Some eggs are making me sick, and I figured out why!
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Do you feel sick after eating eggs, but not all eggs? I may have cracked the code on why some eggs leave me feeling nauseous and achy, while others leave me feeling fine.
Why do eggs make me sick?
I've been meaning to write about this for a long time. Someone other than me must be suffering from this and not know it. It took me months to figure out that eggs were making me sick to my stomach. Maybe I can help someone else figure it out quicker than I did.
About fifteen months ago, I started feeling sick to my stomach. Not always nauseous, more like how you feel when you know you're going to have diarrhea. And my back was killing me all the time. Sometimes I felt feverish. I felt like this all day, every day, for the summer of 2013. It really sucked. I slept a lot, and was in fog much of the time.
Ruling Out Wheat
My big fear, at first, was that I was having a problem with wheat. I live on bread and pasta. Take away my carbs and you might as well take away my soul as well. But I was feeling so terrible that I actually tried giving up wheat.
My plan was to do it for a week and see if things got better. But I quit after four days because there was no change. On the one hand I was glad - I could still eat bread! But on the other, I still had no clue what was going on.
Blood and stool tests
After about a month I really started to get worried. Did I have some kind of horrible intestinal disease? Were the amoebas that had hitch-hiked back home with me after a trip to South America in 1998 making a comeback tour? Did I have some kind of cancer?
I went to my doctor, who checked me out and ordered some blood tests and stool tests (man, was that an experience, let me tell you…on second thought, I'm not going to, because it was a really really really gross process). I was afraid of what the tests would find, but whatever it was would be better than not knowing and just feeling sick all the time.
The tests showed nothing.
Breakthrough
Then, after about three months of feeling like that (it was beginning to feel normal - I have no idea how I was functioning), I took the kids to my mom's house in Buffalo for a six-day visit.
One of the reasons I love visiting my mom is that my favorite fast food restaurant, Mighty Taco, is on her corner. Usually, when I'm staying with her I just wait to eat until Mighty Taco opens up at 10:30 and have a nice healthy breakfast of burritos and nachos.
Despite how I was feeling, I kept to my usual Might Taco breakfast schedule (I mean, it wasn't going to make my stomach worse). And by day three I realized that I was feeling better! Not just better, but good. By the time I left my mom's house to head back to Brooklyn, I felt totally normal.
And on the drive back it hit me. It hit me like a ton of bricks falling on my head. I hadn't had a single egg in six days.
At home I start pretty much every single day off with an egg or two, scrambled or in an omelet. I've been doing this for decades. And now, suddenly, eggs appeared to be making me sick.
Was it an egg allergy?
I started reading everything I could about egg allergies, and at first it seemed like that was what I had. It was weird, though, to develop an egg allergy as an adult. Everything I read said that it was most common in kids, and that they usually outgrew it. Also, allergy symptoms usually happen immediately, not several hours later. And I didn't have any kind of respiratory or skin symptoms, which usually go with allergies.
Was it an egg intolerance?
Doing more reading, I discovered that there is such a thing as egg intolerance, which is different from an allergy. I seemed to match the most common symptoms perfectly:
- nausea
- diarrhea
- stomach cramps
- acid reflux
- achy feeling
- brain fog
- fatigue
- headaches
- joint pain
- feverish feeling
Experimenting
When I got home I started experimenting. First, I made some cookies using eggs as an ingredient, and ate a couple. I was fine. I could still eat baked goods! Yay!
Then I hard-boiled an egg and ate that. Again, no reaction. Eggs cooked very well seemed to be OK. Egg salad and deviled eggs were still a go!
Then, just to make sure, I scrambled an egg on my third morning back and ate it. And within three or four hours, that sick feeling came back. Bingo. It took almost two days until I felt OK again.
I was glad (dancing-in-the-streets thrilled, actually) that I'd found the culprit. I would miss eating scrambled eggs, but at least I knew what to avoid.
Fresh brown eggs didn't make me sick!
A couple of months later I was back at my doctor's office for something routine and I mentioned what I'd discovered. She suggested that I try a really fresh egg. Like, right out of the chicken fresh. Hmm.
