Eggs or Greek yogurt: similar protein, and no trial that compared them

The firmest number on this page belongs to eggs alone. An umbrella review of 14 meta-analyses found that eating eggs raised LDL cholesterol by 7.39 mg/dL (95% CI 5.82 to 8.95) and found no association with cardiovascular outcomes or with death from any cause. The reviewers rated all of that evidence very weak, and the LDL figure comes from intervention studies while the outcomes come from observational ones. Greek yogurt was not part of that review. We found no trial that put eggs and Greek yogurt against each other, so the rest of this page compares them from separate studies. Per 100 g in USDA data, a whole egg gives 12.4 g of protein and 148 calories, and plain nonfat Greek yogurt gives 10.3 g and 61 calories. A 156 g container of that yogurt holds about 16 g of protein, roughly what you get from two and a half large eggs.

What a real portion looks like

• Per 100 g, a whole egg has 12.4 g protein and 148 calories while plain nonfat Greek yogurt has 10.3 g protein and 61 calories, so a 150 g pot gives about 15 g protein, as much as two and a half eggs. — US food composition Evidence E source
  Egg whole: 148 calories, protein 12.4 g, fat 9.96 g, cholesterol 411 mg, choline 335 mg per 3.5 oz (100 g) (1 egg 50.3 g); Greek yogurt plain nonfat: 61 calories, protein 10.3 g, fat 0.37 g, calcium 111 mg per 3.5 oz (100 g)

What your body absorbs

• In 10 healthy volunteers, about 6% of cooked egg protein escaped digestion in the small intestine versus 35% of raw egg protein. — 10 healthy volunteers, single test meals of 25 g egg protein (n = 10) Evidence C source
  Malabsorbed fraction 5.73% cooked vs 35.10% raw (P < 0.005)

What cooking and storage change

• By USDA retention factors, hard-boiling an egg keeps all its minerals but loses about 25% of folate and 20% of choline. — USDA retention factors, eggs hard cooked Evidence E source
  Retained: folate 75%, choline 80%, vitamin B12 85%, riboflavin 95%, iron and zinc 100%

What it does to your health

• In a crossover RCT on 30 adults, an omelette and a cottage cheese snack with the same 26 g protein kept people full equally long, about 167 minutes before they asked for lunch. — 30 healthy volunteers, single test snacks (n = 30) Evidence B source
  Time to lunch request 167 +/- 8 min and buffet intake 3988 +/- 180 kJ, similar for both snacks
• In an RCT on 15 women, a 160 calories Greek yogurt snack with 24 g protein delayed the request for dinner to 178 minutes, against 152 minutes for a 5 g protein yogurt. — 15 healthy women aged about 26, 3 days per snack (n = 15) Evidence B source
  Dinner requested at 178 +/- 7 min (24 g protein) vs 152 +/- 7 min (5 g) vs 124 +/- 7 min (no snack)
• In two 2-week crossover RCTs on 30 women dieting to lose weight, an egg breakfast did not cut later energy intake compared with a cereal breakfast holding the same amount of protein. — 30 women with overweight or obesity on a reduced-calorie diet, 1 week per breakfast (n = 30) Evidence B source
  No significant differences in appetite hormones, satiety or lunch and dinner intake in experiment 1; fullness higher with eggs in experiment 2 (p = 0.038), lunch intake not different

Safety, limits and interactions

• By an umbrella review of 14 meta-analyses, eating eggs raised LDL cholesterol by about 7 mg/dL, yet showed no link with cardiovascular outcomes or death, with all evidence rated very weak. — 14 meta-analyses of observational and intervention studies published since 2020 Evidence B source
  LDL WMD 7.39 mg/dL (95% CI 5.82-8.95); HDL WMD 1.37 (0.49-2.25); heart failure RR 1.15 (1.02-1.30); no association with CVD outcomes or all-cause mortality
• Among 123 egg-allergic children given boiled egg yolk under supervision, 93% tolerated it and could keep eating yolk at home. — 123 children with egg allergy, median age 12 months, 2019-2022 (n = 123) Evidence C source
  115 of 123 (93.4%) tolerant to boiled egg yolk; non-tolerant had higher egg white IgE (28 vs 4.2 kU/L)

