In a study led by Harvard Dr. Emily Oken, researchers concluded that three-year-olds whose mothers ate more fish while pregnant with them score better on several tests of cognitive function than their peers whose mothers avoided seafood. Fish consumption of 
2 servings/week was not associated with a benefit.
Conversely, the study also found that the amount of mercury in a woman’s body rose with the amount of fish she had consumed. Children that were exposed to these higher levels of mercury performed worse on the same cognitive tests.
WHAT?
Sounds like a bit a classic catch-22.
Eat fish and your kids will grow up to be a super genius.
OR
Eat fish, expose your child to mercury, and he/she will grow up to be something less than a super genius.
So what are we supposed to do with this scientific breakthrough?
Based on their findings, the researchers say that it’s possible that eating Omega 3 fish could produce greater brain benefits for babies if mothers-to-be consumed seafood with lower mercury levels.
So I should avoid the fish with high mercury content.
This sounds like a job for Captain Obvious.
Okay, enough sarcasm.
The bottom line
- Eat fish that is high in Omega 3 fatty acids but low in Mercury content.
Image courtesy of the Maine Dept. of Environmental Health
- Supplement with fish oils that have been labeled Pharmaceutical Grade or Molecularly Distilled. Keep in mind that it is a little like the wild west out there with fish oil supplements. You may need to do a little research and even ask a few questions.
- The University of Guelph run International Fish Oil Standards tests fish oil supplements for their purity. Their website is here.
- I personally use the Ascenta brand Nutra-Sea fish oil. You can enter the batch number of your purchased product in their website to see the specific third part purity report, or you can see a sample report here.
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I also use Ascenta’s Nutra Sea HP product. According to the research I have done, it is the best out there. They have high quality and purity standards (you can get independant lab results on their website). They are also members of 1% for the Planet which is very cool!
Or you could add an ounce (28g) of ground FLAXSEED in a banana smoothie for example. This ounce of ground flaxseed will provide 6.3g of Omega 3 and 1.6g of Omega 6.
Add an ounce of ground SESAME SEEDS for a recommended ratio of roughly 1:1 Omega 6 to Omega 3 (healthy ratio would be 1:1 to 4:1 Omega 6 to Omega 3).
An ounce of sesame seeds will provide 6g of Omega 6 and 0.1g of Omega 3.
This single ounce of sesame seeds will also provide a whopping 27% of recommended daily calcium intake!!
No mercury involved.
Mommy, baby and fishes are all happy now
Is omega 6 good or bad for you? I heard mixed reviews. If it is found in fast foods, snacks and sweets I can’t see how it could be good for you!
It’s not so much that Omega 6 is bad, we do need omega 6. The problem is that the balance between 3 and 6 are totally out of whack.
Some people believe the balance should be between 1:1 and 4:1 Omega 6:Omega 3.
The current balance could be 20:1 to 100:1
Bad stuff happens when the body is out of balance.
Based on this, the prudent thing is to minimize you 6 by avoiding trans fats and processed foods and increasing your 3s through oily fish and supplements.
It’s kind of sad that supplements are needed to replace food, but most of our food supply is processed and it is hard to find 3s at you local grocery store
Canned salmon and sardines are an inexpensive way to get you 3s. Watch out for fish that has been packed in so oil or some other junk oil. water or natural oils are best.
If you are going to go the supplement route, look for products that have been tested by a 3rd party for purity – don’t want any mercury with your 3s
Thanks for the comment Jason
If you want more info, google Dr. Barry Sears or Udo Erasmus (Udo is the flax oil guru)
Hi,
I would like to know how many mgs. of omega 3s you recommend that we take daily? I have seen some capsules with 1000 mg. of fish oil to 300 mg of omega 3.
Thank you.
Hi A.T.
When it comes to dosages of fish oil supplements, I defer to those will more knowledge than I.
One of those people is Dr. Barry Sears.
He has an excellent book on the subject
http://www.amazon.com/Omega-Rx-Zone-Miracle-High-Dose/dp/0060393130
Dr. Sears recommends 4 grams or 1 tsp per day
http://www.zonediet.com/products/productdetail/tabid/144/p-7-omegarx.aspx?VariantID=28
This recommendation fits with the current medical recommendations.
Some proponents of fish oil supplementation recommend higher doses (I have seen 40g recommendations). But, you should be aware of the blood thinning and other side effects.
Here is another science-based link
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/554507
I hope this helps – if not comment back
Cheers,
Doug
Thanks for posting that posting showing the different levels of mercury in fish. It appears that fish higher up on the food chain had higher levels of mercury. Could this be due to them eating the smaller fish leading to a build-up of mercury? I agree with one of the comments that pharmaceutical-grade fish oils are the way to go for high-quality fish oils with low levels of contaminants.
If you look closely at the two charts, they are contradicting. For example in the top chart “Trout” is safe and contains “Relatively Low” levels of mercury but the chart below it states that both Brown Trout and Lake Trout contain much more than low levels of mercury. Which chart is correct?
The first 2 charts highlight the levels of Omega 3 fatty acids.
Only the 3rd chart shows mercury levels
Ascenta’s Nutra Sea HP products are good..
@Healthhabits – sorry I’m referring to the two charts under “The bottom line”.