Fish is a very healthy food, even for pregnant women. The fear of the harmful effects of mercury they contain has led many women to consider the convenience of including seafood in their usual diet. While it is true that it is recommended to avoid certain fish that are high in mercury because of their neurotoxic potential during pregnancy, you cannot deny the great benefits that Omega 3 has for the baby's brain development.
A new study in the Seychelles, where pregnant women consume fish much more frequently than in other countries, suggests that Omega 3 could protect the pregnant woman from the harmful effects of fish mercury.
Seychelles women eat fish about twelve times a week, and their exposure to mercury in fish is about ten times higher than that of, for example, an average American, the study authors indicate. And they clarified "we did not find any association between these exposures to mercury and the results of development."
They think fish oil beats mercury. The omega 3 fatty acids found in fatty fish could protect the brain from the potential toxic effects of mercury. They only found developmental problems related to mercury in children whose mothers had low levels of omega 3 but high levels of omega 6 fatty acids, which are associated with meats and cooking oils.
The results of the study suggest that the indications on fish consumption should be reviewed, or increase the intake of Omega 3 that has been shown to have great benefits for the baby, improving, among other things, cognitive and neurological function and aids in the development of the vision.
Do not stop eating fish during pregnancy two or three times a week. Only limit the intake of those species that contain higher levels of mercury such as swordfish or tuna and choose those fish that can be eaten without risk in pregnancy.
