Ask yourself this question:
"You know that eating fish improves your developing fetus's cognitive development. However, the EPA
informs you there is such a thing as eating too much and the wrong kinds of fish. Thus, there is a risk of
consuming too much of a form of mercury....and its been shown that the negatives of eating too much of
this methylmercury will negatively impact your developing fetus/baby's (brain/eyes).
Which would you choose? Eating fish or not? There is another choice!
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Fish are low in fat and high in protein and essential Omega-3 fatty acids,
which makes most fish an excellent nutritional choice during pregnancy.
- But the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) warns pregnant women to avoid fish that have high methylmercury levels. Methylmercury is a chemical byproduct of industry that finds its way into lakes and oceans—and into some of the fish we eat.
- Shark, swordfish, king mackerel, tilefish, and even albacore tuna are some of the fish on the EPA watch list because they contain the highest methylmercury levels of any fish. (FDA)
- Even women who are trying to conceive should avoid these fish, because mercury can lurk in the bloodstream for a year or more after it's ingested.
- Shrimp, canned light tuna, salmon, pollock, and catfish all have lower mercury levels and are considered safer to eat, but the EPA recommends that pregnant women limit their consumption of these fish to 12 ounces (two average meals) or less per week (canned albacore, or "white" tuna, which has more mercury than light tuna, should be limited to six ounces per week).
The Study cited below reports: Even by consuming the lower, proper DHA/EPA fish oils amounts
recommended for pregnant women; baby's are still being born with lower verbal IQ's more problems
with fine motor skills and higher rates of behavioral/social difficulties....
COMPARED to baby's born to those mothers that didn't abide by the recommendations and ate an
abundance of seafood during their pregnancy - yet put baby at risk for methylmercury complications). -
2/18/07 Duluth Tribune
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Pregnancy
A recent study by Dr. Joseph Hibbeln, a National Institutes of Health (NIH) researcher, has found that
omega-3 fatty acids taken by pregnant  women have a discernible positive effect on the mental
and social development of their children.*
- Children of pregnant women whose diets had included the smallest amounts of omega-3s had verbal IQs six points lower than average.
- At three-and-a-half years of age, children of pregnant women whose diets had included the highest amounts of omega-3s had the best measurements of fine-motor performance.
- Children of pregnant women whose diets had included the smallest amounts of omega-3s had greater difficulty making friends as they grew older.
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* Hibbeln, Joseph, NIH, As reported in The Economist, January 19, 2006. |
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