Despite What You Read, Eating Raw Eggs Is Dangerous

The new “health” fad, judging by Internet sites and Facebook postings, is raw egg drinks and shakes, touted as “primal and powerful.”

You don't have to look hard to find recipes suggesting uncooked eggs be blended with vanilla or avocado for a tasty, healthy snack.

Don't believe it for a minute, says Suzy Weems, Ph.D., a national food expert and chair of Baylor University’s family and consumer sciences department.

“Under no circumstances eat a raw egg,” said Weems, a registered dietitian and a past chair of the American Dietetic Association’s legislative and public policy committee.

Salmonella danger

The danger, of course, is Salmonella. While only a fraction of a percentage of eggs are contaminated, virtually every egg has had some contact with salmonella. Because the bacteria can cause disease — including food poisoning accompanied by fever, diarrhea or dehydration — it’s best to be proactive.

It was just last year that a half billion eggs were recalled in the U.S. because of a Salmonella risk. More than 1,000 people got sick from eating the contaminated eggs. The eggs were eaten either raw or under-cooked, since cooking eggs destroys the salmonella germs.

Bernarr MacFadden

Though some websites may make it sound like it's the latest and greatest, extolling the virtues of raw eggs is nothing new. In the 1890 bodybuilding promoter Bernarr Macfadden advocated them. Modern proponents contend that heating the egg changes its chemical shape and destroys many of its nutrients and proteins.

Not so, says Weems.

“The protein profile in eggs is used as the standard for all other proteins, because it’s complete enough to allow baby chickens to develop based on the nutrients. It’s that good,” Weems said. “But we don’t need all of that. If you cook it, it’s safe, the protein is still there, and it makes it easier to digest.”

Don't eat raw cookie dough, either

Relatively few people would be tempted to wolf down a raw egg, but those who love eating raw cookie dough need to be aware that it, too, is risky because it contains uncooked eggs, she said.

“There are a lot of old recipes floating around that call for raw eggs, but people need to realize if the recipe is based on one from when Grandma gathered her eggs, then Grandma gathered them locally. There wasn’t much of a time lag,” Weems said. “Now, eggs are much more likely to sit for a time before being used, and that gives salmonella the chance to grow.”

Risk of salmonella contamination lessens with eggs from cage-free, organically fed chickens, and salmonella generally is not life-threatening, Weems said. Most at risk are children, senior citizens, pregnant women and people with compromised immune systems.