Ellen White's Progressive Counsel on Eating Eggs

The counsel regarding eating eggs is complex, recognizing their immediate nutritional value, their specific remedial uses in sickness, and the eventual need to progress beyond their consumption as dietary reforms advance. 🥚

Current Stance on Egg Consumption

At present, there is no divine instruction to wholly discard eggs, and they should not be grouped with flesh meatCD 356.1+1. The question of using eggs, butter, and milk will work out its own problem, and at this time, there is no mandate to restrict them strictly12MR 178.1+1. God will provide a revelation when it is no longer safe to use eggs12MR 178.1+1.

Key points regarding current use include:

• Progressive Reform: Diet reform must proceed progressively, and one must not adopt the strictest diet prematurely12MR 176.2+4.

• Personal Health: Some individuals have experienced weakness and brought health reform into disrepute by abstaining from eggs without supplying proper nourishment elsewhereCD 368.2.

• Principle vs. Practice: It is not considered a violation of principle to consume eggs from hens that are well cared for and suitably fed12MR 169.4+1.

Remedial and Nutritional Benefits

Eggs possess specific properties that have been noted for healing and nourishment in various circumstances:

• Counteracting Poisons: Eggs contain properties that act as remedial agencies to counteract certain poisons12MR 169.4+1.

• General Benefit: In certain ailments, the use of eggs is noted to be very beneficial17LtMs, Lt 135, 1902, par. 10.

• Specific Medical Counsel: In times of critical need, specific instruction has been given regarding egg consumption:

• A raw egg broken into a glass of unfermented wine, taken multiple times daily, was prescribed to revive life forces during severe exhaustion12MR 171.4.

• For patients near death, a raw egg taken two or three times a day was shown to provide greatly needed nourishment21MR 103.5+2.

• It was also shown that using a raw egg in grape juice daily could save a patient’s lifeGP 73.2.

• Soft-boiled eggs were advised as a good article of diet for one suffering from overtaxation13LtMs, Lt 92, 1898, par. 3.

• When catering to visitors or patients, eggs, cream, and milk must be used to take the place of meats4LtMs, Lt 61, 1886, par. 4.

Considerations for Different Groups

The application of dietary advice varies depending on the listener’s circumstances:

• For the Poor: When preaching to poor families whose diet relies on bread and milk and who cannot afford expensive nut foods, one is instructed to advise them to eat the most nourishing food available12MR 176.2+2. Therefore, one cannot tell the poor they must not eat eggs, milk, or cream12MR 176.2+6.

• For Children: Warnings have been issued that eggs should not be placed on the table for children, as the food consumed strengthens their animal propensities while weakening their intellectual powersTSDF 59.5. Similarly, feeding children eggs and butter excites their animal passionsCD 366.2.

• For Patients: Food presented to patients should make a favorable impression, and eggs can be prepared in several waysTSDF 139.3+1.

Future Restrictions

The progression of diet reform indicates a future where eggs may need to be abandoned:

• It is taught that the time is approaching when there will be no safety in using eggs, milk, cream, or butterTSDF 105.6+1. This is because disease in animals increases alongside human wickednessTSDF 105.6+1.

• Individuals are advised not to rush their own health dedication to bring about this change ahead of time, but rather to wait until the Lord prepares the wayCD 206.1. Should one become overly strict prematurely, it can harm the work of health reformCD 368.2.