posted May 18, 2000 07:09 PM         

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I heard that eating raw eggs is not good for you. Some kind of poisoning or something. I use to always put raw egg whites in my protein shakes until I read this. Is this true or not?

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posted May 18, 2000 07:44 PM            

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Raw eggs could contain Salmonella enteritidis. It is estimated to be in 1 out of 20,000 eggs. This may not seem to bad but if you get Salmonella, you will not be doing much of anything for about a week except sitting on the toilet, drinking gallons of water, fever, and cramps. There are pasturized whole eggs now being sold or pasturized egg whites only. Or just make sure to cook them well.

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posted May 18, 2000 07:49 PM         

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So are you saying I can drink the pasturized egg whites raw without getting Salmonella poisoning?

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posted May 18, 2000 08:03 PM            

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Yes, as long as it is pasturized. I am not saying you can not have the other, but to me the risk is not worth it. Hopefully as more testing programs (National) come about, this should reduce Salmonella from getting into eggs. (Here in Pennsylvania, testing chicken farms and eggs for Salmonella is what I do for a living.)

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posted May 18, 2000 08:24 PM         

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So do you "choke the chickens"? (smile)

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posted May 18, 2000 08:56 PM            

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Actually I have people do that for me (at home and work). However, that phrase definately has a double meaning.

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posted May 19, 2000 09:22 AM         

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Another thing to consider whit raw eggvites
is that it contains an enzyme which make
digestion of vitamin B6 difficult.And B6
is important for digestion of protein.
So even if it`s easier to drink raw egg
vites you should cook them in some way.
Heat destroys that "nasty" enzyme.
BB-Norway

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posted May 19, 2000 05:37 PM         

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Hey Vitaman, since you do this egg stuff for a living, what do you think about what Astral said?

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posted May 19, 2000 06:22 PM            

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Wannabebig I found that raw egg whites can affect the absoption of Biotin, not vitamin B6. Egg whites have a protein called avidin that binds to biotin. If you take a B-Complex vitamin that has the RDA or higher of Biotin, I would think you should be ok. Or just buy extra biotin supplements to cover what the raw egg whites might absorb.

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posted May 19, 2000 08:54 PM         

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Man Vitaman you seem to really know your stuff. okay here's another: Which came first the chicken or the egg? (just kidding dude)

Thanx a million for all the knowledge!

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posted May 20, 2000 05:38 AM            

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Sorry Wannabebig, that I can not really help you with. That was a little before my time. I am hoping it was the chicken who came first. Because life would suck if we came into this world and never got "layed".

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posted May 28, 2000 12:27 PM         

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Vitaman is correct in his statements. Salmonella is a major pathogen in eggs and chicken, as the media has harped this problem for years now. Cooking eggs will do two beneficial things: kill the pathogens and destroy avidin. I prefer a good cooked egg over the phlegm-like consistency of raw eggs. Plus, another organism is taking over the poultry industry that is not making the headlines like Salmonella, this is Campylobacter jejuni. The problem is that C. jejuni testing is not yet as good as Salmonella testing.

Moral of the story, cook your damn food.

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posted May 28, 2000 07:01 PM            

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Campylobacter is a problem but I have not heard of it being a problem so much with eggs. Now chicken meat is where this is falling into play, along with several different strains of salmonella. Some of these strains of salmonella are anitbiotic resistant also. So cook the hell out of your chicken also.

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posted May 30, 2000 07:34 PM         

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Oh shit! No More Chicken?!

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posted May 30, 2000 07:46 PM            

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Oh no, I would never say no more chicken. Just cook it well and watch what you touch when you are touching the raw bird. Bacterial food poisoning cases have gone down in the last several years in eggs and poultry. But they still exist and probably always will, to some degree.

[This message has been edited by Vitaman (edited May 30, 2000).]

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