I figured that Fresh Direct was my best shot. I bought the freshest, most expensive eggs they carried. And I ate one scrambled. And I was fine!!!
Then the next time I bought them, I felt sick again. What the heck was going on?
I kept experimenting with different brands, and found one that never makes me sick. They're expensive, brown eggs from pastured chickens. Maybe it's what the chickens are eating, or maybe this farm gets its eggs to the store quickly. I have no idea! All I know is that I can even eat runny eggs with this brand and I feel fine. (For people who have these brands in their stores, brown pastured eggs from Handsome Brook Farms and Vital Farms are both fine for me.)
Is it the egg whites?
A bunch of things that I read said that for most people with an egg sensitivity, it's usually the whites that are causing the problem. I don't think that's what happened with me. I can eat those liquid egg whites no problem.
I also have no problem with egg sandwiches from Burger King and Dunkin' Donuts, which both use a pasteurized liquid egg product, the kind you pour out of a carton.
I'm able to eat egg sandwiches from McDonald's with no problems as well, which initially confused me. I used to be a grill cook at McDonald's and had personally cracked thousands of white eggs on breakfast shifts. I assumed they still used fresh whole eggs, and had originally written here that perhaps McDonald's just went through so many eggs that they never got the chance to get old.
But a reader clued me in that McDonald's now also uses liquid packaged eggs! (I'm not sure why I didn't look this up myself while writing this post instead of just assuming that everything was still the same as when I worked there several decades ago. I guess I didn't want to admit that I'm that old!!)
Sure enough, McDonald's now uses liquid eggs in some of its breakfast menu items, but not all.
Basically, if you get an Egg McMuffin, that egg was a whole egg cracked onto the grill. If you get scrambled eggs, those are made from packaged liquid eggs, but are cooked right there on the grill.
The folded eggs that are used on biscuit sandwiches are also liquid eggs, but they were cooked off-site and frozen, and then heated up on the grill at McDonald's. And lastly, the eggs in their breakfast burritos are made from liquid eggs that are cooked off-site, and then microwaved at McDonald's.
So if you have issues with fresh eggs but not packaged liquid eggs, choose accordingly!
Old Eggs
As eggs age, they develop sulfur, and I'm guessing that that's the key here for me (and it's only a guess-I am very much not a doctor!). Really really old, rotten eggs smell overwhelmingly like sulfur, but it takes a long time for an egg to get to that point. There's an in-between point where they don't smell like sulfur yet, but they're no longer fresh.
You can get a clue as to how old an egg is based on whether it floats, stands, or sinks in water. As an egg ages, its protective membrane gets weaker, and air gets inside. A fresh egg will sink, an older egg will stand on end, and a really old egg will float (doesn't mean that that egg isn't safe, it's just old).
According to the USDA, which regulates eggs, the "use by" date can be as long as 45 days after the egg was packed (and they don't seem to define how long the egg can hang around the farm before being packed, either!):
Terminology such as "Use by", "Use before", "Best before" indicates a period that the eggs should be consumed before overall quality diminishes. Code dating using these terms may not exceed 45 days including the day the eggs were packed into the carton.
But here is a factory egg on the left and an expensive farm-fresh egg on the right. Both sank. So if age really is the culprit, we're talking about an amount of time that's a lot smaller than this test can determine.
If I had the patience, I would buy several dozen eggs with the same dates and eat one a day until I got sick, to determine how old an egg could be before it affected me. But I don't see myself doing that any time soon. I buy a dozen eggs from pastured hens each week, and I use the leftovers from the week before for hard-boiled eggs or baking.
Restaurants
I can no longer eat eggs at any old restaurant. Diner and coffee shop eggs have made me sick.
Sometimes if I'm at a really nice restaurant I'll grill my server on how fresh the eggs are (yes, I've had to become that person) and get some, but usually, I just skip them.
As I mentioned before, fast food egg sandwiches seem to agree with me just fine. I cannot, however, eat breakfast sandwiches from our local bagel place, which really bums me out, because we order from there almost every weekend. I tried it twice, and felt sick both times.
Why Write Now?
So why am I writing about this today of all days? Because I'm still getting tripped up by this and did it to myself again yesterday!
