Designer eggs: best way to get your omega-3 fatty acids?(health)(Gold Circle Farms Cage Free eggs)

"Vital for a healthy heart" and "particularly important for a healthy pregnancy" are among the marketing claims made by Gold Circle Farms Cage Free fortified eggs. Magazine ads and the labels on the widely available product, one of the specialty egg brands on the market, claim the eggs deliver 150 milligrams of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), an important omega-3 fatty acid, plus extra vitamin E.

Do these eggs supply the right types and amounts of omega-3 fatty acids? Are they worth almost twice the price of conventional eggs?

We tested the amounts of DHA and vitamin E in three lots each of large conventional and Gold Circle Farms Cage Free eggs. The amounts of nutrients were similar to those claimed. The company gives its hens special feed containing vitamin E and marine algae, which is naturally high in DHA. The nutrients are absorbed by the egg yolks.

Longer pregnancy. DHA "may increase birth weight and promote full-term birth," the company claims. It cited a clinical trial, published in the March 2003 medical journal Obstetrics & Gynecology that followed 291 women from their third trimester of pregnancy until delivery One group are about seven Gold Circle Farms' DHA eggs a week and the other group are about seven ordinary eggs.

Those who consumed high-DHA eggs had a six-day longer pregnancy, on average, than those who are regular eggs. The researchers theorize that DHA may affect levels of prostaglandin, a hormone-like substance required for labor and delivery

Experts we consulted say that the findings seem to support the advertised claim, but one questions their significance. "What's the benefit of six days if you're already at term?" asks Laura Riley, M.D., maternal-fetal medicine specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital and chairwoman of the obstetrics practice committee of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. The group has not found evidence compelling enough to recommend omega-3 fatty acids during pregnancy, even for women with a history of premature deliveries.

Healthier heart. A combination of two omega-3 fatty acids, DHA and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), is recommended by the American Heart Association for healthy people and those with, or at high risk of, cardiovascular disease. That's the combination supported by a January 2000 review article published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, which was among those that Hidden Villa Ranch, Golden Circle Farms' parent company, submitted to support its claim that "DHA is vital for a healthy heart."