Egg whites: plain protein, with real evidence only in dialysis

The strongest evidence on egg whites comes from people on dialysis. In a 2026 meta-analysis of 30 randomized trials of egg protein, egg white supplements raised serum albumin by 0.42 g/dL (95% CI 0.12 to 0.72) across four dialysis trials, with certainty graded very low. Across two trials they lowered serum phosphorus by 2.04 mg/dL (95% CI 1.58 to 2.50), graded low. The same review found no evidence supporting routine egg protein supplements in healthy adults, which is an absence of evidence and not proof of no effect. For everyone else, egg white is protein with very little around it. One UK record puts raw white at 10.8 g of protein and 43 calories per 3.5 oz (100 g), with fat in traces and no cholesterol. The US dietary survey counts one white as 33 g, so about 3.6 g of protein, a recalculation from 100 g rather than a weighed portion. Cooking matters for digestion. In ten healthy volunteers about 35 percent of a raw egg protein meal escaped the small intestine against under 6 percent cooked, in a small non-randomized test of whole egg protein rather than the white alone.

As people eat it, per 3.5 oz (100 g)

How much is actually in it

• Raw hen egg white carries 10.8 g of protein and 43 calories per 3.5 oz (100 g), with fat and sugars only in trace amounts and no cholesterol. — UK composition record for raw chicken egg white (n = 1 record) Evidence E source
  Protein 10.8 g, energy 43 calories, fat trace, cholesterol 0.0 mg, sodium 185 mg, potassium 149 mg per 3.5 oz (100 g)

What a real portion looks like

• The US dietary survey counts one egg white as 33 g, so one white gives about 3.6 g of protein on the CoFID figure. — FNDDS portion records for Egg, white only, raw (n = 3 portion records) Evidence E source
  1 egg white 33 g, 1 cup 245 g

What your body absorbs

• In ten healthy volunteers about 35% of a raw egg protein meal escaped digestion in the small intestine, against under 6% when the same meal was cooked. — Ten healthy volunteers, each tested once with a cooked and once with a raw meal of 25 g labeled egg protein (n = 10) Evidence C source
  5.73% of cooked vs 35.10% of raw test meal escaped small intestinal assimilation (P < 0.005)
• Boiled egg white protein reached a true ileal digestibility of indispensable amino acids of about 86%, a little below whole boiled egg and cooked meat. — Healthy Indian adults with normal intestinal health markers Evidence C source
  86.3% +/- 4.6% egg white protein vs 89.4% +/- 4.5% whole boiled egg vs 92.0% +/- 2.8% cooked meat

What cooking and storage change

• In children with persistent egg allergy, reactions started at 1.26 g of cooked egg white on average, against 0.55 g of raw egg white. — Children aged 5 to 9 with persistent egg allergy before oral immunotherapy Evidence C source
  Mean symptom-provoking dose 1.26 g cooked vs 0.55 g pasteurized raw egg white

What it does to your health

• Across four RCTs in dialysis patients, egg white supplements raised serum albumin by 0.42 g/dL, and across two RCTs lowered serum phosphorus by 2.04 mg/dL. — Adults on dialysis, four RCTs for albumin and two for phosphorus, within a meta-analysis of 30 RCTs of egg-derived protein (n = 4 RCTs) Evidence A source
  Albumin MD +0.42 g/dL (95% CI 0.12 to 0.72, GRADE very low), phosphorus MD -2.04 mg/dL (-2.50 to -1.58, GRADE low)
• In an RCT of 65 trained young adults, egg whites after leg exercise gave muscle protein synthesis comparable to whole egg, salmon, pork, lentils and mycoprotein. — 65 resistance-trained healthy young adults, 0.25 g protein per kg body mass after lower-body exercise (n = 65) Evidence B source
  Change in fractional synthesis rate 0.050 egg whites vs 0.051 whole egg per hour, P = 0.077 across groups

Safety, limits and interactions

• Pooling 23 Iranian studies, 23% of atopic children and adults were sensitized to egg white, rising to 29% in atopic dermatitis. — 6126 children and adults with atopic disease in Iran (n = 6126) Evidence C source
  Egg white sensitization 23% (95% CI 18% to 28%), 29% (18% to 42%) in atopic dermatitis, declining with age
• In an RCT of 50 egg-allergic children, oral immunotherapy with raw egg white powder desensitized 44% at 8 months against 4.8% with avoidance. — 50 children aged 6 to 17 with egg allergy confirmed by double-blind food challenge (n = 50) Evidence B source
  22 of 50 (44%) desensitized on OIT vs 1 of 21 (4.8%) on avoidance at 8 months, 72% at 18 months
• A pooled analysis of 13 studies on 8410 bird eggs found deoxynivalenol and ochratoxin A more concentrated in the white than in the yolk. — 8410 domestic bird egg samples in 13 studies, 2005 to 2024 (n = 8410 samples) Evidence C source
  Mean pooled DON 83.93 ug/kg, OTA 2.52 ug/kg, DON and OTA higher in white, ZEN higher in yolk
• FDA advises pregnant women that Salmonella Enteritidis can be in raw eggs and cites a CDC estimate of one egg in 20,000. — Pregnant women in the United States Evidence E source
  Estimated 1 in 20,000 eggs contaminated

