Fish Oil During Pregnancy Benefits Both Mother and Child
Fish oil during pregnancy is a great idea.
It's essential nutrition for both the mother and her developing baby.
Here are some of the benefits and the reason that fish oil should be the purest available, especially during pregnancy.
Everyone agrees that good nutrition is especially important during pregnancy, and there is an ingredient in the oil of fatty fish that is lacking in the diets of a large majority of people in developed countries.
That ingredient is DHA -- short for docosahexaenoic acid.
DHA is an essential fatty acid, in rich supply in the bodies of fatty fish like anchovies, mackerel, hoki and salmon.
Unfortunately, most modern diets don't include much of these natural sources of DHA.
DHA turns out to have extremely important benefits for both a woman and the child developing within her.
In the baby, the development of the brain and eyes depends on plenty of DHA, and studies have shown better development of vision and cognitive function in infants whose mothers were given DHA supplements.
DHA and the other omega 3 fatty acids from fish are called "essential" because the body can't make them on its own; it is essential for these nutrients to be consumed in food or supplements.
And while it was once argued that the body can make omega 3's -- the ones in short supply in our diets are DHA and EPA -- the truth is, it can't! The body's ability to create omega 3 oils from vegetable sources like the ALA in flaxseed and flaxseed oil is extremely limited -- nearly non-existent, in fact.
The body simply can't do this efficiently.
The brain and the eyes really need the omega 3's in fish, especially DHA.
About 60 percent of the brain is fat, and DHA makes up about half of that -- about a third of the brain.
The brain takes up DHA in preference to any other fatty acid, so it's important to take a supplement that's rich in DHA.
The retina of the eye is also rich in DHA.
This is why omega 3 oils are particularly essential to the developing baby's brain.
And if a mom doesn't get enough, she'll give all she has to the baby -- and this may explain much of the reason why postpartum depression (depression following childbirth) is common.
The mother's body can get badly depleted in omega 3's, an extremely common factor in depression.
This can happen in two ways -- during pregnancy, the mother's baby will supply as much omega 3 as it can to the developing baby; and after birth, if the mother is breast feeding, the mother's milk will supply the baby with omega 3's -- if they are available! Unfortunately, studies have shown that omega 3 fatty acids are extremely low in the breast milk of many mothers.
This is easily and quickly overcome by good supplements, however.
This is why I highly recommend fish oil during pregnancy, during breast feeding -- and for both the mother and growing children afterward.
It's essential nutrition for both the mother and her developing baby.
Here are some of the benefits and the reason that fish oil should be the purest available, especially during pregnancy.
Everyone agrees that good nutrition is especially important during pregnancy, and there is an ingredient in the oil of fatty fish that is lacking in the diets of a large majority of people in developed countries.
That ingredient is DHA -- short for docosahexaenoic acid.
DHA is an essential fatty acid, in rich supply in the bodies of fatty fish like anchovies, mackerel, hoki and salmon.
Unfortunately, most modern diets don't include much of these natural sources of DHA.
DHA turns out to have extremely important benefits for both a woman and the child developing within her.
In the baby, the development of the brain and eyes depends on plenty of DHA, and studies have shown better development of vision and cognitive function in infants whose mothers were given DHA supplements.
DHA and the other omega 3 fatty acids from fish are called "essential" because the body can't make them on its own; it is essential for these nutrients to be consumed in food or supplements.
And while it was once argued that the body can make omega 3's -- the ones in short supply in our diets are DHA and EPA -- the truth is, it can't! The body's ability to create omega 3 oils from vegetable sources like the ALA in flaxseed and flaxseed oil is extremely limited -- nearly non-existent, in fact.
The body simply can't do this efficiently.
The brain and the eyes really need the omega 3's in fish, especially DHA.
About 60 percent of the brain is fat, and DHA makes up about half of that -- about a third of the brain.
The brain takes up DHA in preference to any other fatty acid, so it's important to take a supplement that's rich in DHA.
The retina of the eye is also rich in DHA.
This is why omega 3 oils are particularly essential to the developing baby's brain.
And if a mom doesn't get enough, she'll give all she has to the baby -- and this may explain much of the reason why postpartum depression (depression following childbirth) is common.
The mother's body can get badly depleted in omega 3's, an extremely common factor in depression.
This can happen in two ways -- during pregnancy, the mother's baby will supply as much omega 3 as it can to the developing baby; and after birth, if the mother is breast feeding, the mother's milk will supply the baby with omega 3's -- if they are available! Unfortunately, studies have shown that omega 3 fatty acids are extremely low in the breast milk of many mothers.
This is easily and quickly overcome by good supplements, however.
This is why I highly recommend fish oil during pregnancy, during breast feeding -- and for both the mother and growing children afterward.
