Brown vs White Eggs — Is There a Difference?
- Womenscorner Desk
- September 24, 2020
Many people have a preference when it comes to egg color. Some people believe brown eggs are healthier or more natural, while others feel that white eggs are cleaner or simply taste better. But are the differences between brown and white eggs more than shell-deep? This article explores whether one type of egg is truly healthier or tastier.
Chicken eggs can come in different colors, and it’s common to find both brown and white eggs in the supermarket. However, many people don’t know what causes eggs to have different colors.
The answer is quite simple egg color depends on the breed of the chicken. For example, White Leghorn chickens lay white-shelled eggs, while Plymouth Rocks and Rhode Island Reds lay brown-shelled eggs.
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Some breeds of chicken, such as the Araucana, Ameraucana, Dongxiang and Lushi, even lay blue or blue-green eggs. The different eggshell colors come from pigments the hens produce. The main pigment in brown eggshells is called protoporphyrin IX. It is made from heme, the compound that gives blood its red color.
The main pigment found in blue eggshells is called biliverdin, which also comes from heme. It’s the same pigment that sometimes gives bruises a blue-green color. But while genetics is the main factor that determines egg color, other factors can have an influence too. For example, as hens that lay brown eggs age, they tend to lay larger and lighter-colored eggs.
The hen’s environment, diet and level of stress may also affect shell color, to some extent. These factors can make the shade lighter or darker, but not necessarily change the color itself. The main factor determining color is still the breed.
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Are Brown Eggs Healthier Than White Eggs?
Often, people who prefer brown eggs do so because they believe brown eggs are more natural and healthy than white eggs. However, the truth is that all eggs are nutritionally very similar, regardless of size, grade or color. Both brown and white eggs are healthy foods. A typical egg contains lots of vitamins, minerals and high-quality protein, all wrapped up into less than 80
calories.
However, scientists have compared eggs with brown shells to those with white shells to see if there is any difference. Several studies have found that shell color has no significant effect on egg quality and composition. This means that the color of an egg’s shell doesn’t have much to do with how healthy it is. The only real difference is the pigment in the shell. However, there are other factors that can affect the nutritional content of an egg.
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The hen’s environment can have a major impact. For example, eggs from hens that are allowed to roam in the sunshine contain 3–4 times the amount of vitamin D you’d find in eggs from a conventionally raised hen.
The type of feed a hen eats can also affect the nutrient content of her eggs. Hens fed a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids produce eggs that contain much higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids than normal. The same effect has been found with vitamin D when chickens eat vitamin-D-enriched feed.
Source : Google