What people believe that the data does not support

• In an RCT of 30 trained men, six egg whites a day after training gave the same 12 week gains in muscle mass as three whole eggs of equal protein. — 30 resistance-trained men, mean age 24.6, 12 weeks of resistance training (n = 30) Evidence B source
  Skeletal muscle mass +6.4 lb (2.9 kg) whole egg vs +6 lb (2.7 kg) egg white, similar body composition
• In a crossover RCT of 10 trained men, whole eggs raised post-exercise muscle protein synthesis more than egg whites with the same 18 g of protein. — 10 resistance-trained young men, aged 21 on average (n = 10) Evidence B source
  Greater myofibrillar protein synthesis after whole eggs (P = 0.04), total leucine availability 68% vs 66% (P = 0.75)

Who this works differently for

• In an RCT of 23 hemodialysis patients, swapping meat or fish for egg white in three meals a week lowered serum phosphate to 4.9 against 6.6 mg/dL in controls after three months. — 23 hyperphosphatemic adults on chronic hemodialysis, mean age 53 (n = 23) Evidence B source
  Serum phosphate 4.9 +/- 1.0 vs 6.6 +/- 0.8 at three months (p < 0.001), no change in albumin or body composition

What is still unknown

• The same meta-analysis of 30 RCTs found no evidence supporting routine egg protein supplements in healthy adults. — Adults in 30 RCTs of egg-derived protein and peptide supplements (n = 1938) Evidence A source
  Benefit limited to dialysis patients with hypoalbuminemia, evidence lacking for healthy adults
• An umbrella review of 13 syntheses on food groups and overweight found no meta-analysis at all for eggs. — 13 systematic reviews and meta-analyses of adult food group intake and overweight or obesity (n = 13 reviews) Evidence C source
  No meta-analysis found for fish, eggs, white meat and added sugars

The bottom line

For muscle, egg whites hold their own. In a trial of 65 resistance-trained young adults, egg whites after leg exercise gave muscle protein synthesis comparable to whole egg, salmon, pork, lentils and mycoprotein, in a single session with about 11 people per group. A crossover trial in 10 trained young men found whole eggs raised myofibrillar protein synthesis more than egg whites with the same protein (P = 0.04), also after one session. Over 12 weeks of training in 30 men, yolk-free eggs and whole eggs of equal protein gave similar body composition, though a companion report of that trial found larger strength gains with whole eggs. The short-term signal is mixed, and in that one small 12 week trial of men body composition gains did not depend on the yolk. Boiled egg white protein reached a true ileal digestibility of indispensable amino acids of about 86 percent in healthy Indian adults, a little below whole boiled egg at 89 percent and cooked meat at 92 percent. That was measured on freeze-dried white, in a sample whose size the abstract does not give. In an open-label trial of 23 hemodialysis patients with high phosphate, replacing meat or fish with egg white in three meals a week lowered serum phosphate to 4.9 against 6.6 mg/dL in controls after three months, with no change in albumin. On body weight the record is empty. An umbrella review of 13 syntheses on food groups and overweight found no meta-analysis for eggs at all, and there is even less for whites. Egg white is a common allergen. Pooling 23 Iranian studies of 6126 people with atopic disease, 23 percent were sensitized to egg white, which is an IgE test result and not clinical allergy. In children with persistent egg allergy, reactions began at 1.26 g of cooked egg white on average against 0.55 g raw, in baseline challenge data rather than a trial of cooking. Oral immunotherapy with egg white desensitized 22 of 50 allergic children at 8 months against 1 of 21 who avoided egg, under a supervised clinical protocol that is not a home practice. FDA tells pregnant women that raw eggs can carry Salmonella Enteritidis and cites a CDC estimate of one egg in 20,000, a figure for shell eggs in general. Surveys of 8410 bird eggs found the mold toxins deoxynivalenol and ochratoxin A more concentrated in the white than in the yolk, which shows presence and not a measured harm. We found no card on egg whites and medicines.

