mrmoshe Posted December 21, 2006 Share Posted December 21, 2006 Fish oil gives babies head start: study Toddlers born to women who consume fish oil during pregnancy know more words and longer phrases than other children, a study has found. New Australian research also found that these children have better hand-to-eye coordination than their peers, adding more strength to support the use of supplements. Fish oil is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, special fats found to protect the heart and improve neurological function in adults. To see whether they can also benefit unborn children, University of Western Australia researchers enlisted about 80 pregnant women and fed half a daily four-gram dose of fish oil in the 20 weeks before birth. The other half were given olive oil capsules as a dummy substitute. Tests at two-and-a-half years old found that toddlers in the fish oil group scored more highly on measures of comprehension, average phrase length and vocabulary. And children whose mothers had taken fish oil supplements scored significantly higher in hand-eye coordination than those whose mothers had taken the olive oil supplements. This finding held true even after taking into account other potentially influential factors, such as the mother's age and duration of breast feeding. Previous research has shown that infants with high levels of omega-3 in their umbilical cord blood have better visual abilities. But this research, published in the British journal Archives of Disease in Childhood, is the first to prove the benefits go further. "These preliminary data indicate that supplementation with a relatively high-dose fish oil during the last 20 weeks of pregnancy is not only safe but also seems to have potential beneficial effects that need to be explored further," the authors wrote. Omega-3 fats are found naturally in oily fish like salmon and mackerel. But the authors say concerns about mercury content in certain types of seafood has prompted more people to consume the oil in supplement form. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pekingduck Posted December 21, 2006 Share Posted December 21, 2006 Pete was this from today's SMH ?? I can't find the article. Could you post the link please. I want to forward it on to someone. cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrmoshe Posted December 21, 2006 Author Share Posted December 21, 2006 Pete was this from today's SMH ?? I can't find the article. Could you post the link please. I want to forward it on to someone. cheers Here you go: http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Fish-o...6290662198.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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