A complete nutritional analysis of eggs, including macronutrient breakdowns for all sizes. Eggs are a staple protein source for bodybuilders.

This article will break down the macronutrient numbers and ratios, vitamin/mineral content, and sodium/cholesterol content for eggs.

The debate over which protein foods are best for natural bodybuilders can be a heated one, and is beyond the scope of this article. This article presents raw data, and only raw data. Just remember that a natural food source, such as eggs, is a better protein meal then protein derived from a processed food such as frozen pizzas or entrees. Processed food almost always contains high sodium, and added chemicals.


Protein foods: eggsEggs are a nutritionally dense protein food that should be a staple for natural bodybuilders. Eggs are also an extremely flexible food, and can be eaten with potatoes, as omelets, hard-boiled with a splash of hot sauce, or scrambled with onions and salsa. They fit into almost any lifestyle, and work well together with numerous starchy foods.

Eggs are a quality protein source, and are rich in vitamins A, E, K, B12, riboflavin, and folic acid. Eggs are also rich in the minerals iron, zinc and calcium. They also contain all 8 essential amino acids.

Egg yolks often get a bad rap because of their fat content. An average yolk contains 5 grams of fat. Of this fat, 1.6 grams are saturated fat. A natural bodybuilder requires dietary fat – and saturated fat – for energy and proper health. Eggs are one of the best sources for this fat.

Exploring the issue of saturated fats, the FDA recommends that an individual eat 20 grams of saturated fats per day on a 2,000 calorie diet. An active, natural bodybuilder who requires 3,000 to 4,000 calories per day would obviously require more saturated fats. This requirement could go as high as 30 to 40 grams per day, or more.

Adding four whole eggs per day provides only 6.4 grams of saturated fat, and 20 total grams of overall dietary fat. As you can plainly see, there is little reason for a natural bodybuilder to avoid the egg.

The following is a nutritional and macronutrient breakdown of various sizes of eggs:

One Jumbo Egg (63 grams)

90 calories, 8 grams of protein, 6 grams of fat, 0 grams of carbs

266 mg cholesterol, 88 mg sodium, 2 grams of saturated fat

46.6 mg Omega 3’s, 723 mg Omega 6’s

One Extra Large Egg (56 grams)

80 calories, 7 grams of protein, 6 grams of fat, 0 grams of carbs

237 mg cholesterol, 78 mg sodium, 2 grams of saturated fat

41.4 mg Omega 3’s, 643 mg Omega 6’s

One Large Egg (50 grams)

71 calories, 6 grams of protein, 5 grams of fat, 0 grams of carbs

211 mg cholesterol, 70 mg sodium, 2 grams of saturated fat

37.0 mg Omega 3’s, 574 mg Omega 6’s

One Medium Egg (44 grams)

63 calories, 6 grams of protein, 4 grams of fat, 0 grams of carbs

186 mg cholesterol, 62 mg sodium, 1 grams of saturated fat

32.6 mg Omega 3’s, 505 mg Omega 6’s

One Small Egg (38 grams)

54 calories, 5 grams of protein, 4 grams of fat, 0 grams of carbs

161 mg cholesterol, 53 mg sodium, 1 grams of saturated fat

28.1 mg Omega 3’s, 436 mg Omega 6’s

Eggs for Natural Bodybuilders

A typical protein feeding of eggs for a natural bodybuilder consists of 4 extra large eggs. They can be prepared in any number of ways. I prefer to hard-boil them, as boiling requires the least amount of preparation time. Just boil and go.

Four extra large eggs contains 28 grams of protein, only 8 grams of saturated fat, and a wealth of vitamins and minerals…including vitamin D, A, iron, calcium, and B vitamins.

Eggs have several other health benefits. They are rich in choline, which boosts brain health and reduces inflammation. Choline also has a positive impact on cardiovascular health.

It has also been revealed that eggs improve lipid panels, including cholesterol levels. Yes, you read that correctly. Eggs are good for cholesterol. There is no need for a natural bodybuilder to eat only egg whites.

Steroid users, on the other hand, have to fend off bad lipid panels. Because of this, they try to weed out anything perceived as a threat. This is one of the primary reasons why egg yolks have been labeled “evil” by the lifting community.

