Are cage-free eggs more nutritious?
Eggs laid from hens kept in cage-free or pasture raised environments aren’t significantly more nutritious than regular eggs laid by hens kept in a cage, chicken researchers and dietitians say. “The bottom line is there is no difference,” poultry specialist Darrin Karcher said of cage-free eggs verses cage eggs.
Is there a nutritional difference between caged and free-range eggs?
There is little difference in the nutritional values of cage, cage-free, free-range, and pasture-raised eggs, according to the Egg Nutrition Center. However, there may be slight differences in the mineral content of eggs depending on the rearing environment, according to one study.
Are grass fed eggs better for you?
Conventional vs Pastured Eggs As you can see, eggs from pastured hens were more nutritious than the conventional eggs you might find at the supermarket. They were higher in vitamin A, E and omega-3s, as well as lower in cholesterol and saturated fat. A published study on pastured eggs produced similar results (2).
Are cage-free eggs healthier than regular eggs?
There is no difference in nutrition between cage-free and conventional eggs, Dr. Karcher said. “Unless there is something on the carton that would indicate it is more nutritious, the egg from a cage-free system is no different nutritionally compared to any other egg that could be produced,” he said.
Why should you buy cage-free eggs?
The reason for the decreased risk with cage-free systems is most likely because of a combination of the cage-free systems being cleaner, having fewer rodents that could be carrying diseases, the systems themselves are easier to clean and disinfect, the hens have a more natural gut flora, and they are less stressed.
Are cage-free eggs really cage-free?
Cage-free eggs indicate that hens were not kept in battery cages, allowed instead to move about the egg production barn. But cage-free does not mean hens were given access to the outdoors. They were also likely stocked at high densities, meaning there was no limit to the number of birds in a given barn.