Hi, thank you for being here and reading this super helpful post!
Today, I will talk about a topic that may look complicated and confusing, but with the right tips and information it will feel easy peasy!
When you go to the grocery store it usually feels overwhelming when you reach the eggs section. There are so many options available, each carton states a different benefit and they vary a looot in the price! So.... which ones are just a fad and which ones are truly beneficial?
The purpose of this blog post is to help you navigate the egg fridge nonchalantly and understand what each statement truly means.
Quality of the eggs: This is labeled as grade: AA, A or B. Being AA means that the eggs have the highest quality and the one I would recommend you to buy. Grade A has a lower quality but still a pretty good one, so if you are on a tight budget or don't always have Grade AA eggs available, feel free to choose this one. Grade B is the lowest grade an egg can have to be sold at the grocery store, so not very appealing. Eggs may not be very fresh and on point, as the other grades would.
Cage-Free & Free-Range: this talks about the way the hens were farmed. You have probably seen on the label Cage-Free or Free-Range, but what do they really mean? Eggs that come from farms that label their cartons with "cage-free" are stating that their hens can move around a chicken house or barn but are not walking outside freely. They do have to have a certain amount of space between chickens to be considered "cage-free". "Free-range" means that the hens can roam outside freely and have to have a lot of space to move inside the barn. These hens have a chance to stay out the barn for a specific amount of time. In my personal opinion this specific point is very important since the living conditions hens have, determine how clean or the frequency these hens can acquire an infection. If they are always inside the barn or inside a cage, the frequency they can stay clean is very limited.
Color of the egg shell: This usually creates several doubts into which color of egg is "more nutritious" or "better". The color will only indicate the breed of the hen. It won't affect the nutrition value or any other aspect. Buy the color that you prefer or the one available.
Organic: Not all hens that are farmed "free-range" or "cage-free" are organic. When the label states "USDA organic" it means that 90% (or more) of the food that the hens were fed is organic. This means that you can have a non- organic cage-free egg or viceversa.
Pasture-Raised: This statement means that hens are allowed to roam outside,
consume worms, grass and other food sources naturally available. They are not fed specific humanly made food. This type of eggs do not necessarily mean they are organic, and do show benefits in their nutrition profile like: higher omega 3, richer in vitamin D, etc.
Omega-3 enriched eggs: These are eggs that come from hens that consume higher amounts of omega-3 in their diets, like flaxseed. However, the amount of omega-3 that these eggs will provide is not as high as the pasture-raised eggs.
Natural: Boy, I would loooove to abolish this term and not only on eggs! This term makes other food look like they are "unhealthy" as they do not state on their label the word "natural". Anyhow, this term means nothing when it comes to eggs as ALL eggs are natural.
The take home message here is, to first realize the budget and availability you have when it comes to groceries. In my opinion the "best" kind of eggs due to the benefits in their nutrition profile would be pastrure-raised eggs. However, this can increase the price of these. If your budget allows you to spend a little bit more on groceries, by all means get these ones. If your budget is tighter, try to focus more on the grade the eggs have, as a grade AA is available at every grocery store and are not as pricey as the other ones.
Truly, there are other sources of omega-3 and vitamin D you can consume, so do not feel like you are missing out on a big portion of these nutrients.
Hope all of this is helpful to you on your next trip to the grocery store!!
Reference:
https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2012/04/06/eggstra-eggstra-learn-all-about-them. Accessed on May 11th, 2022.
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