Do fertilized eggs have less cholesterol than unfertilized eggs?

The embryo is about the size of the pointed end of a straight pin. It's not going to absorb much cholesterol and even of it did, then the cholesterol would be in the embryo instead of the yolk, and you are going to eat both.

No difference. But I will not argue about well cared for home raised eggs being better than battery raised eggs. Maybe the rumor got started because battery hens are not producing fertile eggs, so if you buy fertile eggs, you are going to get eggs from better raised hens and not from battery farms.

If there were going to be any difference (there isn't) the fertile eggs would be even richer because the yolk has a life to support.

I can remember when the health food advocates would only eat fertile eggs because they were "live food". Eggs that were not fertilized were "dead food".
 
Abstract
Three lipid-containing fractions (granules, low-density lipoproteins (LDL) and infranatant) of fertilized and unfertilized yolks were obtained from hen eggs, either from commercial sources or from Arbor acres hens kept by the Pena Branca Aviário Pernambuco and utilized fresh (laid during the previous 7 days). Total cholesterol (TC) and total phospholipid (TP) levels (mg/g yolk, reported as means +/- SD) were determined. In the yolk granules (insoluble fraction) the levels of TC (2.05 +/- 0.36) and TP (0.90 +/- 0.43) of fertilized egg yolks were similar to the levels of TC (2.20 +/- 0.41) and TP (0.90 +/- 0.14) of unfertilized eggs. The TC levels in the LDL from fertilized egg yolks (8.29 +/- 1.63) were not statistically different from those in unfertilized eggs (7.31 +/- 1.50). In contrast, TC was not detected in the infranatant fraction of unfertilized egg yolks, but was present in the infranatant fraction (1.39 +/- 0.69) of fertilized eggs. The TP levels of LDL (0.73 +/- 0.23) and infranatant (0.32 +/- 0.09) fractions of fertilized egg yolks were significantly lower than the levels of TP in the LDL (1.73 +/- 0.51) and infranatant (0.79 +/- 0.59) fractions of unfertilized eggs. Consequently, the TC/TP ratio (mol/mol) increased in the LDL and infranatant fractions of fertilized egg yolks when compared to unfertilized egg yolks. TC levels were similar in the total yolk of fertilized (10.76 +/- 1.32) and unfertilized (10.33 +/- 1.77) eggs, while the TP levels were significantly lower in the fertilized (1.92 +/- 0.17) than in unfertilized (3.43 +/- 0.97) eggs.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
 
She probably confused fertile vs non-fertile with free range eggs (where there is usually a rooster) vs caged eggs.


No quantitative difference in the eggs from 'free range' vs 'caged' either...

The term "free range" is almost entirely a fee good advertising gimmick for laying hens, nothing more in the US...

The USDA 'free range' labeling only legally applies to poultry raised for meat, and does not apply to hens laying eggs, and worse beyond that it only specifies they have some access to outdoors, it does not specify how much access or for how long... Thus if the farmer opens up a door on the barn that accesses a 4 square foot square screened in area on a cement slab outside the barn for 5 minutes a day he could legally call his entire flock of 1000s of chickens free ranged... And even though that sounds very sarcastic, sadly it's not far from the truth for many large poultry operations, where a vast majority of the chickens never leave the barn because the 'free range' is nothing more than a small screened in cement slabbed, gravel or asphalted area...

The sad reality is any egg producer can label their eggs 'free range' as it holds no legal definition under law for eggs...

Sadly the same goes for most other terms like 'cage free' or 'free roaming' or what not on egg cartons, many of those statements are not legally defined nor regulated for eggs, and if they are legally defined if you actually dig into the legal definitions it's almost always far from the picture you imagine in the end...
 
Last edited:
Somebody told me recently that fertilized eggs have less "bad" cholesterol than unfertilized eggs. So I went looking on the internet for information on this issue. I found an article abstract at

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1342207

Here's the gist:
Total fats (phospholipids) were "significantly lower" in fertilized eggs than in unfertilized eggs. If I did my math right, fertilized eggs have only about 40% as much total fats as unfertilized.

Total cholesterol levels were similar in fertilized and unfertilized eggs. But the level of LDL (the "bad" cholesterol, which can contribute to plaque building up in arteries) was significantly lower in fertilized eggs than in unfertilized eggs. If I did my math right, fertilized eggs have only about 56% as much LDL as unfertilized eggs.

So there it is. However, according to medical researchers who've really researched blood cholesterol, the big problem with cholesterol isn't how much you eat, it's how much (and what kinds) your body produces itself, and that depends on dietary factors that influence your insulin/glucagon balance and eicosanoid hormones. Medical researcher Barry Sears, who developed the Zone Diet, explains this in great detail in his book "The Zone." Sears thinks highly of egg whites but steers people away from egg yolks because they contain arachidonic acid, which can tip some people's eicosanoids out of balance. (For myself, I've found that eating one egg yolk at a time seems fine, but I feel a little "tipped out of balance" if I eat two at a time.)
 
