Why pregnant women should take seafood
October 1, 2008
Seafood, mainly fish, is found to ensure brain development of babies. That is why doctors ask pregnant women and lactating mothers to eat at least twelve ounces (approximately two servings daily) of seafood. However, tilefish, shark, king mackerel and swordfish should be excluded from this group due to their high content of mercury. Albacore tuna should not be eaten to more than six ounces a week.
Fish and other seafood are important dietary sources of essential omega-3 fatty acids. They contribute an essential substance called docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) to our diet. DHA acts as a key nutrient for the development of brain and nervous systems of the foetus and breast fed babies. A recent study conducted in UK showed that children whose mothers ate little fish during pregnancy had lower IQ level than those whose mothers consumed plenty of seafoods. It is advisable that pregnant women eat lots of seafood during the second trimester of pregnancy. However, women with high mercury scores need to consult their doctor before including seafoods in their diet.
Higher rate of seafood consumption is also found to bring down the rate of pregnancy related depression. Women who are prone to post delivery depression should be fed on more fish and other sea dishes. The communication and language skills of babies whose mothers have taken seafood during pregnancy are also found to be more effective. However, not all varieties of fish are equally beneficial. Fishes like tuna and salmon are found to be better options for infants’’ brains than swordfish. Prefer oily fish varieties such as sardines since they are rich in the vital omega-3 fatty acids. Fatty fish varieties are more likely to be contaminated with mercury, which is toxic to the cells of baby’s brain. Studies conducted on three-year-old kids also showed that eating more seafood enhanced their visual-spatial skills.
St.Botanica Cosmetics
Recent Articles
How to cope with an autistic child
He could start to speak when he became three years old. Till the age of seven he often repeated sentences. He felt afraid in crowd. As a grown up his lectures were puzzling
How to choose the right maternity clothes
Two things cannot be hidden: being astride a camel and being pregnant. On being pregnant you will realize that your boobs have gone up 2-3 times
How to help your child read better
Babies are born with the instinct to speak, the way spiders are born with the instinct to spin webs. You don’t train babies to speak; they just do. But reading is different
Thumb sucking in children
Do you know which fruit did Christopher Columbus introduce to Europe? No, you are wrong, it is not orange, its pineapple. Did you know that fresh pineapple provides 60
How to Deal with a Speech Delayed Child
If you find your child not responding to sounds or not imitating sounds like children of his age group would generally do, then it might be that the child is suffering from a speech delay
