Whole Egg Vs. Egg White Ingestion During 12 weeks of Resistance Training in Trained Young Males: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Bagheri, R, Moghadam, BH, Ashtary-Larky, D, Forbes, SC, Candow, DG, Galpin, AJ, Eskandari, M, Kreider, RB, and Wong, A. Whole egg vs. egg white ingestion during 12 weeks of resistance training in trained young males: a randomized controlled trial. J Strength Cond Res 35(2): 411–419, 2021—The primary purpose was to compare the effects of whole egg ingestion and egg white ingestion during 12 weeks of resistance training (RT) on muscle cross-sectional area, body composition, muscular strength, and anaerobic power in resistance-trained young males. A secondary purpose was to examine systemic hormonal responses. Thirty resistance-trained young males were randomly assigned to one of 2 groups: Whole eggs + RT (WER; n = 15) or egg whites + RT (ERT; n = 15). Whole eggs + RT ingested 3 whole eggs immediately following RT, whereas ERT ingested an isonitrogenous quantity consisting of 6 egg whites immediately following RT. Before and after 12 weeks of whole-body undulating periodized RT (3 sessions per week), knee extensor muscle mass and cross-sectional area (computed tomography), lean body mass and body fat percentage (bioelectrical impedance), muscular strength (knee extension, handgrip strength), Wingate (cycle ergometer), and serum concentrations of hormones were assessed. There was a significant group × time interaction for body fat percentage, serum testosterone, knee extension, and handgrip strength with greater improvements observed in WER. There was a significant main effect of time (p < 0.05) for knee extensor muscle mass, cross-sectional area, lean body mass, anaerobic power, and all other blood hormones. There was a trend (p = 0.06) in the WER group for having a greater change in lean body mass compared with that of ERT. Postexercise whole egg ingestion increases knee extension and handgrip strength, testosterone, and reduces body fat percentage compared with postexercise egg white ingestion, despite no group differences in muscle mass, in resistance-trained young males. Whole eggs consumption may be preferable during RT programs geared toward the improvement of muscular strength and body fat percentage.

Effects of 6 Months of Soy-Enriched High Protein Compared to Eucaloric Low Protein Snack Replacement on Appetite, Dietary Intake, and Body Composition in Normal-Weight Obese Women: A Randomized Controlled Trial

“…Increased protein consumption is known to improve body composition, appetite control, and energy intake management [ 11 , 12 ]; suggesting that high protein snacks may offer useful approaches to achieve these adaptations. For instance, Astbury et al demonstrated that high protein snacks significantly decreased dietary energy intake in lean men [ 13 ] and improved body composition in male athletes [ 14 , 15 ]. However, the effects of high protein snack replacement in women with NWO are currently unknown.…”

The Effect of Whole Egg Intake on Muscle Mass: Are the Yolk and Its Nutrients Important?

“…To date, only one study has evaluated the effect of high dietary cholesterol intake mainly through whole eggs on testosterone levels. Bagheri et al (2021) compared the intake of three whole eggs (842 mg/day of cholesterol, being 672 mg exclusively from eggs) versus six egg whites (285 mg/day of cholesterol, being 0 mg from eggs) on testosterone levels in young adults who performed 12 weeks of resistance training. The whole egg group increased testosterone levels by 2.4 ng/ml, while the egg white group increased levels by 0.7 ng/ml; however, the additional increase in testosterone levels induced by whole eggs intake was not sufficient to enhance gains in muscle mass (Bagheri et al, 2021).…”

“…Bagheri et al (2021) compared the intake of three whole eggs (842 mg/day of cholesterol, being 672 mg exclusively from eggs) versus six egg whites (285 mg/day of cholesterol, being 0 mg from eggs) on testosterone levels in young adults who performed 12 weeks of resistance training. The whole egg group increased testosterone levels by 2.4 ng/ml, while the egg white group increased levels by 0.7 ng/ml; however, the additional increase in testosterone levels induced by whole eggs intake was not sufficient to enhance gains in muscle mass (Bagheri et al, 2021). It is conceivable that testosterone fluctuations within the established normal physiological range for men (i.e., ∼300-800 ng/dl) does not have a meaningful impact on human anabolism (Morton et al, 2016;West et al, 2009), although some evidence challenges this hypothesis (Mouser et al, 2016).…”

“…To evaluate the possible effect of yolk and its nutrients intake on muscle mass, recent studies have compared the effects of whole egg versus egg white intake on MPS (van Vliet et al, 2017) and muscle mass gain in resistance-trained individuals (Bagheri et al, 2020(Bagheri et al, , 2021. Thus, the purpose of this narrative review is to discuss the current evidence as to the effects of whole egg intake on muscle mass, exploring the possible effects of egg yolk compounds that may contribute to skeletal muscle accretion beyond those of egg white alone.…”

Auto‐regulatory progressive training compared to linear programming on muscular strength, endurance, and body composition in recreationally active males

“…Designing a resistance training (RT) programme challenges strength and conditioning coaches as well as sports scientists attempting to maximize muscular strength, endurance, power, and/or body composition (Schoenfeld, 2010). RT adaptations are influenced by manipulating training variables such as volume, exercise selection, number of sets and repetitions, intensity, and rest intervals (Bagheri et al, 2021;Day, McGuigan, Brice, & Foster, 2004;McGuigan, 2017). Further, programming must account for specific goals and individualization (Cunanan et al, 2018).…”