Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Go easy on fatty fish during pregnancy

Pregnant women who eat lots of oily fish were more likely to have smaller babies.

Is it safe to eat fish during pregnancy? Scandinavian researchers have recently shown that pregnant women who eat lots of oily fish were more likely to have smaller babies. Guilty: the pollutants in fish tissue.

Dr. Thorhallur Ingi Halldorsson and colleagues at Copenhagen followed the pregnancy of almost 45 000 Danish between 1996 and 2002. By following the eating habits of expectant mothers and the health of babies, researchers have found that there was a link between the frequency with which the mother consumed fatty fish and the birthweight of their babies. They have thus revealed that women who consume more than 60 grams of fatty fish per day, equivalent to about two servings per week were 24% more risk of having a baby of low weight to mothers who ate the equivalent of less than 5 grams of fish per day.

How to explain? Because of persistent organic pollutants that contaminate the flesh of oily fish. Some of these substances are suspected to slow fetal development. Should we ban the fish during pregnancy? "No, say the researchers. Because fatty fish are also an important source of omega-3 fatty acids essential for the proper development of baby. "

The solution? Monitor the source of his fish. "Levels of contamination vary from one region to another, say the authors. The ideal is to learn. " Hopefully your fish will be able to guide you ...

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