’t eat eggs?
No, conventional eggs are still very healthy IMO. Most of the eggs in studies that showed health benefits were probably conventional supermarket eggs.
I recently purchased my first dozen omega 3 free range eggs. What a disappointment! The yolks of the first 6 I cracked broke as soon as the were in the pan. They were also a pale yellow. Having raised laying hens myself, I know an egg from a free run bird has a yolk that stands up much higher than store bought and is a deep yellow to orange color when the birds are fed greens. The shells are also more difficult to crack.
I pitched the last half dozen eggs and will never buy them again. I’ll stick with the local farmers “uninspected” eggs.
Good morning from the continental mainland (I’m in Greece)! Just arrived at your site recently and I like what I read. Great job.
About omega-3 eggs, you say: “5 times as much Omega-3.”
I think we probably would agree are by far that EPA and DHA are the most beneficial omega-3s, as the conversion of anything else to these two are of a low order. I’ve heard that none or little of the omega-3 found in eggs are either EPA or DHA. Do you know this to be true? If so, do you still think they are worth the extra cost?
A lot of the ALA fed to the chickens gets converted into EPA and DHA. So you will be getting a mix of the three. Yes, I believe they are worth the extra cost.
Thanks for the feedback. It doesn’t seem like there’s a consensus on this issue.
According to this review “http://www.acneeinstein.com/omega-3-eggs-worth-it/” it appears the amount of EPA and DHA in omega-3 eggs still remains pretty low (to me, it’s not worth the cost for the amount of available EPA and DHA). However, if there’s a benefit (and this might be worth the cost) it appears to lie in the more reasonable omega-6 to 3 ratio. Just sayin’.
Great work Kris, ever since my daughter sent me the link to your articles I am hooked!
I have lost 8kg in approx 3 months and feel awesome. Thank you
Awesome, congrats!
Aren’t conventional eggs laid by hens whose feed are almost entirely GMO?
If this is the case won’t this somehow, someway negatively affect the person consuming them? Perhaps on a genetic level?
I only eat conventional eggs and this has been an issue in the back of my mind every time I’m enjoying some.
I wouldn’t worry about it. Plenty of studies showing health benefits for eggs, whether they are GMO fed or not.
You’re write up here is really good and informative, however you’re mistaken on one aspect- Chickens are NOT fed hormones.* It’s illegal to feed them hormones. You are correct about overdosing with antibiotics though. Beef has growth hormones and the like but chicken does not, so anytime you see “hormone free” on chicken it’s just bull***t advertising. It’s like saying “Anti-freeze free!”…
*Speaking from a US point of view, I don’t know about other countries but I suspect it’s similar since many places are more strict than the US on food safety.
Thank you for a good simple explanation again! I’ve been wondering where I can get hold of “pastured” eggs in the UK as all the low carb sites rave about them and I’d never seen them here… turns out that in the UK we call them “free range” and I’ve been eating them for a decade!!
What a great article and I learned even more by reading all of your responses. I have raised my own ‘pasture fed’ flock for decades, even in Alaska for a time and I have always preferred the quality of the eggs and meat to anything you can get in the store, but I didn’t really understand why. Now I’m doing my own little bit of research. I guess I have been on the right track. Next study, ‘the natural diet of chickens and what they get from their feed.’
It is a pleasure reading the article and comments posted. @ Stipetic Omega-3 enriched eggs can provide the long chain fatty acids (DHA, EPA) at higher and acceptable levels than conventional eggs. However, flavor of such eggs could be affected depending on the source of omega-3 oil used in the chicken diet.