What people believe that the data does not support

• The only EU-authorized claim relevant here is that live yogurt cultures improve lactose digestion in people who struggle with lactose, and no claim for eggs has been authorized. — EU health claims register Evidence E source
  Status: Authorized (live yogurt cultures); eggs: 0 authorized of 4 matching entries
• A UK survey of 921 yogurts found natural and Greek yogurts had a median 5.0 g sugar per 3.5 oz (100 g), mostly lactose, far below flavored or fruit yogurts at about 12 g. — 921 yogurt products in five major UK supermarkets, November 2016 (n = 921) Evidence C source
  Natural/Greek median 5.0 g/100 g (1.6-9.5); fruit 11.9 g; flavored 12.0 g; children's 10.8 g

Who this works differently for

• In a crossover RCT on 40 children aged 9 to 14, a 180 calories Greek yogurt snack reduced appetite more than milk, though food intake two hours later did not differ between snacks. — 40 children aged 9-14, single 180 calories snacks (n = 40) Evidence B source
  Average appetite lower after Greek yogurt vs 2% milk (P < 0.0001); food intake at 120 min no difference (P = 0.15)
• By a meta-analysis of 7 RCTs in 3,673 children under five in sub-Saharan Africa, egg-based feeding raised weight-for-age by 0.33 z-scores but did not improve height. — 3673 children aged 6-59 months, sub-Saharan Africa (n = 3673) Evidence A source
  WAZ MD 0.33 (95% CI 0.11-0.55); WHZ MD 0.30 (0.12-0.48); HAZ MD 0.05 (-0.05 to 0.14)

What is still unknown

• Protein varies far more between Greek yogurt samples than between eggs: USDA samples of plain nonfat Greek yogurt ran from 6.9 to 12.2 g per 3.5 oz (100 g), egg samples only from 11.6 to 13.2 g. — US retail samples, USDA Foundation Foods Evidence E source
  Greek yogurt nonfat protein 6.89-12.2 g/100 g (spread 52%); whole milk Greek 4.21-9.89 g (65%); whole egg 11.6-13.2 g (13%)
• UK tables list plain Greek style yogurt at only 5.7 g protein and 10.2 g fat per 3.5 oz (100 g), about half the protein of the US plain nonfat Greek yogurt record. — UK food composition Evidence E source
  Greek style plain (UK): protein 5.7 g, fat 10.2 g, 133 calories, calcium 126 mg, lactose 3.5 g per 3.5 oz (100 g); boiled egg (UK): protein 14.1 g, 143 calories