As we have seen, moderate egg consumption is good for you. Drug-using lifters generally eat more food then their natural counterparts, so steroid users tend to gravitate to protein foods with limited saturated fats.

Add 4 eggs to your daily diet. Besides being a great protein source, they are one of the healthiest foods you can eat.

Posted on: Sun, 08/01/2010 - 18:51

I'm just wondering if one is eating eggs on a regular basis if it is important to remove the yolk. I know there is an epidemic of heart disease in north america and yolks have high cholesterol but you also need good cholesterol. What are your thoughts on eating the yolks, Steve?

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Posted on: Sun, 08/01/2010 - 19:33

Hi Sigmosis,

It is a myth that fat makes you fat, and cholesterol gives you bad cholesterol. The biggest issues with health come from white poisons - flour and sugar, and with eating too much fried food. I wouldn't be too concerned with natural cholesterol sources, especially from an egg. The good nutrition of the yolk makes it well worth it.

Posted on: Mon, 08/02/2010 - 12:48

I remember reading somewhere that the way we as a culture eat wouldn't be such a big deal if we were working it off. I therefore rationalize that as long as I am exercising regularly and still healthy that I must be in good shape. They call heart disease the silent killer and I'm just worried about building up my arteries long term and discovering it years down the road after its too late. Would you say we are safe as long as we work off the calories and it is not staying in our system then? Thanks for the speedy reply btw.

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Posted on: Mon, 08/02/2010 - 15:12

From my understanding, diet is more important in the battle against heart disease than exercise. But I am no expert on this subject. I would suggest Googling "Heart Disease Myths". This will generally lead you to the truth, and away from a lot of popular misconceptions.

Posted on: Tue, 01/19/2010 - 21:14

its a 50-50 chance of getting salmonella. Either you get it, or you dont

Posted on: Sun, 01/10/2010 - 20:29

Hahahaha Schooled to bits there Josh

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Posted on: Wed, 01/06/2010 - 16:15

Hi Josh...just doing some calculating. .00003% is 1 bad egg in 33,333. So if you eat 4 eggs a day as a bodybuilder, over the course of a 25 year bodybuilding lifestyle, that would mean that you've eaten 36,500 eggs. That would give you a good chance of getting salmonella over the course of your life.

Some sources list the potential as 1 bad egg in 20,000.

If you eat only 1 raw egg per day to reduce the risk, over the course of 25 years, you would have a 27% to 45% chance of getting salmonella poisoning.

I wanted to bring this up to put raw egg consumption in perspective.

Posted on: Mon, 02/13/2012 - 02:50

Actually you calculated the odds incorrectly, you still would not get salmonella.

The chances are 0.00003% PER EGG YOU EAT. In other words, mathematically it should go something like this...

0.00003 (one egg) x 0.00003 (another egg) = 0.0000000009%
And so on and so forth...

It's often a mathematical fallacy to assume just because there is 1/20000 chance then you will OR most likely will get that result once. Which is incorrect, as this statistic only applies to an individual probability, which has to be multiplied with another individual probability.

So if you had 4 raw eggs in the morning the equation would look like this:
0.00003 x 0.00003 x 0.00003 x 0.00003 = 0.00000000000000000087%

And so on and so forth... so the odds are exceedingly slim that you would get Salmonella.

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Posted on: Wed, 03/07/2012 - 14:38

You don't multiple the odds when you eat more eggs. That would mean for every egg you eat your odds get more extreme, which isn't the case.

Break it down to 4 eggs. If 1 in 4 had salmonella, and you ate two, your chances of getting salmonella wouldn't be .25 x .25, or 1/16th of a chance. They would be .25 + .25 or a 50% chance.

Posted on: Tue, 12/08/2009 - 23:59

Besides samanilla(spelling?) are raw eggs bad to eat?

Posted on: Wed, 01/06/2010 - 15:53

I've never had any problems. I've also read that salmanilla only occurs in .00003% of eggs. So chances of getting sick are slim.

Posted on: Sun, 09/25/2011 - 10:48

hey i read, at another article on another bodybuilding website that eating raw eggs can cause biotin deficiency and that it doesnt make a difference whether they're raw or not.