Fatty Acids and Infant Brain Performance
You are what you eat, and so are your kids, according to new research from the Child & Family Research Institute, Vancouver, Canada. And it might be time to add some surf to your turf.
In this instance, a team of researchers determined the meat-centered diets that most of us eat are deficient in crucial fats that are found mainly in fish and omega-3 nutritional supplements.
According to the report, which was published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, these unsaturated fats, known as omega-3 fatty acids, are vital to the health of a baby’s eyes and brain as it develops.
- In the womb, the baby gets these essential fatty acids from mom via the umbilical cord.
- After birth, baby receives fatty acids from mother’s milk or infant formula containing omega-3.
In particular, the study followed 135 pregnant women who were randomly put in one of two groups:
- One group of pregnant women was given omega-3 supplements equal to two servings of fatty fish per week.
- The other group of pregnant women was given a placebo.
Both groups of women were given blood tests at 16 weeks and again 36 weeks for DHA (docasohexaenoic acid) levels, which is a type of omega-3 fat that has been associated with infant mental and visual development.
After both groups’ babies had been born, the researchers tested the infants’ vision and brain development and determined the infants whose mothers had taken omega-3 supplements did better on the tests. The researchers believe that simply changing from a meat-based diet to one that includes more fish and/or omega-3 supplements may help mothers raise healthier children.
Two servings of fish provide approximately 500 milligrams of omega-3 fats, which is sufficient for one day. Taking a DHA supplement is a great way to make up for any days you don’t eat fish.
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Barbara S. Levine, R.D., Ph.D., has been a researcher, consultant, and teacher of nutrition at some of the most prestigious medical institutions in the country. Dr. Levine is a DHA & B Vitamin Center scientific advisory board member and director of the first NIH-funded Nutrition Information Center at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Weill-Cornell Medical College, The Rockefeller University, Hospital for Special Surgery, and Strang Cancer Prevention Center.