The bottom line

That yogurt figure is an average over a wide range. USDA samples of plain nonfat Greek yogurt ran from 6.89 to 12.2 g of protein per 3.5 oz (100 g), while egg samples stayed between 11.6 and 13.2 g. The UK food tables list plain Greek style yogurt at 5.7 g of protein and 10.2 g of fat per 3.5 oz (100 g), against 14.1 g of protein in a boiled egg. The tables give no reason for the gap, so the word Greek on a pot does not promise the protein, and the nutrition panel is the place to check. In a 2016 survey of 921 UK yogurts, natural and Greek ones had a median 5.0 g of sugar per 3.5 oz (100 g) by their labels, mostly lactose. Fruit and flavored yogurts carried about 12 g, and a sweetened Greek yogurt counts as flavored. On fullness, the one trial that matched an egg dish against a dairy snack gram for gram found no winner. Thirty adults ate an omelette or a cottage cheese snack, each with 26 g of protein, and both kept them going about 167 minutes before they asked for lunch, with the same intake at the buffet. Cottage cheese stood in for the dairy side there, and Greek yogurt was never tested. In 15 young women, a 160 calories yogurt snack with 24 g of protein delayed the request for dinner to 178 minutes, against 152 minutes with 5 g of protein. In 30 women with overweight on a reduced-calorie diet, an egg breakfast did not lower intake at lunch or dinner compared with a cereal breakfast, and one of the two experiments found more fullness after eggs with lunch unchanged. Children have their own data for each food. In 40 children aged 9 to 14, a 180 calories Greek yogurt snack lowered appetite more than the same calories of 2% milk, and two hours later they ate no less. Across 7 randomized trials in 3,673 children aged 6 to 59 months in sub-Saharan Africa, egg-based feeding raised weight-for-age by 0.33 z-scores (95% CI 0.11 to 0.55) and did not change height-for-age. Those children lived where undernutrition is common, and the result should not be read across to well-fed children. Cooking changes how much egg protein the body digests. In 10 healthy volunteers, 5.73 percent of cooked egg protein escaped digestion in the small intestine, against 35.10 percent when the same meal was eaten raw. It was a small study, and its abstract reports no randomized order. Hard boiling, by USDA retention factors set for the food group, keeps all the iron and zinc and loses about a quarter of the folate and a fifth of the choline. We found no comparable data for yogurt. The only EU-authorized health claim in this pair belongs to yogurt. Live cultures in yogurt or fermented milk improve lactose digestion of the product in people who have difficulty digesting lactose, so the claim holds only while the cultures are alive. No claim for eggs has been authorized. Who should be careful. The same umbrella review that found the LDL rise also tied eggs to heart failure (RR 1.15, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.30), again on very weak evidence. Egg allergy is the other caution. Among 123 egg-allergic children with a median age of 12 months, 93.4 percent tolerated boiled egg yolk at a supervised food challenge and went on eating yolk at home. That was one center looking back at its records, with every challenge under medical supervision, so it is no guide for trying yolk at home. We found no safety data specific to Greek yogurt for this comparison, and nothing on either food in pregnancy or with medicines.