I made fresh pasta the way I always make fresh pasta: one egg per person. And since I was making a large amount of pasta and meatballs, I had to send my husband to the store for a couple cartons of eggs. Cheap, factory eggs, because that's what he buys. And since I wasn't cracking the eggs into a pan and eating them right away, it totally didn't occur to me that I needed to use the good eggs!!!
I had two big bowls of pasta last night and then went to bed. I woke up several times last night with reflux and I felt terrible. Feverish and crampy and nauseous.
I woke up this morning thinking it was just the red sauce, which always gives me trouble if I eat it too late. But as the day wore on I felt worse and worse. I asked my husband if he felt OK. I was scared to ask our dinner guests from the night before if they felt sick. Had I poisoned our friends somehow?
And then my back started to hurt and I realized what was going on. Crap.
The good news is (besides the fact that I didn't sicken my friends and family with a pasta dinner somehow), I know that I should feel fine by this time tomorrow.
So what can you do?
If you suspect that you have an intolerance to eggs, I suggest you do on purpose what I did accidentally: stop eating them and see how you feel.
If you feel better, try eating them very well cooked, like in baked goods and hard-boiled eggs. Try liquid eggs. Find really fresh eggs and see if those are OK. Try brown eggs. Try white eggs. Try eggs from pastured chickens that eat grubs all day. See what happens.
Just make sure you give it enough time between so that you know for sure what is affecting you. It takes me about two days to recover after eating eggs that don't agree with me, so if you're testing, you should probably give yourself three days to see if the symptoms go away.
Good luck!
Hi there!
I was having the same issue!! Until I started eating amber eggs (blue and brown) fresh off the farm! The reason why it has stopped my allergies is because of the fact I am allergic to gluten. Farms DONT feed red large chickens that hatch amber eggs gluten where as any yolk you see that is yellow was in fact a chicken that was fed wheat! So that could be due to the inconsistencies you’re experiencing. Pretty crazy!
So thankful for this post and all of your comments! Very helpful! I've also been trying to figure out why I don't feel well after eating fried and scrambled eggs. I was wondering if those methods might not be killing all the pathogens that can reside in eggs? Perhaps it's the higher heat and longer cooking times that make hard-boiled eggs and baked goods less problematic? I would hate to have to give up fried and scrambled eggs because they're pure bliss! I wonder if liquid pasteurized eggs would be safer for scrambled? And whole pasteurized eggs (very hard to find these days!) would be better for fried?
I've never tried whole pasteurized eggs, but that's an interesting possibility. I have tried liquid pasteurized eggs (the Vital Farms brand, which I found at Whole Foods), and those were fine, so that leads me to believe that the whole pasteurized eggs would be too!! I'm going to look for them. Incidentally, I find it so annoying that my local stores have three or four different kinds of egg whites in a carton, but no whole eggs in a carton. I want that yolk!!!
Thank you! I have a very similar experience now that I'm in my 40s. My cramps start within hours of eating the low cooked eggs. Thanks for sharing your story.
You're so welcome! I felt crazy until I discovered I wasn't the only one going through this.
Thank you! I literally could have written this article myself. I have been trying to figure out the egg connection for awhile now. I too found that fresh farm eggs did not make me sick or give me horrible stomach and back pain
I even bought the expensive eggs at the store and tried one yesterday and still feeling it today. I agree with the soy connection another person commented on as I have a soy allergy as well. It was great to see other people who can share their experience and know you are not alone. I have been having horrible digestive issues and am seeing a GI getting tests done. Eggs and soy are in everything, thanks for giving me a little more insight and confirming some of my own suspicions. Great article!!!
This was a great article. Thank you! I’ve been searching for why fried eggs make me sick but scrambled don’t, but I think you’ve found the reason .
Great article! I’d like to add that our farm fresh eggs are organic and SOY FREE, raised on pasture, which has made a huge difference in how we feel after eating eggs. It’s my opinion that what makes MOST people feel ill from eggs (other than those with a true allergy) is the high amounts of low quality wheat and soy in chicken feed. Quality eggs come from hens fed quality feed on pasture. What our chickens eat directly effects the content of the eggs we eat. I’d suggest trying farm fresh, organic and soy free eggs to see if maybe that may make a difference in how you feel! They are expensive but if you truly can’t let go of eggs it is a last ditch effort that is VERY worth trying.
