Mom's
Low Fish Diet May Have Consequences for Baby
Study
shows typical pregnancy diet may pose risk to infant development
March
12, 2008 Washington, DC - A new study published
in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition says the typical
American diet, low in seafood, is deficient in omega-3 fatty
acids and may pose a risk to babies' developing eyes and brains.
"This
is what we have been concerned about for years," said Mary
A. Harris, PhD., RD an expert in fetal nutrition from Colorado
State University. "We've been trying to get the word out
about just how vital omega-3 fatty acids are to a developing
child. And the only way babies in the womb get their omega-3s
is through moms' diets. This study highlights just how important
it is for women and families to get positive messages about
eating fish."
The
study, funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research,
looked at 135 pregnant women and ran vision tests on their children
at two months of age.
"The researchers found that the women who ate lots of meat
and little fish were deficient in omega-3 fatty acids, and their
babies didn't do as well on eye tests as babies from mothers
who weren't deficient," according to a
release from the Child and Family Research Institute,
the organization that conducted the study. "This discovery
is an important step towards developing dietary fat guidelines
for pregnant and breastfeeding women [that]...evolved from the
1950's emphasis on reducing saturated fat intake."
For more than 60 years, the National Fisheries Institute (NFI)
and its members have provided American families with the variety
of sustainable seafood essential to a healthy diet. For more
information visit: www.AboutSeafood.com.