No developmental problems seen in kids of frequent seafood eaters from Seychelles islands, study says
WebMD News from HealthDay
By Dennis Thompson
HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 21, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Despite concerns over mercury exposure, pregnant women who eat lots of fish may not harm their unborn children, a new study suggests.
Three decades of research in the Seychelles, the islands in the Indian Ocean, found no developmental problems in children born to women who consume ocean fish at a much higher rate than the average American woman, the study concluded.
"They eat a lot of fish, historically about 12 fish meals a week, and their mercury exposure from fish is about 10 times higher than that of average Americans," said study co-author Edwin van Wijngaarden, an associate professor in the University of Rochester's department of Public Health Sciences in Rochester, N.Y. "We have not found any association between these exposures to mercury and developmental outcomes."
The omega 3 fatty acids found in fish oil may protect the brain from the potential toxic effects of mercury, the researchers suggested.
They found mercury-related developmental problems only in the children of women who had low omega 3 levels but high levels of omega 6 fatty acids, which are associated with meats and cooking oils, van Wijngaarden said.
"The fish oil is tripping up the mercury," he said. "Somehow, they are interacting with each other. We found benefits of omega 3s on language development and communications skills."
The new findings come amid a reassessment regarding the risks and rewards of eating fish during pregnancy.
High levels of mercury exposure can cause developmental problems in children, the researchers noted. Because all ocean fish contain trace amounts of mercury, health experts for decades have advised expecting mothers to limit their fish consumption.
For example, current guidance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommends that pregnant women limit consumption of fish to twice a week.
But in June, the FDA announced that it plans to update those recommendations and advise that pregnant women eat a minimum of two to three servings a week of fish known to be low in mercury. The FDA says these include shrimp, canned light tuna, salmon, pollock and catfish.
source : Could Nutrients in Fish Shield Fetus From Mercury's Harms?
