How to understand egg carton labels

Some of the new varieties of eggs are better for you, some are good for the environment, and some are good for the hens. Here is a quick explanation of the new egg labels:

Omega Three Enhanced:

• Omega 3s reduce the risk of heart disease, but they aren’t in many kinds of food. Fish is one way to get omega 3, but some people worry about mercury and other pollutants. So if you want to get more Omega 3s into your diet without eating fish, eggs with omega 3s are a good way. The chickens are fed food that has omega 3 in it, like flaxseed, flax oil and walnuts. You do have to watch your cholesterol, and it’s all in the yolk, so you might try to have one egg and two egg whites.

Certified Humane:

• If you’re concerned about how the hens are treated, look for certified humane egg label. Go to certifiedhumane.com to learn more. What this means is that independent inspectors have been out to see the chickens' living conditions and will certify that they are being treated humanely.

USDA Certified Organic:

• USDA certified organic eggs are good for the planet and good for you. That egg label means no hormones or antibiotics were used on the hens and their feed is not grown with pesticides or fertilizers.

These eggs may be more expensive than conventional eggs, but many consumers feel they’re worth it.

Hi I'm Cynthia Sass, the nutrition director at Prevention magazine. It used to be when you visited the dairy case at your grocery store there weren't many different kinds of eggs to choose from. There were different sizes, brown shells and white shells, but nowadays when you go to the market there are all different varieties of eggs. I'm going to show you the top three choices and how to interpret the labels. Some may be better for you, the environment, or for the hens themselves.

First up our omega 3 enhanced eggs. You may have heard a lot about omega 3's because they are linked to a reduced risk of heart disease which is a number killer of men and women. And omega 3's aren't found in very many foods. One of the foods they are most naturally occurring in is fish, but a lot of people are concerned about mercury. Especially women who are pregnant or may become pregnant. So if you're looking for a quick way to get omega 3's without eating fish or maybe you just don't like fish, eggs can be a great alternative. What they've been doing is adding things that are original omega 3's to the chicken feed so the eggs that they produce are higher in omega 3's that they normally would be. And that would be things like flax oil, flax seed, and walnuts. So when you look for these eggs, you want to look for the words omega 3 on the label. And these are a great choice for heart health, but you do have to watch your cholesterol. Just on egg has about 215 milligrams of cholesterol in it and most of us should be getting no more than 300 milligrams for the whole day. Now cholesterol only comes from animal foods, but all the cholesterol in an egg is in the yolk. So if you're trying to watch your cholesterol, you can have one egg and two egg whites and that would be a good way to manage your cholesterol while getting some great omega 3 enhancing heart health.

If you're concerned about how the hens are treated, you can look for certified humane eggs. You can go to certifiedhumane.com to find out more, but basically an independent group of animal welfare people come out and inspect the farm to make sure it meets their criteria for how the hens are treated.

And then finally would be USDA certified organic. That's good for the environment for a few reasons. First of all there's no hormones or antibiotics used for the hens and their feed has not been exposed to any pesticides or fertilizers. So you feel like you're doing something good for the planet while you're having your omelet in the morning.

Now these eggs may be a little more expensive than the old, conventional eggs, but a lot of consumers feel that they're well worth it. I'm Cynthia Sass with Prevention magazine.