EGGS 109 



EGGS 



Food Value of Eggs. Eggs are a cheap food. At 25c. 

 a dozen they are less costly than most meats. One 

 dozen eggs will better serve a family of six than 1J^ 

 Ib. of meat, a fair valuation of which is about 30c. 



A comparison of the relative food value of eggs, 

 meat, and bread is favorable to bread, yet bread does 

 not fully supply the needs of the body. If lOc. were 

 spent for five eggs that contain about .6 Ib. of total 

 food, it would provide .08 Ib. of protein and .05 Ib. of 

 fat having a fuel value of 425 calories. The same amount 

 expended for lean meat at 20c. per pound would buy 

 .5 Ib. of food material that contains about .08 Ib. of 

 protein and .09 Ib. of fat having a fuel value of 643 

 calories. The same sum spent for bread would buy a 

 2-lb. loaf, which would contain about .18 Ib. of protein, 

 .03 Ib. of fat, and 1.06 Ib. of carbohydrates having a 

 fuel value of 2,532 calories. From the foregoing it will 

 be seen that eggs do not furnish the heat-producing 

 materials in such large quantities as do meat and 

 bread. 



Composition of Eggs. About 11% of hens' eggs consist 

 of shell, 32% of yolk, and 57% of white. The white 

 and yolk are made up of 72% of water. The accompany- 

 ing table, adapted from a bulletin of the United States 

 Department of Agriculture, gives the composition and 

 fuel value of the eggs of the common domestic poultry, 

 and, for purpose of comparison, the composition and fuel 

 value of some of the more common foods other than 

 these. 



Uses of Eggs. In addition to their use as food, eggs 

 are used to a limited extent for other purposes. The 

 white of an egg is a remedy for burns, and if taken in 

 time it is an effective antidote for poisoning by corrosive 

 sublimate. Food or bones lodged in the throat can 

 sometimes be dislodged by swallowing a raw egg. 

 The oil extracted from the yolk has healing properties. 



