http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/diet...s.ap/index.html

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- In their relentless pursuit of a healthy diet, many consumers are turning to a new breed of egg.

Designer eggs, produced by chickens fed sea kelp, flax seed and other nutritious ingredients, are finding their way to more and more markets and menus. Some consumers say they even taste better than regular eggs, and sales are booming.

"It's like the kind of eggs I had when I was a kid," shopper Liz Sigel, 56, said while buying a dozen large Organic Omega-3 eggs at a Santa Monica market. "It's more dense than regular eggs."

The trend is due in part to the popularity of low-carb regimens like the Atkins or South Beach diets and also to recent studies that suggest eggs are healthier than previously thought when it comes to cholesterol.

Eggland's Best Eggs, the nation's largest producer of designer eggs, saw a 25 percent jump in those sales in 2003, compared to 2002, said Laura Finlayson, a spokeswoman for the company.

In the past 18 months, the Pennsylvania-based company sold over a billion specialty eggs nationwide, with many coming from its two farms in California, she said.

Chino Valley Ranchers Farms, based in Arcadia, doubled its production of low-fat eggs in 2003, said David Will, general manager of the company.

"A lot of what's pushing the sales is the protein diets, and people are more health-conscious," he said.

Designer eggs now comprise nearly 5 percent of the $3 billion national egg market. The increased sales come at a time when overall egg prices are at an all-time high.

The average price of a dozen large eggs was $1.44 in November, the latest month figures are available, said Don Bell, a consultant for the national cooperative United Egg Producers. On average, designer eggs cost about $1 more per dozen than regular eggs.

The price surge came after Exotic Newcastle Disease thinned chicken flocks last year and lowered production.

Along with kelp and flax seed, chickens that lay low-fat eggs are fed canola oil or other types of non-animal fats.

Hens raised on the special diet produce eggs with lower saturated fat that are fortified with omega-3 fatty acid, iodine and vitamin E.

If marigold extract is added to their diet, they lay eggs high in lutein, a nutrient that helps maintain the health of the eye.

The higher prices don't discourage buyers like Sigel, who paid $3.49 for a dozen designer eggs. She has been on the Atkins diet for five months and tries to eat as many organic products as possible.

"Food quality is not based upon price, it's based upon quality," she said.

After all that I have been reading about canola oil I dont want to eat any eggs from chickens who were fed with that junk. The thought of a chicken laying a low fat egg scares me.

I have heard that the best eggs are from chicken that are not kept in cages and are free to eat any bugs they can find.

Eggland's Best aren't really Low-Fat...They are only marginally lower in Total Fat (-0.5g,) Saturated Fat (-0.5g,) and Cholesterol (-45mg,) and slightly higher in Omega-3s (+68mg) and Leutin. They are also significantly higher in Vitamin E (30%DV) and Iodine (45%DV.)

According to their website, they are fed: Grain, Canola Oil, Rice Bran, Alfalfa Meal, Kelp, and Vitamin E. They are fed NO ANIMAL BY-PRODUCTS. Unlike other chickens they are not fed feed made from dead cows and other animals, and are given no chemicals, antibiotics, hormones, etc...

As for the Canola Oil...Most of that crap I've read on the internet is Bullshit. Canola Oil is Low-Erucic Acid Rapeseed Oil. It is not regular Rapeseed Oil [the stuff they claim is used as a Lubricant.] Eating Canola Oil won't burn holes in your guts, and it won't eat holes in your hands, or whatever crap they are claiming. I don't use Canola Oil, only because the Polyunsaturates in it are more prone to going bad on you [some claim they turn to Trans-Fat if overheated...though, this claim is questionable.] I wouldn't worry too much about the Canola Oil. I'd be more worried about all the crap (Hormones, Antibiotics, Chemicals, and Dead Cows) they feed regular animals.

I usually buy either Omega-3 eggs from the store, or eggs from the farmers market. I gotta ask the guy what he feeds his chickens, because the eggs are incredible.