HI ..is it AMY?
can't find your name on this article as too many ads popped up!!
Great article and I been having the same problem.
I will switch to brown as fresh from the farm shop and see if I also stop feeling icky too! :)) Love the bit about McDonalds :))
Would love to connect with you on FB or Insta. I can send if you email me.
Thank you soooo much.
Sharon
Hi Sharon, I'm sorry you think I have too many ads on this article. It's a strange criticism considering that you also think it's a "great article." Writing and maintaining good content takes time, and I insist on being paid for my time. The alternative to ads would be a paywall. If you would like to connect on Facebook or Instagram, you can find those links in the right side of my blog, at the top.
@Amy Oztan, totally agree. I do not understand someone who starts a complimentary comment with a breezy criticism like that. You do need to get paid a d btw I didn’t find you had too many ads at all.
Thank you, I appreciate that!
@Amy Oztan,
Sometimes the ads appear differently on a phone than they do on a desktop. I have found this article on pinterest on my phone before and exited out of it due to the ads. I am finding it on my desktop now and have no problem reading it. It can be frustrating sometimes for readers because in some cases the ads pop up and are so large that the "x" to exit the article is not even on the screen. I don't remember if that's the case on this blog. I don't think anyone thinks that you should not be paid for your time, but after a certain point, if I'm on my phone I avoid clicking on blogs that I know have a lot of ads even if I find the content interesting.
And that's how it's supposed to work, you leaving if you don't like the number or type of ads. You make judgement calls based on how many ads you've decided you can tolerate, and I make ad decisions based on how the numbers work out--if too many people leave quickly, I don't make money, and I make adjustments. I would never criticize anyone for leaving, but I don't pay too much attention to comments suggesting that there are too many ads. Too many ads for whom? For me, it is the right amount--enough people reading through to the end, getting good information, and seeing enough ads to make maintaining this site worthwhile. Believe me, there are many people who don't care whether the author gets paid, but this is a business, and I'm the one with access to the numbers. For example, desktop and tablet ads pay more, so I can have fewer ads on those versions. That's just the way the numbers work out.
Wow, thank you for this article and discussion within the comments. I stopped eating eggs years ago after determining that they gave me brain fog. They never sat well in my stomach, but I have a stomach of steel, so to speak, and never thought anything of that aspect. For me the real issue was how they affected my mental clarity.
In case anyone else can relate, or is caregiving for someone with dementia, I’ll describe my own experience with brain fog from eggs. For me it was a cumulative progression that I discovered when I went vegetarian and decided to eat eggs for breakfast on the daily. Fast forwards weeks and months later and I found myself always searching for words, talking slower, and eventually it got so bad that I had to interrupt people in conversation to get my thought in, or I’d lose it within seconds. My short term memory was horrible, and my long term memory access was suffering as well. I think it was truly like having dementia or Alzheimers, and I was only in my 30’s. It was very scary! Finally I figured it out one day when I was talking with my sister on the phone, and realized I was feeling more clear after not having eaten eggs in a couple of days. Now whenever I talk with caregivers of older people with dementia, I always tell them my story. How many people with dementia have it due to an egg reaction (or some other kind of food intolerance)?
I’m very interested to try eating fresh eggs. This sounds very promising, especially since my other symptoms correlate, like I've never had a problem with baked goods (though I do limit them out of fear of the eggs).
Thanks so much, I look forward to trying eggs again (carefully). :D
@Amy-Sun, thank you for sharing the part about dementia. I take care of my mom with dementia and she’s been having a lot of bathroom incidents and seems to be in a steady decline cognitively. Our nurse makes her scrambled eggs every morning so we’re going to take this out of her diet and see if it helps. Thanks again!
@Amy-Sun, I have the same kind of memory problems that you do, but I haven’t eaten an egg in years, as they cause stomach cramps and diarrhea. Are you sure eggs are causing your brain fog?
