Is protein from raw eggs absorbed better than from cooked eggs?

Short answer

No. 91% of the protein in cooked eggs was absorbed, versus 51% in raw eggs. When people ate 5 eggs after exercise, muscle building did not differ between raw and boiled, but undercooked eggs came with a 5.2 times higher risk of Salmonella.

Is protein from raw eggs absorbed better than from cooked eggs?
'Heat → damaged protein → raw is better': is it true?
Like in the movie Rocky, people say that drinking raw eggs keeps the protein safe from heat, so more of it gets absorbed. We checked how much is absorbed, how muscles respond after exercise, and the risks that come only with raw eggs.
How much gets into the body?
91% of cooked egg protein was absorbed, 51% of raw
5 people ate 25 g of egg protein once cooked and once raw. Measuring what came out at the end of the small intestine directly, 90.9% of the cooked protein and 51.3% of the raw protein had been absorbed. Out of 25 g, that is about 23 g versus 13 g.
A different method gave the same answer
35% of raw egg protein was not absorbed
10 people ate the same 25 g, measured with a different method. The protein that passed through the small intestine without being absorbed was 5.73% for cooked eggs and 35.10% for raw eggs. The unabsorbed raw egg protein was fermented in the large intestine, and more of it showed up in urine.
What about the muscle response after exercise?
Blood amino acids were lower with raw eggs, but muscle building did not differ
Right after exercise, 45 people ate 5 raw eggs, 5 boiled eggs (about 30 g of protein), or a low-protein breakfast. Peak essential amino acids in the blood were 20% higher with boiled eggs. Over 5 hours, muscle protein building was 20% higher with raw eggs and 18% higher with boiled eggs than with the low-protein breakfast, with no difference between the two.
A risk that comes only with raw eggs
Undercooked eggs carried a 5.2 times higher Salmonella risk
Comparing people who got Salmonella food poisoning with people who did not, those who ate undercooked eggs or egg dishes in the 3 days before getting sick had a 5.2 times higher risk for the Enteritidis type and 2.4 times for the Typhimurium type. The less the eggs were cooked, the more people got sick. In the US, about 1 in every 30,000 eggs was estimated to be contaminated with this germ.
Another problem with raw egg whites
1 person on a raw egg diet developed biotin deficiency
Raw egg whites contain a protein (avidin) that binds the vitamin biotin. 1 person on a diet that included raw eggs lost all of their hair and had peeling skin from biotin deficiency. After raw eggs were removed and biotin was given, all symptoms went away.
Summary: more protein is absorbed from cooked eggs
Muscle response did not differ, and the risks came only with raw eggs
Absorption was 91% for cooked eggs and 51% for raw eggs. Muscle building after eating 5 eggs post-exercise did not differ, but raw eggs brought Salmonella and biotin deficiency problems. In a 2024 study in pigs, fried, boiled, and scrambled eggs all had top-grade protein quality, so cooking them is the way to go.