Every time you crack open and egg, you have a basic expectation of what will come out of the shell. While we generally just hope not to encounter anything really strange, what we should be doing is making not of the color of the egg yolk. What color do you think egg yolks should be? I’m willing to bet you said yellow. That might be something you want to rethink a bit after you learn what the color of your egg yolk can tell you.
Each egg is the nutritional result of the diet and lifestyle of the hen that laid it. “Factory farm” eggs, the result of a life of restricted movement and a daily diet of processed layer feed, have pale yellow yolks and probably don’t have all of the nutrients you’re seeking when you try to eat fresh whole foods. You might encounter commercially available eggs that are labeled “from cage free, grain fed chickens” and think you’re getting a better product, but when you crack it open you’ll find yourself looking at the same disappointing anemic yolk color. So what’s the answer?
Try an egg from your local farmer, a real farm fresh egg from a hen that scratches in the dirt, eats bugs, grass and weed seeds in addition to a little feed her caretaker provides. When you open the shell (which is probably a little stronger than you’re used to) you will be greeted by a sphere the deep orange of the setting sun. This liquid gold is what an egg is meant to be. Eggs from free-range hens are the whole food you’re looking for.
If you need a little clarification, Broad Ripple Farmers Market offers a simple explanation. The darker an egg yolk appears, the more varied and nutrition packed the diet of the hen that laid it had. In turn, the nutritional density of the darker egg will be greater and you will receive more benefit from eating it.
A story published by SFGate offers a bit more detail about those added nutritional goodies in the darker yolked eggs from free-range bug eating chickens. Free-range eggs contain more eye and bone strengthening vitamin A, and a lot more vitamin E, which helps the body to maintain healthy circulation and acts as an antioxidant. Free range eggs are also higher in omega-3 fatty acids that can help lower your blood pressure and cholesterol. Those omega-3s may also offer a laundry list of health benefits you may not have heard of such as reduction in systemic inflammation which can help everyone from those suffering from autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, to asthmatics and those who suffer from osteoarthritis. The most prominent of all nutritional differences you may find between free range eggs and their commercial counterparts is probably the fact that they have less saturated fat and cholesterol content.
If you’re not really sure that you could tell the difference between one egg and another even if they were cracked open in front of you, I invite you to witness what happens when YouTuber bevyh1 does just that in the following video. She’s adamant about the healthfulness of food that hasn’t been messed with, and she’s just as serious about which eggs she’s willing to eat and which ones should just continue on to the circular file.
I, for one, am willing to pay a little extra for an egg that can help my health that much more. Of course, when we buy local we help our local economy and the earth so why not go for the win on all three levels?