It is very common in the world of fitness to eat many egg whites. Especially bodybuilders eat many egg whites and sometimes they eat it raw. We have witnessed the athletes who used to have about 40 egg whites a day!
The question we get a lot is: if one egg white contains about 3-4 grams of protein, why do some athletes eat many of them? The answer is very simple: it is because of its biologic value which is 100. In fact, the biologic value of an egg is 100 and other proteins are compared with that of an egg. The higher the biologic value, the better the quality.
Disadvantages of eating raw egg whites:
1) The biggest drawback of eating raw egg white (raw egg) is that it might be contaminated with few bacteria with Salmonella being the most common one.
2) Egg white contains a protein called “Avidin“. This protein has the ability to bind biotin (vitamin B7; vitamin H) and blocks its absorption. So, having many raw egg whites for a long time may lead to vitamin B7 deficiency. Interestingly, when it is cooked, Avidin loses the ability to bind biotin. As about the natural function of Avidin in egg, it has been hypothesized that Avidin acts as an inhibitor of bacterial growth by binding vitamin B7 which bacteria may need it to grow!
Abazar Habibinia, MD, DFN
Executive Director of The Canadian Academy of Sports Nutrition
