I’m a mayonnaise lover! I like it on my burger, fries and even sushi. I was making mayonnaise the other night when it got me thinking…

Remember those really old boxing movies where the fifty-something-year-old boxer has to drink multiple glasses full of raw eggs daily, while he’s training to fight up against some boxing champion that’s twenty-years his junior, who somehow miraculously insulted his masculinity?

Yeah, don’t do that. Instead go for the yolks.

Raw egg-whites leech biotin from the body. Biotin is a water-soluble B-vitamin; it is required for cell growth, and producing and metabolizing fatty-acids. A biotin deficiency could also be responsible for brittle hair, nails and flaky skin.

Some basic biology: raw egg-whites contain avidin and trypsin inhibitors. Avidin is a biotin-binding protein produced in the oviducts of birds. It has been hypothesized to be a bacterial-growth inhibitor by binding to biotin that bacteria need in order to grow. Trypsin is a protein that breaks down other proteins. Biotin-binding protein, hydrolase of proteins, really hard words to pronounce—no wonder it leeches biotin.

Cooking egg-whites is fine—the act of cooking or introducing high temperature-based external stimulus denatures proteins—cooking will neutralize any of the inhibitory effects of these inhibitors. In layman’s terms: once it goes from clear to white, it’s safe.

Raw egg-yolks are fair game. If you’re worried about salmonella—don’t be. Although there is some risk—according to one study the CDC did in 1990—the chances of an egg being infected with salmonella is one in 20,000. (This is the risk of an egg being infectious; the risk of contracting salmonella is even less than that.)

Just for comparison purposes: the chances of getting hit by a car while crossing a road is one in 4,292. The chances of being brutally murdered in New York City are one in 25,000 (in case you are afraid to visit the Big Apple). Getting struck by lightning in one’s lifetime is one in 12,000.

The good news—some eggs in the United States undergo mandatory pasteurization. The government also has many programs that check for salmonella infection and prevention in hens. The high-diet of antibiotics conventional hens receive is not only unethical but also great at preventing salmonella. I’m sure we can all be patriotic here and trust our government with our safety.

Remember: the egg is only as healthy as the chicken is.

Eggs are a great source of healthy fats, proteins and other vital vitamins. Think about it. An egg contains all the nutrients needed for a chick to develop within it. That’s a lot of nutrients. The lecithin present in raw egg yolks is also brain-healthy. And no—eggs DO NOT cause high cholesterol. This is a misconception due to our country’s Fat-Scare (1970s-1990s): a campaign towards the: fear-mongering demonization, systematic-populational-brainwashing, mass-media labeling, that has created the decades-long stigmatization of fat as being unhealthy—but stay-tuned for that in the next article.