Sources

1. egwh-r6-01 · CoFID 2021, dataset
   Eggs, chicken, white, raw (CoFID 12-938): Protein 10.8 g; Energy 43 kcal; Fat Tr; Cholesterol 0.0 mg; Sodium 185 mg; Potassium 149 mg; Phosphorus 12 mg; Riboflavin 0.42 mg per 100 g
   CoFID 2021, Public Health England, code 12-938 · checked 2026-09-29
2. egwh-r6-02 · USDA FNDDS, dataset
   Egg, white only, raw (FNDDS 31108010, FDC 2707168): 1 egg white = 33 g; 1 cup = 245 g; Quantity not specified = 33 g
   USDA FNDDS, food code 31108010, FDC 2707168 · checked 2026-09-29
3. egwh-r6-03 · controlled crossover trial with stable isotopes
   Ten healthy volunteers were studied once after ingestion of a cooked test meal, consisting of 25 g of (13)C-, (15)N-, and (2)H-labeled egg protein, and once after ingestion of the same but raw meal. Amounts of 5.73% and 35.10% (P < 0.005) of cooked and raw test meal, respectively, escaped digestion and absorption in the small intestine.
   Am J Physiol, 1999 · checked 2026-09-29
4. egwh-r6-04 · controlled trial, digestibility
   The mean ± SD true ileal IAA digestibility of 2H-labeled egg white protein, whole boiled egg, and cooked meat was 86.3% ± 4.6%, 89.4% ± 4.5%, and 92.0% ± 2.8%, respectively.
   Am J Clin Nutr, 2018 · checked 2026-09-29
5. egwh-r6-12 · baseline cohort of an RCT
   The mean symptoms-provoking dose was 1.26g and 0.55g for cooked egg white and raw egg white, respectively.
   Allergol Immunopathol (Madr), 2018 · checked 2026-09-29
6. egwh-r6-05 · meta-analysis of RCTs
   In dialysis patients, egg white supplementation significantly increased serum albumin (MD: +0.42 g/dL [95% CI: 0.12-0.72]; I2 = 82.4%; four RCTs; GRADE: very low) and decreased serum phosphorus (MD: -2.04 mg/dL [-2.50, -1.58]; I2 = 22%; two RCTs; GRADE: low).
   Nutrients, 2026 · checked 2026-09-29
7. egwh-r6-10 · RCT
   The ingestion of a variety of protein-rich whole-foods or a more isolated protein source (egg whites) after lower-body exercise results in comparable MyoPS rates, though a greater WB net protein anabolism was achieved with egg whites.
   Am J Clin Nutr, 2026 · checked 2026-09-29
8. egwh-r6-11 · meta-analysis of observational studies
   Our results in the total population revealed that allergic sensitization to egg yolk, cow's milk (CM), egg white, and wheat were 25% (95% CI: 16%-35%), 24% (95% CI: 19-29%), 23% (95% CI: 18%-28%), and 9% (95% CI: 6%-14%), respectively.
   Allergol Immunopathol (Madr), 2019 · checked 2026-09-29
9. egwh-r6-13 · RCT
   After 8 months, 22 of 50 children (44%) on OIT and 1 of 21 (4.8%) on egg avoidance were desensitized to the target dose, 23 of 50 (46%) were partially desensitized (dose <1 g), and 5 of 50 (10%) discontinued.
   J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract, 2021 · checked 2026-09-29
10. egwh-r6-14 · meta-analysis of contamination surveys
    Concentrations of DON and OTA were higher in egg white than in yolk, whereas ZEN levels were higher in yolk.
    J Food Prot, 2025 · checked 2026-09-29
11. egwh-r6-15 · regulator guidance page
    The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that one egg in 20,000 may be contaminated.
    U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Dairy and Eggs (Food Safety for Moms-to-Be) · checked 2026-09-29
12. egwh-r6-08 · RCT
    The consumption of eggs absent of yolk during chronic RT resulted in similar body composition and functional outcomes as WE of equal protein value.
    Br J Nutr, 2020 · checked 2026-09-29
13. egwh-r6-09 · crossover RCT
    However, whole-egg ingestion increased the postexercise myofibrillar protein synthetic response to a greater extent than did the ingestion of egg whites (P= 0.04).
    Am J Clin Nutr, 2017 · checked 2026-09-29
14. egwh-r6-07 · RCT
    Serum phosphate concentrations were significantly lower in the intervention group than in controls after three (4.9 ± 1.0 vs 6.6 ± 0.8; p < 0.001) but not after one month of treatment.
    Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis, 2019 · checked 2026-09-29
15. egwh-r6-06 · meta-analysis of RCTs
    Egg-derived protein supplementation provides clinical benefits in dialysis patients with hypoalbuminemia, but evidence is lacking supporting its routine use in healthy adults or other clinical populations.
    Nutrients, 2026 · checked 2026-09-29
16. egwh-r6-16 · umbrella review
    No significant results were found for the remaining food groups, and no meta-analysis was found for fish, eggs, white meat, and added sugars.
    Nutrients, 2025 · checked 2026-09-29