I was searching on line for a reason that fried eggs make me sick. I saw your post and while it helped a bit , it covered a larger issue than I am having. I just made fried eggs with fresh brown eggs. Three bites in the nausea started. It got worse within seconds. I washed my mouth out with cola and it stopped. I can eat any cooked egg. So, what the heck !!! Have you ever heard of this? I know the old joke. So, if fried eggs make you eeeewwww, don't eat them. I would like to know why. Please let me know if you have any insight.
Oh wow, no, I haven't heard of fried eggs being any different. How well did you cook the yolk, could that have been the difference between fried eggs and other eggs?
@Susana, I’m the same. Only fried eggs make me sick!
Glad I discovered this article. I'm 70 (seemed like just last night I went to bed at age 15 and woke up swinging my legs out of bed and found myself decades older it went that fast) and this past year noticed nausea after egg breakfasts at home, egg breakfast burritos from Kwik Trip and to lesser degrees McMuffins from McD's.
At least I now have some base line with which to approach this 'cause I'm not used to intolerances or allergies. Never had 'em my entire life up until this one the past year.
Old age blows.
You might try soy free eggs, if you can find them. Avoid "vegetarian fed" eggs - those are usually fed a large amount of soy. I had a similar issue where some eggs were fine, and others not, and it turned out to be the soy content. But if you are eating at fast food restaurants, and the soy was your problem, I would expect the soy in the oils they use would probably bother you too. So maybe not.
@NC, thank you! I know that's not the problem for me personally (I still eat a lot of soy products with no issue), but I bet a lot of other readers will find this helpful.
Thanks so much, everyone, for your comments. This has been a problem for me for YEARS. I am so alert to not having egg bakes, and not fixing eggs to serve to company because I would be looking for a bathroom. Like so many, McD Egg Muffin does not bother. But I have come to the conclusion that eggs with toast, for me, lessen the reaction. But I have been on WW many times and limiting carbs so then trying just eggs and BURP! No good. I like the idea of the age of the egg. I knew about the test and just the other day I had a dozen eggs (Walmart) that I needed to use, and they were "at date" so I did the float thing. Some floated, some floated a little and some stayed at the bottom of the pan. I threw those that floated. Boiled the eggs and then could not bring myself to eat them (probably a wise idea). When I buy deviled eggs in the store no problem, no problem with egg salad sandwiches from a convenience store. But at home scrambled eggs are the worst no matter what I do (I blamed cheese, jalapenos, etc). I have been experimenting for years (can you tell?) because I love eggs. I am going to try carton eggs like Amy mentions that they used at McD. But Egg Mcmuffins look like whole eggs, so they must be very fresh as you say. Will adjust my egg buying for sure. And I will check back here. We will figure it out!!!
OMG! finally got the answer to the crippling stomach, gut and back pain I've been getting when I eat certain eggs!
I couldn't understand why a Maccas bacon and egg muffin didn't cause pain, ever, but the poached egg I did for myself at home did. I recently spent three days in agony after one of those 'certain' eggs on a camping trip.
It makes perfect sense to me to now consider the age of the egg, and I will be only using the expensive pasture fed eggs now (and checking freshness in a small water jug). Just by coincidence, I had bought 6 eggs yesterday from a farm; had one; and all was fine.
I think you nailed this one... Thank you so much for writing about it.
Okay can I just say I’ve never ever met or heard of anyone with the exact same egg story as me!!!!!!!!! Holy crap!!! I honestly resorted to buying free range eggs in bulk at Costco or through my husband who works at a food service and I am in heaven that I can finally eat them again
@Natalya, I'm going to have to try this. These are the only eggs that I buy now. But I stopped trying to eat scrambled/fried eggs years ago. I'm off work until the New Year, I'm going to give it a try. Thanks for this.
thank you so much for this post! I have found that I can only eat fresh, free range, brown eggs without feeling sick. I just boiled some brown eggs, free range and organic but they have been in the fridge for a couple of weeks. An hour after eating, I've started to feel nauseous and ill, so I thought I'd just google to see if this was a 'thing' and found your website. This will change how I buy and use eggs from now on! Thank you, again!