Like many foods, eggs are a nutritional part of a balanced diet eaten in moderation. With that said, eggs have their good points and their bad points -- very bad points. If you enjoy hard-boiled eggs, you should understand how their nutritional value changes depending on whether or not you eat the yolk.
Calories and Protein
Eggs are not exactly low-calorie foods, but take away the yolk and they lose most of their calorie count. Compared to one large, whole egg that has 71 calories, a hard-boiled egg without the yolk contains a mere 17 calories. According to the Department of Animal and Poultry Sciences, Virginia Tech, the white of a hard-boiled egg also contains an impressive 3.6 g of protein. Protein is essential for good health, regulating all of your body’s activities including muscle contractions, nutrient transportation and electrolyte balance.
Fat, Cholesterol and Carbohydrates
Fat content accounts for much of the calorie reduction when you remove the yolk from a hard-boiled egg. Egg yolks are high in fat and cholesterol, often containing 100 to 200 mg of omega-3 fatty acids and 1.6 g of saturated fat. According to the University of Michigan Health System, the entire cholesterol content of an egg is in the yolk -- a whopping 210 mg. Removing the yolk also lowers the carb count. With the yolk, the hard-boiled egg contains .85 g of carbohydrates. Without the yolk, the carbohydrate count drops to .24 g.
Choline, Folate, Iron and Calcium
The whites of hard-boiled eggs contain small amounts of several other important nutrients. Calcium concentrations within the white of the egg average 2 mg, while the iron content is approximately .03 micrograms, and the folate content is 1.0 micrograms. These counts are considerably less than what they would be with the yolk. The same goes for choline. Choline is a member of the B-complex group of vitamins and noted for its ability to reduce heart disease and birth defect risks. According to the University of Michigan Health System .42 mg of choline lies in the white of an egg, compared to the 215.1 mg in the entire egg.
What You’re Missing
If you remove the yolk from your hard-boiled egg to avoid fat and cholesterol, you may be overlooking a few beneficial vitamins. An egg yolk contains 245 IU of vitamin A, 18.26 IU of vitamin D, .44 mg of vitamin E and .1 micrograms of vitamin K, none of which are found in the egg white. The Pennington Biomedical Research Center also explains that yolks contain lutein and zeaxanthin, two powerful carotenoids that can help guard against certain chronic diseases and cancers, and also keep your eyes healthy.
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