More Research on the Benefits of Omega 3 and Improved Cognitive Skills
A study published in this month’s American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reveals more evidence that Omega-3 fatty acids are critical in brain development. The study reports that children whose mothers get enough omega-3 fatty acid during pregnancy may have stronger cognitive skills in infancy. Specifically, researchers found that 9-month-olds whose mothers had eaten DHA-fortified bars during pregnancy performed better on a test of problem-solving abilities than infants whose mothers had not added DHA to their diets.
The study included 29 women in their 24th week of pregnancy. Half were randomly assigned to eat a cereal bar supplemented with 300 mg of DHA from fish oil, while the rest were given a bar with added corn oil to serve as a comparison. On average, the women ate five bars per week.
It’s not entirely clear what the better problem-solving performance at 9 months of age will mean later in life. However, other studies have found that DHA supplements during pregnancy seem to offer a “developmental advantage” later in childhood as well, Dr. Carol J. Lammi-Keefe, a co-author on the current study, told Reuters Health. One study found that giving women fish oil during pregnancy and during the first few months of breastfeeding seemed to boost their children’s IQ scores at age 4. “DHA during pregnancy has benefits for infant neural development, and most pregnant women can benefit from increasing the intake of DHA in their diets,” said Lammi-Keefe, of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.
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