I was in a doctor's waiting room, telling someone about my hens. I said I did not have a rooster because I didn't want neighbors to complain about the crowing. She said that I need to have a rooster because fertilized eggs have less cholesterol. I have never heard this before. Does anyone know if this is true?
idunno.gif
I have heard this too. I used to clean house for a lady who told me that her doctor said that fertilized eggs have 1/3 the cholesterol of unfertilized eggs. She was trying to lower her cholesterol and the doctor told her that she could have 3 fertilized eggs a week, but only one if it was unfertilized. I took this as fact since it came from her doctor. However, I posted this “fact” to another forum and everyone there is making fun of me. So I’ve ended up here trying to find proof. Unfortunately, I haven’t been successful. The only thing I could find from a reputable source so far is that fertilized eggs have significantly more total phospholipids than unfertilized, but not sure if that affects cholesterol.
 
Abstract
Three lipid-containing fractions (granules, low-density lipoproteins (LDL) and infranatant) of fertilized and unfertilized yolks were obtained from hen eggs, either from commercial sources or from Arbor acres hens kept by the Pena Branca Aviário Pernambuco and utilized fresh (laid during the previous 7 days). Total cholesterol (TC) and total phospholipid (TP) levels (mg/g yolk, reported as means +/- SD) were determined. In the yolk granules (insoluble fraction) the levels of TC (2.05 +/- 0.36) and TP (0.90 +/- 0.43) of fertilized egg yolks were similar to the levels of TC (2.20 +/- 0.41) and TP (0.90 +/- 0.14) of unfertilized eggs. The TC levels in the LDL from fertilized egg yolks (8.29 +/- 1.63) were not statistically different from those in unfertilized eggs (7.31 +/- 1.50). In contrast, TC was not detected in the infranatant fraction of unfertilized egg yolks, but was present in the infranatant fraction (1.39 +/- 0.69) of fertilized eggs. The TP levels of LDL (0.73 +/- 0.23) and infranatant (0.32 +/- 0.09) fractions of fertilized egg yolks were significantly lower than the levels of TP in the LDL (1.73 +/- 0.51) and infranatant (0.79 +/- 0.59) fractions of unfertilized eggs. Consequently, the TC/TP ratio (mol/mol) increased in the LDL and infranatant fractions of fertilized egg yolks when compared to unfertilized egg yolks. TC levels were similar in the total yolk of fertilized (10.76 +/- 1.32) and unfertilized (10.33 +/- 1.77) eggs, while the TP levels were significantly lower in the fertilized (1.92 +/- 0.17) than in unfertilized (3.43 +/- 0.97) eggs.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
In English:
Based on this study there is little to no difference in the amount of cholesterol but the phospholipids (i.e. fatty acids) were lower in fertilized eggs
 
Somebody told me recently that fertilized eggs have less "bad" cholesterol than unfertilized eggs. So I went looking on the internet for information on this issue. I found an article abstract at

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1342207

Here's the gist:
Total fats (phospholipids) were "significantly lower" in fertilized eggs than in unfertilized eggs. If I did my math right, fertilized eggs have only about 40% as much total fats as unfertilized.

Total cholesterol levels were similar in fertilized and unfertilized eggs. But the level of LDL (the "bad" cholesterol, which can contribute to plaque building up in arteries) was significantly lower in fertilized eggs than in unfertilized eggs. If I did my math right, fertilized eggs have only about 56% as much LDL as unfertilized eggs.

So there it is. However, according to medical researchers who've really researched blood cholesterol, the big problem with cholesterol isn't how much you eat, it's how much (and what kinds) your body produces itself, and that depends on dietary factors that influence your insulin/glucagon balance and eicosanoid hormones. Medical researcher Barry Sears, who developed the Zone Diet, explains this in great detail in his book "The Zone." Sears thinks highly of egg whites but steers people away from egg yolks because they contain arachidonic acid, which can tip some people's eicosanoids out of balance. (For myself, I've found that eating one egg yolk at a time seems fine, but I feel a little "tipped out of balance" if I eat two at a time.)
Please dont characterize phospholipids as total fats. Phospholipids are necessary for your body. They help build cell wall structures. Omega 3 is a phospholipid and eggs are a great source of omega 3s
 
I have heard this too. I used to clean house for a lady who told me that her doctor said that fertilized eggs have 1/3 the cholesterol of unfertilized eggs. She was trying to lower her cholesterol and the doctor told her that she could have 3 fertilized eggs a week, but only one if it was unfertilized. I took this as fact since it came from her doctor. However, I posted this “fact” to another forum and everyone there is making fun of me. So I’ve ended up here trying to find proof. Unfortunately, I haven’t been successful. The only thing I could find from a reputable source so far is that fertilized eggs have significantly more total phospholipids than unfertilized, but not sure if that affects cholesterol.
My sister's doctor told her eggs are bad for her because they are high in cholesterol. Then she went to a nutritionist who told her that eggs are high in good cholesterol so they aren't bad for you. Doctors are guessing most of the time. We dont have all the facts about health and nutrition. I remember when they said cottage cheese was good for you! The point is nothing in excess. Keep the eggs to 3 a week yolks fertilized or not and you're fine. And get up and move for at least 30 minutes a day
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom