A mother's diet rich in fish will give their child a dramatic intellectual advantage, researchers have said.
Researchers have said mothers who eat fish high in omega-3 fatty acids, benefit their babies\' intellectual development. Photo: Pregnant profile: Credit: mahalie/Flickr
A study by Harvard University researchers has found that, of over 300 children who were tested at the age of three, those whose mothers ate a diet rich in fish during the second trimester of pregnancy, out-performed the others in intelligence tests.
"Maternal fish intake more than twice a week was associated with improved performance on tests of language and motor skills," the report said.
"Dietary recommendations for pregnant women should incorporate the nutritional benefits as well as the risks of fish intake," said the Harvard University researchers, who report their findings in the American Journal of Epidemiology this week.
"In the present study, women who ate more than two weekly servings of tuna had children who performed better on the developmental tests," said Professor Emily Oken, who led the study.
The study counters advice that pregnant woman should avoid eating fish because it may contain toxic chemicals.
"Dietary recommendations for pregnant women should incorporate the nutritional benefits as well as the risks of fish intake," the report concludes.
However the report also concluded the positive benefits may depend on the type of fish eaten. Researchers found that children with higher levels of mercury, a trace element found in some fish, scored poorly.
A second study on babies has the researchers theorising that it was may only be fish high in omega-3 fatty acids, such as tuna and sardines, which show the better intellectual improvement in children.
Omega-3 fatty acids have been linked to neurological development in previous studies.
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