According to researchers from the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, US, an expectant mother who consumes oily fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids can boost the brain power and social skills of her baby. The research findings were featured in The Economist.
The NIH team studied 9,000 mothers and children in Avon, UK through the long-running Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. They reported that those women who consumed very little omega-3 fatty acid during their pregnancies had children with IQs that were six points lower than the average. The children were also found to lack poorer motor skills and hand-to-eye coordination.
By the age of 7, 14 percent of those children whose mothers ate the least of oily fish during pregnancy had poor social skills and could not make friends easily, compared with 8 percent of those whose mothers had the highest intake.
They observed that when children reached 3-1/2 years of age, they had the best measures of motor performance if their mothers had the highest intake of oily fish during their pregnancies.
The omega-3 fatty acid is an essential and crucial nutrient for brain and eye development. Fishes containing favorable amounts of omega-3 fatty acids are tuna, salmon, mackerel, trout, swordfish, haddock, herring and sardine.
Complete article link: http://tipsofallsorts.com/babys-health/fish-diet-for-smarter-babies/
Copyright http://www.tipsofallsorts.com All Rights Reserved
Tips Of All Sorts [http://www.tipsofallsorts.com] is a site loaded with useful tips on health, family, home, garden, beauty and almost anything else possible! Subscribe to the free info-packed TIPS Newsletter or go to the TIPS Blog to be informed of the latest tips.
Note: To reprint this article, the credits above must be in tact and all hyperlinks must be active.