Pastured eggs

An egg is a complete organism's starting kit, which is why the yolk carries almost every vitamin and mineral a body uses. Two eggs supply half a day's choline and selenium, a third of the B12, and the most bioavailable protein of any common food.

Eggs appear in more 50 Man Foods recipes than anything else, and every one of those recipes uses the whole egg. The yolk is not the problem; it is the point.

  • Daily
  • 3 recipes
  • Eggs
  • Updated Sep 2026

What it supplies

Nutrient · per 100 g, raw (two large eggs) Amount % DV Relative amount
Protein 12.6 g 25%
Choline 294 mg 53%
Selenium 30.7 mcg 56%
Vitamin B12 0.89 mcg 37%
Riboflavin 0.46 mg 35%
Vitamin D 2 mcg 10%

Source: USDA FoodData Central.Percent Daily Values are based on adult reference intakes. The bars stop at 100%; the numbers do not.

Why it works

Choline is the nutrient most people have never heard of and most are short of; it builds cell membranes, moves fat out of the liver and makes acetylcholine. Eggs are the richest common source. Selenium is needed to activate thyroid hormone and protect the testes from oxidative stress.

The cholesterol in a yolk is steroid-hormone raw material. Dietary cholesterol has a small effect on blood cholesterol in most people and none on testosterone that anyone has shown to be harmful.

How much, how often

  • 2–4 eggs

    Daily

    Covers choline and selenium; whole eggs only.

  • Soft yolk

    Heat is the enemy

    Poached, soft-boiled or fried in butter keeps the yolk's fats intact.

How to buy and prepare it

Pastured or pasture-raised means the hens lived outdoors on grass; free-range and cage-free do not guarantee that. The carton should name the farm or the standard. Dark orange yolks and thick whites that hold their shape are the practical test.

Size does not change quality. Price does track the farming: pastured eggs cost two to three times supermarket eggs and are worth it for the yolk alone.

Keep the yolk soft where you can — poached, soft-boiled, or fried in butter with the white set and the yolk runny — because heat is the one thing that damages the yolk's fats and lutein. Scrambled low and slow in butter is fine. Raw yolks are safe from pastured eggs kept cold.

A six-yolk custard is the 50 Man Foods way to eat yolks at scale.

Refrigerated eggs keep four to five weeks past the pack date. Unwashed eggs with the bloom intact keep at room temperature for two weeks; once washed or refrigerated, keep them cold. Store pointed end down.

Recipes that use it

In these guides

Questions

How many eggs a day?
Two to four is ordinary. The old limit on eggs came from the cholesterol hypothesis, which the dietary guidelines themselves dropped in 2015.
Are the whites worth eating?
Yes, for the protein, but raw whites carry avidin, which binds biotin. Cooked whites are fine. Never eat only whites — you throw away everything that makes an egg an egg.
Do brown eggs differ from white?
No. Shell colour is the breed of hen. Yolk colour and how the hen lived are what matter.