By For years we’ve focused on egg whites when the yolk is an essential nutrient source.
I made many mistakes during my muscle-building years, as we all have.
Throwing out the yolk of an egg was one of these mistakes.
I believed that the fat in the yolk would increase my caloric intake, diminishing my chances of losing the body fat I needed to look my best for competition day.
If only I had known better back then.
Still, many people throw that precious yellow sunshine in the bin every day, believing it to be bad for their cholesterol levels and contain ‘too much fat’, which surpasses the necessary daily intake.
If you throw away the yolk, you’re also eliminating the many beneficial effects it can have on your health and longevity.
Perhaps egg whites taste a lot better — but keeping the yolk will do much more for you than most nutrients available on the market.
Benefit One: Egg yolks help to build muscle
This is my absolute favourite benefit when it comes to eating egg yolks.
First, muscle helps boost your metabolism, protect your bone health, and increase your longevity as you add more digits to your age.
The yolk itself contains almost half of the protein in a whole egg.
That’s why it’s much more beneficial to eat the WHOLE egg, which is 13 per cent protein.
Eating an extra-large egg will increase to about seven grams of protein, three of which result from the yolk.
Eating more eggs makes sense when you think about protein quality and an egg’s nutritional value.
Benefit Two: It helps keep your bones strong and healthy
Imagine how much your bone density will benefit if you add resistance training and the consumption of whole eggs too.
Yolks contain vitamin D, which helps absorb calcium and keep your bones healthy at the same time.
It’s not surprising that vitamin D isn’t consumed at the level needed to gain the bone and general health benefits it provides — especially in younger children.
Benefit Three: Your heart health gets a boost
Omega three is beneficial for many reasons, and heart health is no exception. Adding the yolk benefits you by reducing your risk of heart disease.
Omega Three fats are linked to reducing the risk of breast cancer and preventing the onset of arthritis.
Benefit Four: Yolks boost your immune system
The compound, called glycopeptides, is within the egg yolk membrane. These compounds may trigger the production of macrophages.
These cells in our immune system protect our bodies against disease and infection.
If you are in a colder climate right now, think about adding eggs to give you an edge over the flu season we are experiencing.
Benefit Five: It gives your eye health a boost
Egg yolks contain the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin.
These play a part in protecting your eyes against cataracts and muscular degeneration.
But unfortunately, these are two of the most common causes of eye problems we risk developing after age 55.
Key take away
As you can see, there are so many incredible benefits of eating a whole egg so stop throwing out the most nutritionally viable source of an egg.
I have written about the benefits of the yolk before — from a muscle-building perspective. But, we must also consider the vast benefits to our health and longevity.
Eggs are so easy to use in all sorts of recipes — including any snacks you may like to have during the day. However, although you still get the benefits of eggs in cakes, it does negate the health aspect due to the amount of sugar it might contain.
But who’s to say you can’t eliminate sugar and add another healthy alternative like bananas?
If you are a bit of a muscle-building nut like I am, try eating eggs after your weight training session for an added boost towards your goals of developing muscle mass.
With that said, eat the whole egg (unless you are allergic) as much as possible to get the most significant health benefits.
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