What happens when you eat soft-boiled eggs?

Nutritionist Nguyen Trung Hieu, Tam Anh General Hospital, Hanoi, said the nutritional content of cooked eggs is not significantly reduced compared to soft-boiled eggs (when the yolk is still gelatinous). Fat-soluble vitamins (vitamins A, D, E) and minerals (iron, zinc, phosphorus…) in eggs are hardly destroyed by normal cooking temperatures. Protein in cooked eggs is better digested and absorbed by the body.

Raw or undercooked eggs can contain Salmonella enteritidis – a common cause of food poisoning. When eggs are not cooked thoroughly, bacteria are not destroyed and enter the body. Intestinal infections from Salmonella in pregnant women can be more serious than usual. Diarrhea, high fever and dehydration can lead to uterine contractions, increasing the risk of miscarriage or premature birth. Pregnant women absolutely do not eat raw eggs or peach pulp.

Similarly, people with chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer, people taking immunosuppressive drugs or the elderly are also susceptible to serious complications when infected with raw or undercooked foods. Common symptoms after eating infected eggs include stomach pain, diarrhea, vomiting, fever, and fatigue. In healthy people, the disease can go away on its own after 2-7 days. However, in many cases, especially young children or people with weak resistance, dehydration and sepsis can occur, requiring hospitalization for fluid transfusion and antibiotic treatment.

Eggs need to be boiled at a temperature of 70 degrees Celsius or higher for several minutes to kill Salmonella bacteria. Soft-boiled eggs usually do not reach this safe temperature threshold. Bacteria can also enter from the harvesting, packaging, transporting process or from egg shells coming into contact with feces or dirt.

Even in the absence of bacterial infection, undercooked eggs can cause indigestion because the protein in the albumen (mainly albumin) has not been completely denatured. When entering the digestive system, raw protein is difficult to be broken down by digestive enzymes, causing bloating, indigestion, and dull pain in the epigastric area. Children under 5 years old are a group susceptible to this condition, because their digestive enzyme system is not yet complete. Eating soft-boiled eggs regularly increases the risk of allergies because uncooked egg proteins easily trigger an immune response.

Expert Hieu instructs to wash egg shells under running water before processing to reduce the risk of bacteria sticking from the shell to the egg’s insides. Store eggs in the refrigerator, avoid cooking eggs for too long, causing the eggs to become less delicious or have a gray-green border around the yolk – due to the reaction between iron (in the yolk) and sulfur (in the white). Boiling eggs for 8-10 minutes after the water boils is the right level to cook evenly and maintain nutritional value.