Egg on My Face

The other day, I was at the grocery store with my 9-year-old daughter. We were in the dairy section trying to find a dozen "crack-free" eggs. (No, not looking for eggs from chickens in rehab, just looking for eggs without cracks in them.) After looking through the 5th box, my daughter said, "Dad, what are these?" She was pointing to a carton of brown eggs. I just told her what my dad always told me, "Oh those are farm eggs." Then she asked, "Why are they brown? Are they any different than the white ones?" Without much thought, I responded, "No, honey, they're the same, one's just brown and one's white." Luckily that must have sufficed, because she then moved on to asking about Greek yogurt. I was glad, because, in that brief conversation, I realized that I really didn't know much about brown eggs or if there really was any difference from the more common white variety.

Well, you know me, when I got home, I started digging. Come to find out, there was some truth to what my Dad had told me. Basically white eggs come from white chickens and brown eggs come from brown-ish chickens. Most of the companies that mass produce eggs use white chickens (the White Leghorn). Most small or local farms use brown-ish hens (Rhode Island Red, New Hampshire and Plymouth Rock chickens) which lay brown or brown-speckled eggs.

Then I discovered another interesting fact. Some chickens have a coloring that may make it hard to determine (just by looking at them) what color egg they'll lay. So how do you tell? You look at their earlobes! Yep, their earlobes. According to MrBreakfast.com, "the pigments in the outer layer of the eggshell will always approximate the color of the earlobe of the chicken that laid the egg." So, you're probably thinking, "Where is a chicken's earlobe?" So did I. Well, basically they're not lobes in the same sense as a human earlobe. A chicken's earlobe is the area on each side of the chicken's face. If that area is white, then most likely that chicken will lay white eggs. Who'd a thunk?!!

Let me guess. The next question rolling around in your head is probably, "Is one color more nutritious than another?" Good question. According to the Egg Nutrition Center in Washington, D.C., there is no difference. The nutrition chart they provide doesn't distinguish between white and brown. There does seem to be some controversy over this, however. Some groups propose that brown eggs are more nutritious. In the March, 2010 issue of Prevention, the article " 50 Healthiest Everyday Foods" states that "pasture-raised eggs may have 35% less sat fat, 60% more vitamin A, and 200% more omega-3s." This factoid shows a brown egg labeled as "Pasture-raised." I guess that's because more small farms who may be into producing "pasture-raised eggs" use hens that produce brown eggs. If there is a difference in nutrition, I'm thinking it probably has more to do with how the chickens are raised and what they're fed not the color of the egg (just my editorial).

Regardless of whether you eat brown or white, eggs are a great source of high quality complete protein. Great for runners since protein helps with muscle repair. For many years there's been concern over eggs, cholesterol, and heart disease. The Egg Nutrition Center in Washington, D.C. states that "30 years of research has never linked egg consumption to heart disease." They go further saying, "A 2007 study of 9,500 people reported in Medical Science Monitor showed that eating one or more eggs a day did not increase the risk of heart disease or stroke among healthy adults, and that eating eggs may be associated with a decrease in blood pressure. Also in 2007, researchers showed that egg consumption contributed less than 1 percent of the risk for heart disease when other risk factors were taken into account. The researchers concluded that broad recommendations to limit egg consumption may be misguided, particularly when eggs' nutritional contributions are considered."

And get this..."Not only have decades of research shown no association between egg intake and heart disease risk, but eggs are an excellent source of choline, which plays an important role in breaking down homocysteine, an amino acid in the blood that may be associated with an increased risk of heart disease."

So, now you know all there is to know about white eggs, brown eggs, and their nutrition. And, as a bonus you learned that chickens have earlobes. I don't know about you, but my day is complete!