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If you were a rat, what would you want to look like…Rat A on the left or Rat B on the right?
It seems pretty obvious that Rat A is frisky, happy, and healthy in a normal, rat sort of way, while Rat B looks like he is on death’s door.
As it turns out, the rats’ exterior differences are a physical manifestation of their diet. (1)
Egg Whites vs Real Eggs
Guess what these little guys are eating?
Healthy Rat A is eating whole eggs.
Sickly Rat B is eating Egg Beaters, aka “liquid egg whites”.
How can this be? Processed egg whites are lab-synthesized to match the nutrition in a whole egg.
Developed in the 1970s, Egg Beaters has the same protein, fat, calories, macro minerals, and vitamins as Real Eggs! (2)
Marketed as a “healthy” egg substitute, liquid egg whites like Egg Beaters are routinely served to nursing home residents and is a typical breakfast choice of older Americans seeking to limit cholesterol and saturated fat.
The problem is when you take out the saturated fat and cholesterol from eggs and substitute vegetable seeds oils, nonfat milk, additives, chemicals, and a host of synthetic vitamins and feed it to adolescent rats what do you get?
The result is very sad looking rats like Rat B above.
Not only do these rats eating a factory food like Egg Beaters look unhealthy, they do not develop properly and have mangy looking fur.
In fact, rats fed eating processed egg whites develop diarrhea within one week and die within 3-4 weeks.
Clearly, Mother Nature does not recognize Egg Beaters as food in any way, shape, or form, despite “the science” claiming otherwise.
Egg White Diet
What about Rat A above and rats like him who eat whole eggs? These rats go on to develop properly and live out normal little rat lives.
Are you or a relative eating Egg Beaters thinking it is a better choice for your health?
Set the marketing mumbo jumbo and misleading doctor-speak about saturated fat and cholesterol aside for a minute and just look at the picture!
Make the call with simple common sense.
Doesn’t it seem downright foolish to eat processed egg whites if that stuff can make a young rat look like that within one week?
Perhaps it might help you to know that a 2024 review of the scientific literature on eggs found that eggs do not contribute to heart attacks, and for consumers to be aware of the false media narratives demonizing egg yolks.
Eggs are incredibly healthy and make a great contribution to a balanced diet. They have antioxidants and notably decrease triglyceride levels. Egg-predominantly carbohydrate-deficient meals show the best improvement in lipid levels when compared to similar eggless controls. Avoid discarding egg yolks, as they contain antioxidants, essential fatty acids, proteins, vitamins, and minerals that contribute to a healthy and balanced diet. Also, consumers must be aware of the media game, which portrays the illusion that eating their highly processed junk food [like Egg Beaters] is not as bad because the healthy egg yolks are also bad, despite the truth being that egg yolks are good for health. (3)
Dr. Mark Hyman MD agrees! (4)
Not only does the cholesterol in egg yolks not cause heart attacks, but omitting them from the diet by misguidedly eating only egg whites is a loss of critical nutrients that has huge negative implications for health.
Liquid Egg Whites for Convenience in Recipes?
What if you know that yolks are healthy, and you use whole eggs for omelettes and the like, but simply use liquid egg whites in cartons for convenient use in recipes (like meringues, angel food cake, etc.)?
In those situations, I would still advise against using packaged liquid egg whites from the store.
The reason is that the packaging is toxic!
The cartons (such as the popular cage-free 100% liquid egg whites) are lined with a thin layer of plastic, which adds an unwelcome dose of microplastics to the mix.
Thus, while it takes a bit extra time, it is still best to separate shelled eggs to use fresh egg whites in recipes that call for them.
Keep the extra yolks in a glass dish with a lid (they will keep for up to 4 days) until you use them up in smoothies, crème brûlée, eggs benedict, or other dishes.
(1-2) Morning Nourishment: Bountiful Benefits and Creative Ideas
(3) Debunking the Myth: Eggs and Heart Disease
(4) Eggs Do Not Cause Heart Attacks
More Information
Five Fats You Must Have in Your Kitchen
Why Organic Store Eggs are a Scam
What Oxidizes the Cholesterol in Eggs
Are Raw Egg Whites Healthy?
