Keep Omega 3 fats in your diet to aid fetal development.

DHA is an essential fatty acid found right through your body, and in particular your brain. And it has been discovered that DHA is very important in brain development, as well as other aspects of fetal development. DHA is also a major fatty acid found in the retina of the eye, as well as other organs of the body.

Importantly it is also found in breast milk.

Now babies cannot produce their own DHA, so they get it from their mother. They get it through the placenta before they are born and from the breast milk after. For this reason a mother is constantly losing some of her supplies of DHA to her baby.

For this reason experts recommend an Omega 3 supplement to mothers to be and breast feeding mothers. Both to supplement the DHA that baby is getting, and to maintain their own supplies. There are other supplements also recommended for pregnant or nursing mothers, like folic acid, but Omega 3 fats high in DHA are now on the list.

Both for fetal brain and eye development, and other aspects of fetal development.

A study published in The Lancet in 2007, where 11,000 women were tested for the effects of low levels of consumption of seafood, specifically less than 340 grams, tested for the effects of low levels of seafood intake and childhood development.

The children of the women involved in the study were tested from the age of 6 months right up to the age of 8.

And it was found that low levels of seafood intake during pregnancy had children who exhibited lower levels of IQ than those with high levels of seafood intake during pregnancy.

Not only that it was also demonstrated that children of women with lower levels of seafood intake had other problems such as poorer communication skills and poorer fine motor skills as well is some social behavioural issues.

Another study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2007 studied the effects of DHA supplementation on pregnant women. The supplementation was achieved by way of cereal bars supplemented with DHA. Supplementation began at 24 weeks right through until delivery.

And it was also found in this study that infants of women who had supplemented their diet with DHA during pregnancy did better on solving problems than the incidence whose mothers did not receive the DHA.

Of course there is plenty more research required in this area, but it seems that there is a growing body of evidence that taking fish oil, and specifically DHA, during pregnancy may well give your infant a good head start in life.

Recommendations for how much DHA should be consumed by pregnant and nursing mothers vary, but are around 200 to 300 mg per day. With our modern diet it is unlikely that we get enough DHA in our diets. Read the rest of this entry

Is there any reason to increase the intake of Omega 3 fish oils if you have depression?

Depression can be one of the most debilitating conditions you can get. It can have severe consequences for your life, even leading to suicide. There’s many risk factors in depression, and the causes and treatments aren’t fully understood.

Lets have a look at one aspect of depression. The role of Omega 3 fats in depression, and more specifically whether increasing Omega 3 fish oils in the diet can have a role in reducing the incidence of depression.

Over the last 100 years the incidence of depression has skyrocketed. Although it’s not scientific to make the connection, it may be no co incidence that the amounts of Omega 3 in our diets have plummeted.

That’s for a number of reasons. Modern intensive farming practices, for example, have resulted in the reduction of the incidence of Omega 3 in some of our foods, like meat and eggs.

Depression is 60 times higher in New Zealand, where the average intake of fish is 40 pounds a year, compared to Japan where it’s 150 pounds a year.

None of this proves a link between Omega 3 and depression, but suggests that some studies would be useful.

And these studies are now appearing. For example a study published in the American Journal of Phychiatry in 2006 found that a deficit of Omega 3 may indeed “make an etiological contribution to mood disorders and that supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids may provide a therapeutic strategy”.

That’s pretty clear. That isn’t the only study finding that low levels of Omega fats intake may contribute to mood disorders like bipolar, or manic depression.

How could this be? Well, again unscientifically, it’s well known that DHA fats found in Omega 3 fish oils make up over 50% of the brain. And not only that, they also make up a part of the membrane of nerve cells. And that these nerve cells help in brain communication, which is important in good mental health. Read the rest of this entry

Macular degeneration can lead to blindness, so the news that Omega 3 fats can help is good news.

Macular degeneration is the slow degeneration of the vision, with age, and it can eventually lead to blindess. The good news is that new research now shows that the risk of macular degeneration can be reduced by the consumption of good fats, or omega 3 fats.

This is very good news. Why? Because macular degeneration is the leading cause of blindness amongst Americans aged over 60. So it’s incidence isn’t to be understated.

Risk factors for AMD include a family history, poor diet, smoking and, obviously, age. There is no cure for AMD caused blindness.

And it’s effects are devastating. The editors know someone who, some years ago, went blind from macular degeneration at around 65 years of age. A widowed woman, the effects on her life were devastating.

In an Australian study begun in 1992, it was found that eating one serve of fish per week was sufficient to effect a 31% reduced risk of AMD, or age related macular degeneration. The study required participants to keep a food diary and the results were tabulated with photographs of the eyes at 5 and 10 years.

The conclusion was that a regular consumption of foods high in Omega 3 fats like some nuts, olive oil and fish significantly lowered the incidence of AMD, and that a higher intake of foods high in saturated fats and trans fats, as well as a high consumption of processed foods and baked foods raised the risks of blindness. Read the rest of this entry

No lesser authority than the American Heart Association recommends the intake of Omega 3 oils.

There is sometimes the perception that taking dietary supplements is a little like witchcraft. Untested and no one really knows what is going to happen if you do.

And there is also the perception that taking dietary supplements is somehow “alternative”. That real people who listen to their doctor wouldn’t consider taking dietary supplements including omega 3 dietary supplements.

So lets consider whether there are down to earth recognized medical authorities that recommend the intake of Omega 3 oils and fats.

The American Heart Association, no less, says that:

Omega-3 fatty acids benefit the heart of healthy people, and those at high risk of — or who have — cardiovascular disease.”

And they offer recommendations for the intake of omega 3 fats. Their recommendations are that we eat around 2 servings of fish a week. They also suggest eating other sources of omega 3 acids like tofu, soybeans and various oils like canola.

And they are quite specific about people with CHD (coronary heart disease). They should eat at least 1 gram of EPA and DHA per day, and for those who need to lower their triglycerides it’s suggested that they take from 2 to 4 grams of EPA and DHA as capsules, doctor supervised.

You can’t get any clearer than that. The AHA recommends the intake of omega 3 fats, preferably as food but also as capsules, every day.

Nothing “alternative’ about that. Read the rest of this entry