The Importance of Omega 3 during Pregnancy and Nursing
Saturday, April 18th, 2009The EU (European Union) recently recommended pregnant and nursing women take daily omega 3 DHA fatty acid supplements.
The EU committee of more than 50 nutritional experts from the Perinatal Lipid Nutrition Group (PeriLip) and Early Nutrition Programming (EARNEST) unanimously agreed pregnant and nursing mothers should supplement their diets with 200 mgs/day of DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) - a long chain omega 3 fatty acid found primarily in fatty fish such as salmon, sardines and tongol tuna/
The committee, with the support of seven international scientific organizations, made its recommendation based on two major points:
One - The committee revealed that pregnant and nursing women in western cultures don’t eat sufficient amounts of fatty fish; it is generally recommended that we consume two servings omega 3 DHA for a healthy pregnancy. The committee also discovered the average DHA intake of pregnant and lactating women in the U.S was less than 18 % of the recommended daily amount and only 2 % of these women meet their daily needs of DHA. Since your baby gets its nutrition from its mother, if the mother is not getting enough of the fish oil then is the developing baby in the womb or the nursing baby is not getting enough either.
Two - Studies also uncovered that pregnant women who ingested the recommended daily dosage of omega 3 DHA have much healthier pregnancies as well as deliver babies that are full term and have higher birth weight then mothers who did not take the recommended daily dosage. In addition, additional studies revealed that the benefits of the omega 3 DHA extend beyond birth as well. When babies received the recommended amount of omega 3 fish oil, especially DHA before birth have optimal brain and eye development and motor, thinking and language skills. In addition, the study revealed a decrease risk of developing problems later on such as asthma, juvenile diabetes and ADD/ADHD.
Professor Berthold Koletxco, Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Munich, stated, “We reviewed a wealth of evidence on the benefits of DHA omega 3 and hope our findings will offer guidance for healthcare professionals on the optimum DHA omega 3 intake during pregnancy and nursing.”
In addition, professor Koletzco also shared, “We also hope that new and expectant mothers will be able to use this specific information to ensure that they are getting enough DHA omega 3 to gain the nutritional benefits throughout their pregnancy and during nursing.”
EU recommends getting the majority of your omega 3 fish oil from sources like salmon, sardines, herring, mackerel and tuna as they have the richest sources of omega 3 fatty acids. It is also important to note that there are no negative side effects to consuming more than the recommended amount of 3 fish oil is 200 mgs/day of omega 3 DHA.
As far as fish toxicity is concerned, most experts agree that as long as pregnant and nursing women (and everyone else as well) avoid eating large predator fish such as shark and swordfish, two or three servings a week of one of the above fatty fish is perfectly safe. In fact, a recent Harvard University School of Public Health study concluded that fish oil health benefits far outweigh any threat of toxicity by as much as 500 to one. In other words, toxicity is not a threat.
So if you’re pregnant, nursing or even just thinking about it and want to have a smart, healthy baby, start eating more fatty fish and taking omega 3 fish oil supplements ASAP. Your baby will be glad you did.