Duck Eggs: Even More Nutritious!
Thanks for this. I just found out a friend is on a statin and eating a low cholesterol diet. It just kills me to think of him being put through that and it isn’t going to make him healthier but sicker! Nothing I say matters because “it is genetic” and “the Dr Says”. Ugh.
I am so glad my parents grew up eating real food because that is what is cheap and they were poor. Then after years of lower fat eating (they never went crazy with fake foods) they learned about the benefits of good fats from me and reversed my fathers high cholesterol by eating more fat and fewer grains. They even bought a copy of Nourishing Traditions after reading mine for themselves and my 3 siblings.
*My bad.
Oops! May bad. They are right there where you put them.
Sorry, but this photo looks like it was snapped pre-Egg Beaters. It looks old! And, where is the discerning person’s informative reference to who took the photo? With no other details about this ‘trial’, I’m only convinced that the article was written mostly for entertainment value.
I eat free-range, farm eggs, BTW.
The sources for the article are at the end of the post. You can find out the full info on the study by clicking there.
The authors of the paper, Meena Kasaii Navidi and Fred A. Kummerow, noted that Egg Beaters were not appropriate “as a substitute for egg yolk in infant feeding by pediatricians who may consider supplementation with cholesterol-free substitutes early in life in order to prevent the development of atherosclerosis” (Pediatrics Vol 53, No 4 April 1974).
Love this article — have read about these studies elsewhere, and have always thought it was very “spot-on” about “man-made food-stuffs”. A few years ago, I would recommend the custard [to patients] that our hospital makes as it seemed to be the less processed than the other fat-free, sugar-laden packaged brand-name yogurts that were in the refrigerator until I called down to the kitchen to ask for the ingredient list. Wouldn’t you know it — “Liquid Eggs”. Talk about repulsive. Hospitals nation-wide are not a place to go for good, nourishing food. Hospital kitchens are all supplied by Food Services of America and Sysco.
Egg Beaters: Food for Fools – The Healthy Home Economist http://t.co/2XiJydD4
Nice exposure re egg beaters.
However, I disagree with using
celebrity names, etc. to make a point… Stick to the subject without pointing fingers, such as
healthy rat vs sick rat ….
Well, not everyone has the same sense of humor! I found it funny and at least a few other folks did too and humor helps people learn better! 🙂
You can be sure a lot of folks who read this article will think of Charlie Sheen when they look at a carton of Egg Beaters from now on and perhaps this mental association with a person who is a physical train wreck will keep them from buying it!
Ah, no, Sarah, look what you’ve done to us! Now every time we walk through the dairy and eggs section of a grocery store, we’ll have to think of Charlie Sheen! Oh, well, maybe it’ll encourage us to not buy things from the grocery store so much! 😀
I laughed.
This post made me chuckle more than once, great job. Just say “no” to fake food, rat or no rat.
Sometimes we really need to laugh about this stuff, don’t we? It’s too sobering and scary if we don’t find the humor in it and life is just no fun at all otherwise!
I read a book in college about a guy who was in a concentration camp during WWII. He laughed and found joy in his horrible situation nonetheless. No wonder he survived and thrived to enjoy the last half of his life in freedom in the US. We have to laugh at this stuff or it is just too depressing!
i am still not defaulting to the home page for some reason.. is anyone else having this problem?? i am only able to view anything by opening in my emails.. help someone.. this is our favorite website..
-jason and lisa-
Hi Jason, try restarting your computer or shutting down your browser and reopening (or using another browser entirely). Sometimes when you type in a website it uses what is already in cache and not a fresh copy.
it worked.. thanks so much..
Thanks for doing your part to wake people up, Sarah. I’m glad you don’t mince words. We’ve been under the anti-fat propaganda and Feedlot Pyramid for so long it takes strong, passionate language to jolt us into thinking.
Exactly my strategy with this blog. Thanks for understanding my sometimes heavy handed approach 🙂
Agreed.