The finding, published in the October issue of Environmental Health Perspectives, suggests that recent guidelines from the US Food and Drug Administration advising pregnant women to limit the amount of mercury-containing fish they eat may have the unintended effect of depriving foetuses of essential nutrients found in fish.

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Mercury can harm development
The researchers noted that while excessive mercury intake during pregnancy can harm neurological development in foetuses, n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and other nutrients in fish may play a crucial role in the neurocognitive development of infants.

In their study, the Harvard team tested the cognitive ability of six-month-old infants, and compared the results to the amount of fish the infants' mothers ate during pregnancy and the amount of mercury in the mothers' hair.

While elevated mercury levels in mothers were associated with infant cognition deficits, the study also found that higher fish intake by mothers was associated with higher infant cognition, especially after the researchers adjusted for mercury levels.

Higher scores linked to fish intake
Infants who scored highest on the cognitive tests had mothers who ate more fish during pregnancy and had lower levels of hair mercury.

"The most likely explanation is that the benefit is conferred by consuming fish types with the combination of relatively little mercury and high amounts of beneficial nutrients," such as salmon, tuna and sardines, the study authors said. – (HealthDayNews)

Read more: Eating throughout life: Pregnancy

October 2005
 

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