Hey guys I am 18 years old and I'm trying to cut and build muscle at the same time. I've been eating around 6 egg whites for protein throughout the day and I'm just wondering if there is a "healthy" limit on the amount of egg whites you can eat per day. Thanks in advance guys.:tucool:

Dunno, but I have 1 cup of egg whites for breakfast and 6 in a separate meal.

It's basically just protein, so 1-2 cups (say 10-18) /day would not seem unreasonable to me.

Now if you were consuming 40 eggwhites/day or something, you might want to look at other sources of protein.

I'd say eat as many as you like to get to your protein requirements, although there are good things that come from varying protein sources IMO.

The stuff people worry about is in the yolk, although I think most of that worry is overblown myself.

The International Society of Sports Nutrition recommends that physically active individuals should consume 1.4-2.0g of protein per kg per day.

Egg white is essentially just pure protein (and water), it is also quite a good source of selenium and riboflavin. An average egg white contains about 3g (~0.1oz) of protein.

So the recommended intake of protein for the people of the the following weights is:

120lb 76.3-109.0g 2.7-3.8oz 25-36 egg whites
140lb 89.0-127.1g 3.1-4.5oz 30-42 egg whites
160lb 101.7-145.3g 3.6-5.1oz 34-48 egg whites
180lb 114.4-163.4g 4.0-5.8oz 38-54 egg whites
200lb 127.1-181.6g 4.5-6.4oz 42-61 egg whites

I'm 87kg, so my recommended protein intake is 121-174g or 40-58 egg whites.

So you have been eating 6 egg whites which is 18g(0.63oz)of protein.
That really isn't very much protein at all, compared to your daily requirements.

Take a look at the amount of protein you get from your food intake. It maybe worth increasing it to within the ISSN recommended levels. As MannishBoy said, it is probably best to get your daily protein from a range of sources - lean meat/fish/whey and even from plant sources (though the aminoacid profiles of plants are generally less compatible with muscle building).

Be careful to spread your protein intake over the whole day - limiting yourself to a max of about 30g (1oz) per meal. The body cannot store aminoacids, and any that are not needed immediately for protein synthesis (including muscle building) are catabolised and used as a source of energy.

I hope this helps.

SF

So how much total Selenium is in 60 egg whites?

Selenium is important but at excessive doses it's poison.

To answer HevyMetal:

60 egg whites would give about 330 micrograms of selenium.

The Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences has set a tolerable upper intake level (UL) for selenium at 400 micrograms per day for adults to prevent the risk of developing selenosis (selenium poisoning)

This is a conservatively low estimate and it would most likely take much higher levels to poison a person.

There are no reports of people overdosing on selenium through their diet. Seleniosis has been caused by industrial accidents and a manufacturing error that led to an excessively high dose of selenium in a supplement.

Reference:
Monsen ER.Dietary reference intakes for the antioxidant nutrients: vitamin C, vitamin E, selenium, and carotenoids.
J Am Diet Assoc. 2000 Jun;100(6):637-40.

:tu:....That's good news..

I hope Selenium isn't cumulative..like Iron or Arsenic though :eek:

Seriously, though? Who's going to eat 60 egg-whites per day? I'm pretty sure I'd get sick if I tried to down that many in a day.

I've sometimes eaten over 2,000 mcg of selenium in day (from brazil nuts) and not suffered any adverse effects.

I'm 87kg, so my recommended protein intake is 40-58 egg whites.That's a gross oversimplification, which would likely lead to dietary deficiencies. Iron, for one example.

The ISSN is not the only organinzation who makes protein recommendataions. You'll find that if you look up the nutritional information for an egg, it'll usually state that one large egg supplies 10% of the recommended daily amount for protein. (eg. Eggs - Good For Your Body (http://www.drlam.com/A3R_brief_in_doc_format/2003-No3-Eggs.cfm)). This is consistent with what's been published by the dietary experts who make up the panel for the US Department of Health. I really don't see how eating more than 20 egg whites per day could offer a person any particular advantage, though I agree that it likely wouldn't pose any problems at that rate (except possibly dietary monotony and boredom). Of course, I understand that athletic organizations often recommend higher protein intakes, but ideally, you'd aim to get that from different sources.

I don't know anything about sources of selenium, but presumably, it's contained in other foods as well, so it would not be wise idea to consume an amount so close to the upper limit from only one dietary source.

Hey Philph.....you got a "jones" for Brazil nuts? How many bags does it take to hit 2000mcg? :eek:

Hey Philph.....you got a "jones" for Brazil nuts? How many bags does it take to hit 2000mcg? :eek:

Brazil nuts are one of those foods I must not have near me.

A cup of brazil nuts, at 133g, contains 2,550 mcg of selenium, 872 calories, and 88 g of fat.

My local supermarket sells them in 175 g bags and 250 g bags.

That's a gross oversimplification, which would likely lead to dietary deficiencies. Iron, for one example.

The ISSN is not the only organinzation who makes protein recommendataions. You'll find that if you look up the nutritional information for an egg, it'll usually state that one large egg supplies 10% of the recommended daily amount for protein. (eg. Eggs - Good For Your Body (http://www.drlam.com/A3R_brief_in_doc_format/2003-No3-Eggs.cfm)). This is consistent with what's been published by the dietary experts who make up the panel for the US Department of Health. I really don't see how eating more than 20 egg whites per day could offer a person any particular advantage, though I agree that it likely wouldn't pose any problems at that rate (except possibly dietary monotony and boredom). Of course, I understand that athletic organizations often recommend higher protein intakes, but ideally, you'd aim to get that from different sources.

I don't know anything about sources of selenium, but presumably, it's contained in other foods as well, so it would not be wise idea to consume an amount so close to the upper limit from only one dietary source.

You actually indirectly made the point I wanted to make:

There are multiple groups and organizations that make recommendations of nutritional requirements. They often give different answers because they are aimed at different target audiences. Government figures, be they from the US government or the WHO or whomever, will always be more generalized for the lowest common denominator, much like the USRDA values for vitamins and other nutrients are (based on survival, not optimal health).

They also cannot conveniently list 35 different values for varying lifestyles, so they go with minimums. This is confusing and misleading for people, because if you are an active person you most certainly have different nutritional needs. Same goes for differences in age and body mass/type.

I certainly wouldn't eat less protein than the U.S. government recommends, but until they adjust their baseline figures to match healthy people that do cardio and lift weights pretty much daily, it's pretty silly to argue that their numbers show the maximum amount of protein that you need.

I always look for nutritional guidelines from people who live like I do.

Oh, and since no one else pointed it out, regardless of how many egg whites you're eating in a day you should make sure they're cooked. Raw egg whites won't kill you, but the protein in its natural state has a tendency to bind to Biotin in your system and make in unavailable for use. When you cook egg whites they denature (hence the change from transparent liquid to white solid) and no longer pose a threat to Biotin levels.