Healthy egg protein powder?

October 5, 2010 7:50 PM

Source for organic, free-range dried egg whites (a/k/a egg protein powder)?

I've been using dried egg white powder as a protein supplement for working out. But when the recent egg scandal broke I discovered that my supplier was one of the unethical/unhealthy egg producers and threw out the remainder - gross.

I've googled & looked around online extensively but have not located a "safe" producer of dessicated egg whites/egg protein powder. Any ideas?

posted by facetious to Health & Fitness (5 answers total)

I applaud you for considering (and switching because of!) the inhumane conditions in which the hens who laid the eggs in your previous powder were kept, and certainly organic and free-range egg white powder would be the healthiest—both conscience- and safety-wise—option for egg protein powder. However, plant-based proteins can be just as effective and actually more sustaining than egg; hemp powder is fantastic and yields a superior omega profile, among other advantages, along side.

Hopefully I don't frustrate with my suggestion. If you aren't utterly beholden to the egg white regimen, though, I genuinely believe you might do better on a hemp/pea/alkaline product. I'd check out Vega. This product looks fairly excellent, and I think I remember having a sample and thinking well of it.

Best!
posted by alexandermatheson at 8:03 PM on October 5, 2010

Check out eggology's FAQ: you may find they suit your health and ethics needs. Caveat: I don't see that they sell powdered, but their liquid stuff keeps for a long time.

But, on the other hand:

Available sizes:, 32oz, 64oz, 128oz, 30 lb bucket, 450 lb drum, and 3000 lb tote. You'll be ripped like the seat of Ron Coleman's pants in no time.
posted by Inspector.Gadget at 9:34 PM on October 5, 2010

Research has shown that free-range chicken eggs have much higher levels of persistent organic pollutants (dioxins, PCBs) than traditionally farmed eggs. I buy organic free range eggs anyway, as as you note there are plenty of other good reasons to eat them.

But if you can't find exactly what you're looking for, know that there area trade-offs to everything, and consider mixing it up. Maybe get some some organic, free-range liquid egg whites, some dairy-based protein powder, some hemp powder. Diversity is always good!
posted by ldthomps at 6:22 AM on October 6, 2010

If you're willing to consider whey protein, tera's whey is a product local to me that has just gotten into Whole Foods. They have a bunch of different flavors in whey that comes from sheep, cow or goat milk, and it has the same amount of protein as that Vega stuff linked above. Low glycemic index, gluten-free. I hear it's delicious.

Best of all, it comes from small artisan cheesemakers in Wisconsin, so not only is it a great way to make use of a byproduct, you KNOW they know what goes into (and out of!) those animals. They can not only tell you the name of the particular cow they milked, they can tell you what the weather was like on the day they milked her :)
posted by Madamina at 7:36 AM on October 6, 2010

Response by poster: Thanks, these are all great answers. You're all reminding me that there are alternatives out there. All I know is I'm not going back to the same sleazy factory-system producer I was using before...
posted by facetious at 5:08 PM on October 6, 2010