Posted on 04/11/2008 3:11:11 PM PDT by blam
Omega-3 Intake During Last Months Of Pregnancy Boosts An Infant's Cognitive And Motor Development
ScienceDaily (Apr. 11, 2008) — A study supervised by Université Laval researchers Gina Muckle and Éric Dewailly reveals that omega-3 intake during the last months of pregnancy boosts an infant's sensory, cognitive, and motor development. The details of this finding are published in a recent edition of the Journal of Pediatrics.
To come to this conclusion, researchers first measured docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) concentration--a type of omega-3 fatty acid involved in the development of neurons and retinas--in the umbilical cord blood of 109 infants. "DHA concentration in the umbilical cord is a good indicator of intra-uterine exposure to omega-3s during the last trimester of pregnancy, a crucial period for the development of retinal photoreceptors and neurons," explains Dr. Dewailly.
Tests conducted on these infants at 6 and 11 months revealed that their visual acuity as well as their cognitive and motor development were closely linked to DHA concentration in the umbilical cord blood at the time of their birth. However, there was very little relation between test results and DHA concentration in a mother's milk among infants who were breast-fed. "These results highlight the crucial importance of prenatal exposure to omega-3s in a child's development," points out Dr. Muckle.
Researchers observed that DHA concentration in the umbilical cord blood was in direct relation with the concentration found in a mother's blood, a reminder of the importance of a mother's diet in providing omega-3 fatty acids for the fetus. They also noted that DHA concentration was higher in the fetus's blood than in the mother's. "While developing its nervous system, a fetus needs great quantities of DHA. It can even transform other types of omega-3s into DHA in order to develop its brain," explains Dr. Dewailly.
For the members of the research team, there is no doubt that all pregnant women should be encouraged to get sufficient amounts of omega-3s. "A diet rich in omega-3s during pregnancy can't be expected to solve everything, but our results show that such a diet has positive effects on a child's sensory, cognitive, and motor development. Benefits from eating fish with low contaminant levels and high omega-3 contents, such as trout, salmon, and sardines, far outweigh potential risks even during pregnancy," conclude the researchers.
In addition to Muckle and Dewailly, who are also affiliated to the Centre de recherche du CHUQ, Quebec City, the study was co-authored by Pierre Ayotte from Université Laval, as well as Joseph Jacobson, Sandra Jacobson, and Melissa Kaplan-Estrin from Wayne State University. This study was funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Hydro-Québec, and Health Canada.
Adapted from materials provided by Université Laval.
I take 6,000mg of fish oil capsules a day. It has done away with most all of my postworkout soreness, lower back pain and most important, tingling in my feet from my job (nurse aide). The days I have nursing school clinicals AND my job are rough on my feet.
It’s like nordic naturals. My mom used to give me cod liver oil when I was a baby...by the SPOONFUL!
I’ve used it for several years now. And put my youngest d-i-l on the “rescue me too” product when she was expecting with my 4th grandson. My doctor is pleased and so is his.
I take 3000 mg of distilled Omega 3 fish oil per day.
My cholesterol went from 260 to 179; triglycerides normal for the first time in my adult life; annoying tingling in feet gone.
(in overall 5000 mg of fish oil: 1000 mg oil per gel cap/ 600 mg omega 3 per gel cap. In other words 400 mg of NON Omega 3 fish oil in each gel cap.)
ping
I’ve done some research on Omega-3 within the past year, and one source told me sockeye salmon has more omega-3 than any other type of fish (not sure about the mercury content, though. I suppose that varies). If fish is the source, however, deep-water fish (Halibut, salmon, tuna, etc) has significantly higher omega-3 levels than shallow water fish (cod, snapper, perch, etc).
BTW, 3000 mg = 3 grams = the average Japanese adult intake of Omega 3 fish oil in their diet, normally.
Yeah, deep ocean oily fish. Distilled Omega 3 removes any possiblility of mercury (there was none to begin with.)
Two years ago I suggested to a friend of mine that she suggest to her near 40 yr old DIL that she take cod liver oil during her pregnancy with twins.....I’m sure she didn’t. She and her husband now have a developmentally disabled son (cognitive and motor skills delayed), while the daughter seems to be doing okay....sad. Don’t know if the Cod Liver Oil would have helped....but maybe?
Yes good point. One thing you shouldn’t do with deep water fish is discard the oil produced from cooking it.
I eat a can of tuna a day. The dark kind...it is the younger tuna and has less mercury. (Don’t know how much Omega-3’s in it)
Flax Seed Oil contains omega-6 and omega-9 essential fatty acids, B vitamins, potassium, lecithin, magnesium, fiber, protein, and zinc and also provides approximately 50% more omega-3 oils than what you could get from taking fish oil, minus that horrible “fishy” after taste.
Its the new black!
My labs are always great. I need to eliminate about twenty extra pounds off my body so the fish oil helps to compensate. Plus, I tell my mom to eat lots of fatty fish to keep weight on her body for her chemo. She’ totally on board with taking lots of fish oil. I see I’m not the only one who can testify to the anti-foot tingle of fish oil!
Yep that’s great stuff. Canned tuna has about 2,000mg depending on the brand. The darker the better because it means more fat in the flesh.
I buy organic flaxseed from WholeFoods and grind them myself. I do have my mom take fish oil because I’m not sure how reliable her digestive system would be in converting the omega 3s in the flax seed.
Omega-3 Fish Oil
"Flaxseed oil does have omega-3 in it and is preferred by some people however some doctors say flaxseed oil should not be taken by pregnant women
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BTW here is my source on the amount of Omega-3 per type of fish. It contains a large table listing almost every type of fish and the corresponding Omega-3 content.
The Omega Connection, The facts about fish oils and human health, author S.K Niazi, PH.D.
If I take less than the 10,000 mg/day, I start to feel it in my joints, especially the hands. I believe it has helped me think clearly as well. My daughter swears by it. If she misses a day or so, her cognition slips, and she has trouble concentrating. I attribute her remarkable recovery from her very bad TBI, in large part, to very larges doses of fish oil immediately from being discharged from the hospital. In fact, she just had her third neuropsyc exam, and she scored extremely well. We are so thankful to God. She went from scoring "Impaired" in nearly all, if not all, areas when she was first tested in the hospital to scoring only mildly impaired in math (which isn't a surprize) and mildly impared in one other area-remembering lists of words). However, she scored in the "Superior" range for executive functioning which was where she was originally the weakest due to where her injury was the most severe (the two frontal lobes). Everything else was scored in various levels of "Average". She takes about 8,000 mg/day divided into 4,000 with breakfast and 4,000 dinner. I'm not saying this is the only thing that helped, but I think it had a lot to do with her recovery.
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