Fish Oil Pregnancy Diet Supplment

Fish Oil Diet
And Pregnancy

Fish Oil Supplementation During Pregnancy
Researchers report that pregnant women who consume fish once a week during the first 16 weeks of pregnancy may experience a 3.6 times lower risk of giving birth to a low birth weight or premature baby than do women who never consume fish. The study used to support these findings involved nearly 9000 women who food consumption patterns were closing monitored and observed. Researches also found that women who consumed less than 15 grams of fish per day (fish oil intake of 150mg/day) were much more likely to give birth to a preterm or underweight baby then women with higher daily consumption of fish. Based on these finding they suggest that fish oil supplementation may effectively help to protect against premature babies and low birth weight.

Fish Oil Supplementation for Infants
It is common knowledge in the medical world that human infants need an adequate amount of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids for optimal growth and development. There is also evidence to suggest that the need for omega-3 acids, especially docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), is particulary high among pre-term infants. Some researchers also believe that pre-term infants lack the ability to synthesize DHA from alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) in sufficient amounts to ensure an adequate supply to the brain and retina. Some studies have lead researchers to conclude that pre-term infants fed a formula with supplemental DHA develop better visual acuity, retinal response and achieve a high level of mental development. Additional studies have suggested that term infants may also benefit in similar ways to DHA supplementation.

A group of Canadian, British and U.S. researchers emphasize just how important it is for newborn infants to receive enough docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in order to ensure proper neural and visual development during the first six months of life. They also point out, as have other researchers, that it is still unknown whether or not the required DHA can be synthesized by the infants themselves (from ALA fatty acids) or if it come from the diet - be it breast milk or formula.

In reviewing numerous studies comparing the DHA levels of breast-fed infants with that of formula-fed infants researchers found that during the first six months of life DHA accumulates in the body of breast-fed infants at a rate of 10mg/day with 48% of this accumulation occurring in the brain. These same researchers estimated that an intake of 20 mg/day of DHA is necessary to achieve this level of DHA and points out that breast feeding supplies about 60 mg/day. They conclude that the overabundance in breast milk may be required to provide for potentially increased losses during disease, infection and other adverse conditions that can affect an infants metabolism.

Regarding formula-fed infants researcher claim would seem to develop a deficiency of DHA if they are fed a formula which has not been fortified with DHA. Regular infant formula contributes about 390 mg/day of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) and about 5% of this would need to be converted into DHA for the infant to receive the needed 20 mg/day. Researchers point out that there is no evidence at all that infants are ableto achieve even a 5% conversion rate of ALA to DHA and speculate that the conversion rate is likely to be much, much lower than required. This assertion is also supported by findings that indicate that formula-fed infants actually lose 993 mg of DHA over the first 6 months of life while breast-fed babies gain an average of 1882 mg. Consequently, some researchers conclude that formula-fed infants require supplementation of DHA to get the nutrients required for proper grow and braind development.

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A number of references in this text were taken from the following sources:

Olsen, Sjurour Frooi and Secher, Niels Jorgen. Low consumption of seafood in early pregnancy as a risk factor for preterm delivery: prospective cohort study. British Medical Journal, Vol. 324, February 23, 2002, pp. 1-5

Carlson, S.E. Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids and development of human infants. Acta Paediatr Suppl, No. 430, 1999, pp. 72-7

Cunnane, Stephen C., et al. Breast-fed infants achieve a higher rate of brain and whole body docosahexaenoate accumulation than formula-fed infants not consuming dietary docosahexaenoate. Lipids, Vol. 35, January 2000, pp. 105-11

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