DHA Fish Oil And Pregnancy - Three Reasons Why All Breast-Feeding Women Should Take A Supplement

DHA, a fatty acid found in fish, is one of the most important components of human brain cells. It is actually the backbone of the structure of the cells themselves. In fact, human brain tissues are actually built from DHA. Obviously, for future mothers, it's very important to learn how this nutrient, which is found in certain fish and also in capsule form, can influence both their own and their baby's health. Let's take a look at three of the main issues involved.

1. Boosting the infant's intake of DHA. Breast-feeding mothers pass on the nutrients in their milk to their offspring. The more nutrient-rich this milk is, the better the baby's chances of developing properly. One study done in Oslo, Norway, showed that new moms who took fish oil supplements throughout their breast-feeding period had three times more DHA in their breast milk, thus tripling the amount of this nutrient in the baby's diet. Many studies have shown that the higher the level of DHA in a baby's blood, the better its cognitive development.

2. Preventing fatty acid deficiency in the mother. Several studies have shown that breast-feeding moms have much lower omega-3 levels in their blood when they don't take a supplement. This is because a lot of DHA ends up in the infant's blood and brain tissues, helping it to develop into a healthy child. So it is important for the mother to take a pharmaceutically pure oil in capsule form, to assure that her health is maintained as well as her infant's.

3. Avoiding mercury toxicity. Most fatty fish sold today contains mercury, due to the polluting of our seas and waterways. Mercury is a known neurotoxin that can damage your baby's brain and cause various disorders. Slow cognitive development, a weak immune system and even autism have been implicated in this regard. It is for this reason that pregnant mothers should be taking a pure, quality, molecularly distilled fish oil supplement, and should actually be avoiding fish if they're not sure about the quality of that fish.

As a matter of fact, after many years of researching this topic, I've come to the conclusion that it is better to avoid fish when pregnant, in order to avoid the toxic mercury present in most fish, and, when one does eat fish, to make sure that it comes from the cleanest seas possible, which means the southern hemisphere and far away from industrialized nations.

To sum up, it is clear that the easiest and most effective way to ensure that both the new mother and baby are getting abundant amounts of DHA, this marvelous nutrient, is to take a top-quality fish oil supplement in capsule form.