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Though eggs are high in protein and rich in omega-3 acids, they've also been linked to a higher risk of cancer, diabetes, and other diseases.
Whether they’re baked into a birthday cake or served over easy with a side of toast, eggs have become such an integral part of American diets that few people think twice about their nutritional content. But as new studies emerge, many of the perceived health benefits of eggs are being called into question.
Not all eggs are created equal. Hens who are treated better—who are given the freedom to forage outside, stretch their wings, and express their natural behaviors—tend to produce eggs with more nutritional firepower than those from hens suffering on factory farms. Knowing what to look for when buying eggs can help you make better decisions for your health. And it can help you make a difference for countless hens in the egg industry.
Are eggs healthy?
The question of whether or not eggs are healthy is a tricky one to answer. Eggs have long been considered healthy, with health professionals citing their high protein content, vitamins, and healthy fats. But eggs aren't for everyone, especially those at risk for certain diseases.
How eggs risk your health
While eggs are high in protein, they're also high in cholesterol and other substances that can be harmful—especially when eaten frequently. Scientists have linked regular consumption of eggs to a heightened risk of cancer, diabetes, and other diseases.
Cancer
Eggs' high cholesterol and fat content has been linked to certain cancers, including colorectal and prostate cancers. One study found that men who ate over two eggs per week had an 81% higher risk of developing prostate cancer, compared to men who ate less than one egg per week. Another meta-analysis of studies found a slightly elevated risk of breast and ovarian cancers for women who ate more than five eggs per week, as compared to those who didn't eat eggs.
Diabetes
Research has also uncovered a link between egg consumption and diabetes. A study published in 2020 by the British Journal of Nutrition found that the risk of the disease increased by 60% for study participants who ate one or more eggs per day. However, it's important to note that the results of the study weren't conclusive. Participants who ate high volumes of eggs were also less physically active, had higher cholesterol levels, and generally ate more animal products besides eggs.
Women who consume seven or more eggs per week are 77% more likely to develop diabetes.
Other studies, however, have also concluded that high egg consumption can lead to diabetes. Researchers found that women are 77% more likely to develop the disease after consuming seven or more eggs every week.
Heart disease
A 2019 study found that eating eggs can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. The study collected data from existing studies involving around 30,000 people who were observed for an average of 17.5 years. Researchers found that for each half of an egg consumed in a day, the risk of developing heart disease rose by 6%.
Food poisoning and contaminants
Salmonella is a major culprit when it comes to food poisoning. And this bacteria, found in animal feces, can be present on eggshells. Symptoms of food poisoning include fever, diarrhea, vomiting, and, in rare cases, death. Sadly, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) estimates that salmonella-contaminated eggs cause about 30 deaths and sicken nearly 80,000 Americans every year.
The egg industry's cruelty to chickens
Egg-laying hens are some of the most abused farmed animals in the world. On factory farms, hens are often held in battery cages, where they are given roughly the same amount of floor space as a piece of lined paper. Hens are so tightly confined that they can't run, perch, roost, explore, or even fully stretch their wings. They're locked indoors for the majority of their lives. To put it simply, life in a battery cage is no life at all.
Because male chickens are useless to the egg industry, they're killed within hours of hatching. Most of the animals killed on factory farms are very young animals, but male chicks are only hours old when they are either suffocated to death or ground up alive in a gruesome process known as maceration.
Because male chickens are useless to the egg industry, they're killed within hours of hatching.
At the end of their brief lives, egg-laying hens also face arguably the cruelest slaughter method used by slaughterhouses: live-shackle slaughter. So-called “spent hens” are hung upside down into metal stirrups, which often break their delicate bones. A conveyor belt then sends hens through an electrified bath meant to stun them before their throats are slit and they're thrown into a vat of boiling water.
Even if chickens are properly stunned, this slaughter method can be extremely stressful and painful for chickens. But many birds remain conscious after their electrocution. That means they're awake for the most painful steps of the process—and many even survive the throat-slitting. The USDA estimates that over half a million chickens are boiled alive every single year.
Decoding egg labels
If you want to look for eggs from hens who were more humanely treated, know that egg labels can be confusing. Decoding these labels is especially difficult since they conceal important nuances about the way hens are treated. If a carton of eggs has no labels at all, that may indicate that hens were held in battery cages—the cruelest and most inhumane form of captivity for egg-laying hens.
Cage-free eggs
You've probably encountered cage-free egg labels, which indicate that hens weren't confined to battery cages. While this is certainly an important step, cage-free factory farms still keep hens indoors in windowless sheds for the entirety of their short lives.
Free-range eggs
Free-range eggs are another step up from battery cages and an improvement over cage-free eggs. To be considered free-range, hens are required to have access to at least some outdoor space. However, there are generally no requirements over how much outdoor space hens need to have, or the amount of time they should be able to access these spaces. In some cases, the outdoor space is only large enough for a handful of hens at a time, while thousands of hens are left to languish inside the barn.
Pasture-raised
Pasture-raised eggs indicate that hens were allowed to spend a significant amount of time outdoors. In some pasture-raised operations, hens are free to roam in grassy fields, foraging for insects and dust-bathing. These birds are freer to express the feelings and behaviors that make them unique.
USDA organic
The USDA organic certification means that hens were fed an organic, vegetarian diet—as opposed to feed filled with antibiotics, hormones, and pesticides. While these factors are important to consider (since these harmful compounds can wind up negatively impacting human health), the organic label has no bearing on welfare standards.
Omega-3 enriched
Eggs can be a good source of omega-3, an important set of fatty acids that benefit the brain and body. The omega-3 content of eggs can be amplified by incorporating omega-rich components into a hen’s diet—for example, by enriching the chickens’ feed with flax. Omega-3 enrichment also occurs naturally when birds are allowed to spend more time foraging outdoors.
The label does not necessarily indicate better welfare conditions for hens.
While omega-3 enriched eggs carry superior health benefits, the label does not necessarily indicate better welfare conditions for hens.
Egg substitutes
The good news is, there are plenty of ways to substitute eggs in your diet. Eggs can act as effective binding agents in many recipes, including baking. Luckily, there are many simple and widely-available replacements for eggs in these contexts. Here are a few options:
- Ground flaxseeds
- Bananas
- Applesauce
- Arrowroot powder
- Potato starch
- Egg replacer mixtures, such as this one
- JUST Egg
If you’re afraid of missing dishes like scrambled eggs and omelets, innovative new products are so similar to the real thing that they’ve even fooled some food reviewers.
Keeping eggs off your plate isn't just better for your health. It also reduces the immense suffering that laying hens endure on factory farms. With the advent of exciting new egg substitutes, it's never been easier to remove eggs from your diet to show compassion for hundreds of thousands of layer hens around the world.