Sources

1. egy-daily-r7-01 · food composition dataset
   Eggs, Grade A, Large, egg whole | Energy 148 KCAL | Protein 12.4 G | Fat 9.96 G | Cholesterol 411 MG | Choline 335 MG | 1 egg 50.3 g || Yogurt, Greek, plain, nonfat | Energy 61 KCAL | Protein 10.3 G | Fat 0.37 G | Calcium 111 MG | 1 container 156 g
   USDA FoodData Central Foundation Foods, Eggs, Grade A, Large, egg whole (FDC 748967) and Yogurt, Greek, plain, nonfat (FDC 330137), release 2026-04-30 · checked 2026-10-01
2. egy-daily-r7-05 · controlled clinical study
   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 2026-10-01
3. egy-daily-r7-04 · retention factor table
   EGGS,HARD COOKED | USDA-RETN-R6:105 | folate_total_ug 75% | choline_mg 80% | vitamin_b12_ug 85% | riboflavin_mg 95% | iron_mg 100% | zinc_mg 100%
   USDA Table of Nutrient Retention Factors, Release 6 (2007), code 105 EGGS, HARD COOKED · checked 2026-10-01
4. egy-daily-r7-06 · randomized controlled trial
   Thirty healthy volunteers participated in a randomized crossover trial. On each test day, the subjects consumed one of the two snacks, both providing 1346 kJ, 26 g protein, 21 g lipids, and 8 g lactose. ... The two preloads were similar in terms of the time between the snack and a request for the buffet (167 ± 8 min), energy intake at the buffet (3988 ± 180 kJ) and appetite ratings.
   Appetite, 2015 · checked 2026-10-01
5. egy-daily-r7-07 · randomized controlled trial
   Fifteen healthy women (age: 26 ± 2 y) randomly consumed 160 kcal afternoon yogurt snacks containing Low (LP), Moderate (MP), or High (HP) protein (5,14,24 g protein, respectively) or had no snack (NS) for 3 days. ... Specifically, dinner was requested at 124 ± 7 min following NS, 152 ± 7 min with LP, 158 ± 7 min following MP, and 178 ± 7 min post-snack for HP.
   Appetite, 2013 · checked 2026-10-01
6. egy-daily-r7-08 · randomized controlled trial
   Two, two-week randomised crossover clinical trials included 30 otherwise healthy women with overweight or obesity. ... Following the breakfasts, Experiment-1 showed no significant differences in outcome variables. In Experiment-2, the egg-breakfast increased fullness (p = 0.038), but lunch-time energy intake was not different.
   Int J Food Sci Nutr, 2022 · checked 2026-10-01
7. egy-daily-r7-10 · umbrella review
   The level of evidence was very weak for all the significant associations: risk of heart failure (RR 1.15; 95%CI: 1.02-1.30), cancer mortality (RR 1.13; 95%CI 1.06-1.20), higher levels of LDL cholesterol (WMD 7.39; 95%CI 5.82-8.95), total cholesterol (WMD 9.12; 95%CI 7.35-10.89), and apolipoprotein B-100 (WMD 0.06; 95%CI 0.03-0.08). ... No evidence of association was found among all cardiovascular outcomes and all-cause mortality risk between high vs. low egg consumption.
   Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis, 2025 · checked 2026-10-01
8. egy-daily-r7-12 · retrospective cohort
   The study included 123 patients with a median age of 12 months. ... Of the 123 egg yolk OFCs, 115 (93.4%) patients were tolerant and consumed egg yolk at home.
   Eur Ann Allergy Clin Immunol, 2026 · checked 2026-10-01
9. egy-daily-r7-13 · regulatory register
   POL-HC-6400 Live yoghurt cultures Live cultures in yoghurt or fermented milk improve lactose digestion of the product in individuals who have difficulty digesting lactose Authorised
   EU Register on nutrition and health claims, claim POL-HC-6400, snapshot 2026-09-21 · checked 2026-10-01
10. egy-daily-r7-14 · cross-sectional study
    Natural/Greek yogurts had dramatically lower sugar contents (5.0 g/100 g (1.6, 9.5), largely lactose) than all other categories.
    BMJ Open, 2018 · checked 2026-10-01
11. egy-daily-r7-09 · randomized controlled trial
    Following a repeated-measures crossover design, 40 children aged 9-14 years randomly consumed 1 of 5 isoenergetic (180 kcal) snacks per study session. ... FI did not differ between snacks (P = 0.15). The Greek yogurt (P < 0.0001) and cheese (P = 0.0009) snacks reduced average appetite compared with the 2% fat milk snack.
    Appl Physiol Nutr Metab, 2021 · checked 2026-10-01
12. egy-daily-r7-11 · meta-analysis
    Seven studies involving 3673 children met the inclusion criteria. Egg-based intervention significantly improved WAZ (MD: 0.33; 95% CI: 0.11-0.55) and WHZ (MD: 0.30; 95% CI: 0.12-0.48). However, no significant effect was observed on HAZ (MD: 0.05; 95% CI: -0.05-0.14).
    J Nutr Sci, 2026 · checked 2026-10-01
13. egy-daily-r7-02 · food composition dataset
    Yogurt, Greek, plain, nonfat | Protein 10.3 G | range 6.89-12.2 | Yogurt, Greek, plain, whole milk | Protein 8.78 G | range 4.21-9.89 | Eggs, Grade A, Large, egg whole | Protein 12.4 G | range 11.6-13.2
    USDA FoodData Central Foundation Foods, sample ranges, release 2026-04-30 · checked 2026-10-01
14. egy-daily-r7-03 · food composition dataset
    Yogurt, Greek style, plain | Protein (g) 5.7 | Fat (g) 10.2 | Energy (kcal) 133 | Calcium (mg) 126 | Lactose (g) 3.5 || Eggs, chicken, whole, boiled | Protein (g) 14.1 | Energy (kcal) 143
    CoFID 2021 (Public Health England, OGL v3.0), codes 12-555 Yogurt, Greek style, plain and 12-940 Eggs, chicken, whole, boiled · checked 2026-10-01