Some new research done by the U.S. National Institutes of Health may have pregnant women heading to the fish market. Research has shown that eating more fish and seafood while pregnant could have a positive effect on the intelligence of children. The omega-3 fatty acids in seafood play an important role in fetal brain development. The additional benefit was only seen when women consumed more than 12 ounces of seafood a week. Prior to this study, the government recommended that pregnant woman consume no more than 12 ounces of fish a week.
The study looked at the children of 8,000 British women, tracking them from while in the womb until the age of 8. On average, they "were more advanced in developmental tests measuring fine motor, communication and social skills as toddlers, behaved better at age 7, and earned higher verbal IQ scores at age 8."
Although there weren’t any negative impacts on children during the study, I still would not recommend pregnant women to eat fish. The reason women are advised not to eat fish, is because of the mercury that is found in fish. Mercury is dangerous, because it damages the nervous system. Researchers are hoping that this study will provide enough evidence for the legislature to "take [further] actions to keep pollutants out of seafood." I still wouldn’t suggest eating fish and seafood to a pregnant woman. The risks are just way too big.
2 comments:
I agree, I think actually reccommending eating fish to pregnant women is not a step in the right direction. Seafood like tuna can be especially dangerous. I also wanted to mention that you might look into what Starbucks is doing this month to eliminate trans fats from their products. My friend who always gets 2% in her latte at Starbucks was told last week that she did not need to ask for 2% anymore, because they are trying to eliminate the use of whole milk and only use 2%. So, a regular drink, latte, frappuccino, etc. from now on will be made with 2% milk, unless nonfat milk is specified. It is a trial thing they are doing for February, so you might want to check it out.
That was from Libby :)
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