Egg-cellent Debate: Raw vs. Cooked – Which is the Better Option?

(Fuchs CJ et al., 2022)

Have you ever seen an athlete chug raw eggs in a movie and wondered if it’s actually beneficial for muscle building? However, protein digestion from raw eggs is around 40% less than from cooked eggs. 

Fuchs CJ et al., 2022), a randomized controlled trial, set out to answer this question by comparing the effects of consuming raw eggs versus cooked eggs on muscle gain and recovery in 45 healthy men. 

Eating cooked eggs led to higher levels of total Amino Acids, Essential Amino Acids, leucine, Branch Chained Amino Acids, and Non-Essential Amino Acids compared to eating raw eggs. 

However, there was no difference in muscle protein synthesis between the raw and cooked egg groups. While this was a short-term study, the lack of difference in muscle protein synthesis suggests that the benefits of eggs may persist regardless of how they are prepared. So, whether you like your eggs sunny side up or scrambled, you can’t go wrong with either option for muscle building.

Reference:

Fuchs CJ, Hermans WJH, Smeets JSJ, Senden JM, van Kranenburg J, Gorissen SHM, Burd NA, Verdijk LB, van Loon LJC. Raw Eggs to Support Post-Exercise Recovery in Healthy Young Men: Did Rocky Get It Right or Wrong? J Nutr. 2022 Aug 9;152(11):2376–86. doi: 10.1093/jn/nxac174. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35945651; PMCID: PMC9644172.