After my exercise classes, we often talk about the hot topic of the day regarding health. Egg whites have been brought up from time to time as a great source of protein. If you look up the nutrition of egg whites, you’ll see that its macronutrient content is all protein, with no fats or carbohydrates. That said, everyone agrees they’re healthy to eat.
We must remember that egg whites are still an animal product that is not designed for the human body. In past articles, I’ve talked about throwing off your ratios for calories from carbs, fats and proteins. Eating excessive egg whites will throw those ratios off if they are not consumed with adequate amounts of carbs and fats from other sources.
Egg whites also do not contain any fiber, the nutrient we need more of and have little discussion about. As a matter of fact, no animal products contain fiber. If you’re determined to live a plant-based lifestyle, eating only fiber-rich foods is the way to go. No fiber foods increase constipation risk, dehydration risk and many other digestive problems.
Egg allergies are another problem many people grapple with. Too often we have medical issues that are attributed to bad genes. Oftentimes the culprit is what we decide to eat, not our supposedly frail composition. Eggs are one of the biggest allergens in this country. Combine that with the risk of salmonella and other contaminants and eggs aren’t as healthy as they seem.
The best move for the plant-based eater is to replace those egg whites with something like ground flaxseed. You’ll get your fiber, protein, fat and carbs, as well as micronutrients that you’ll never get from egg whites. There’s no need to hang on to animal products simply because that’s the way you grew up eating and they taste so good. You have superior options in the plant world.
