DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I have heard from many bodybuilders that raw eggs are the best food for building muscles. I am into bodybuilding and have started eating raw eggs. My mom says I’m crazy and that it isn’t healthy to eat raw eggs. What do you think? – M.J.

ANSWER: I think your mom is right.

I get this letter several times a year, and it’s always from a young bodybuilder who has heard that raw eggs are a stimulus for muscle growth. I don’t know who started that idea or why it started, but eating raw eggs grosses me out. Cooking eggs, whatever way you want, eliminates any chance of ingesting germs along with the eggs, and that should be reason enough to take eggs cooked.

As for their nutritional value, eggs are great. I suppose the egg/muscle-building connection was made because of eggs’ protein content. One large egg has 6 grams of protein – that’s a lot of protein in a food that is quite cheap. It also has 74 calories, 200 mg of cholesterol, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 2 grams of monounsaturated fat and 0.6 grams of polyunsaturated fat.

The daily cholesterol limit has been set at 300 mg. An egg, therefore, pretty much uses up a day’s worth of cholesterol. However, that limit was set in the 1960s when it was believed that food cholesterol has a huge impact on blood cholesterol. It doesn’t. Eggs’ reputation as an artery clogger and heart-attack promoter is undeserved, and most doctors have relaxed the strict limitation on eggs.

Eggs have many other nutrients: B vitamins, vitamins A and D, phosphorus and zinc.

You can eat your eggs, but how about cooking them?

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: What do the hamstrings do? My coach says I have a hamstring pull. The back of my upper leg hurts when I run. How long does a hamstring pull last? When can I start running? – M.I.

ANSWER: The hamstrings are three muscles on the back of the thighs. Their major function is bending the knee. The front thigh muscles – the quads – straighten the knee, and they’re stronger than the hamstring muscles. Force exerted by the quads can tear the hamstrings; that’s one reason for a hamstring pull. Another reason is overuse – running when the muscles should be resting.

The length of recovery from a hamstring pull depends on the size of the muscle tear. A small tear, one of about half an inch, usually takes only a week’s rest before a person can start running again. With a small tear there is no bruise or swelling seen over the torn muscle.

Larger tears, of course, take longer to heal. Some can take a month or more. With a large tear, there is severe pain upon bending the knee, and there’s a large bruise over the torn muscle.

You can take absence of pain as the indication of when you can be active again.

An elastic wrap around the torn muscle makes you more comfortable and can be a preventive for further damage when you start running. Apply the wrap snugly but not so tightly that you cut off blood flow.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I’m a coach in a small, rural school that doesn’t have a lot of funds for extra equipment. My teams drink out of a common water bucket with a ladle. A mother of one of the players has raised a ruckus about this and claims it’s a health hazard. I have been coaching for 20 years, and it hasn’t made anyone sick in all those years. Is it a danger? – B.B.

ANSWER: It could be. A common drinking source, especially with a jointly used ladle, is asking for trouble. It’s an excellent way to spread bacteria and viruses.

If you can’t afford individual water bottles, use disposable paper cups.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: A curiosity question: Why do runners keep running after a race? I’d want to rest. – D.J.

ANSWER: They often jog after a race to rid their blood of lactic acid. The slow-paced jog keeps blood circulating and facilitates the removal of lactic acid. Buildup of lactic acid contributes to muscle soreness.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I had a physical about eight months ago. The blood work I obtained said I have too many red blood cells, and they are enlarged. They told me to come back to be retested. I no longer have health insurance and cannot do so. What does this mean? I am 47. – Anon.

ANSWER: Enlarged red blood cells can indicate a lack of vitamin B-12 or the B vitamin folic acid. Too many red blood cells are seen in the illness called polycythemia, which doesn’t usually appear until after age 60.

A blood count isn’t an expensive test. Ask the doctor to reorder a blood test for you, and the doctor can certainly call you about the results and tell you if all is well or if you need to pursue it.

Dr. Donohue regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but he will incorporate them in his column whenever possible. Readers may write him or request an order form of available health newsletters at P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Readers may also order health newsletters from www.rbmamall.com