Women who eat oily fish and seeds in pregnancy can boost their kids’ brain power and social skills, suggests a new study.
A study of 9,000 mothers and children in Avon suggested
those who consumed less of the essential fatty acid Omega-3 had
children with lower IQs.
These children also had poorer motor skills and hand-to-eye co-ordination, research in the Economist said.
The Food Standards Agency says pregnant women should consume only one or two portions of oily fish a week.
A team from the National Institutes of Health in the US analysed data from a long-term study done in Avon, UK.
‘Frightening data’
Looking at the effects of Omega-3 intake on 9,000
mothers and their children, the team found mothers with the lowest
intake of the essential fatty acid had children with a verbal IQ six
points lower than the average.
While those with the highest consumption of mackerel and
sardines and other sources of Omega-3 had children, at age
three-and-a-half, with the best measures of fine-motor performance,
researchers said.
Low intake of the crucial fatty acid also appeared to
lead to more problems of social interactions - such as an inability to
make friends.
Research leader Dr Joseph Hibbeln said "frightening
data" showed 14% of 17-year-olds whose mother had eaten small
quantities of Omega -3 during pregnancy demonstrated this sort of
behaviour.
This compared with 8% of those born to the group with the highest intake, he said.
Dr Hibbeln said: "The findings of poor social
development and poor motor control in children indicate that these
children may be on a developmental trajectory towards lifelong
disruptive and poorly-socialised behaviour as they grow up."
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 It’s absolutely essential that pregnant women take in enough Omega-3 and that children in early infancy take in enough Omega-3  Patrick Holford
Nutritional expert |
Professor Jean Golding of Bristol University set up the
original research - the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children
-15 years ago to look at the predisposition to disease.
She told the BBC: "The baby’s brain needs Omega-3 fatty
acids. It doesn’t create its own fatty acids so it needs to be
something that the mother will eat."
The new research also builds on earlier work in the US
which suggests pregnant mothers will develop children with better
language and communication skills if they regularly consume oily fish.
Nutritional expert Patrick Holford, director of the
Brain Bio Centre, said Omega-3 was key to children’s intelligence
because the brain is formed of 60% fat - 30% of which is essential
fats.
Successive studies have shown clear links between intelligence and consumption of this essential fatty acid, he added.
Seed option
"It’s absolutely essential that pregnant women take in
enough Omega-3 and that children in early infancy take in enough
Omega-3."
The richest sources of Omega-3 are larger fish which eat
other fish, but research shows that the larger the fish the more
pollutants, such as mercury, they contain.
For this reason Mr Holford recommends women consume two portions of wild or organic salmon, trout or sardines weekly.
Seeds such as flax, pumpkin and hemp are good sources of
Omega-3 for vegetarians, but large quantities need to be consumed to
gain the same effect.
This might translate to two tablespoons of seeds daily,
Mr Holford said, but women can also use a high quality Omega-3
supplements.