Flip-Flopping On Fish

Anyone else getting frustrated at the mixed messages we get when it comes to our health? The flip-flopping in which physicians and scientists seem to engage on a daily basis can really leave a person's head spinning. Take, for example, the warnings we've received for so long about protecting ourselves from the dangerous effects of sun exposure. It was inevitable, though, that a study would come out informing us that scientists were now seeing rising rates of Vitamin D defiencies, which could raise the risk for certain cancers. Or how about this one: I did a Google search for "coffee+health". The first few results included an article with the headline "Decaf Coffee Tied To Heart Disease", as well as (from the very same site!) one with the title "Coffee - The New Health Food?"

These types of contradictory messages seem to crop up every time I look at a news source, so it only suprised me a little to see this article. Apparently, a study has just been concluded which shows that pregnant women who consume large amounts of Omega-3 fatty acids give birth to children who have higher IQ's, better motor skills, and less aberrant social behavior than children born to mothers who did not consume adequate amounts of the fatty acids. The reason this finding is so stunning to me, is because this is in direct conflict with the advice of my obstetrician during my last few pregnancies. He, along with the AMA, recommended that I limit my fish intake to twice weekly, as the high levels of mercury found in fish such as tuna could be toxic to a developing fetus. The article addresses this contradiction, and notes that the researcher at the helm of the study recommends that pregnant women ignore the advice to avoid fish:

Perhaps the most startling finding was that the children of those women who had consumed the smallest amounts of omega-3 fatty acids during their pregnancies had verbal IQs six points lower than average. That may not sound much, but it would have a serious effect on a country's brainpower if it were widespread. And the finding is particularly pertinent because existing dietary advice to pregnant women, at least in America, is that they should limit their consumption of seafood in order to avoid exposing their fetuses to trace amounts of brain-damaging methyl mercury. Ironically, that means they avoid one of the richest sources of omega-3s.

Dr Hibbeln, however, says his work shows that the benefits of eating such fish vastly outweigh the risks from the mercury in them. Indeed, in the Avon study, it was those children exposed to the lowest levels of methyl mercury who were at greatest risk of having low verbal IQ.

Fascinating, but slightly troubling. One has to wonder whose advice to heed, especially in the wake of stakes as high as your child's development.

So, pregnant women, and their significant others, ask your obstetrician if the advice to limit your intake of fish has been updated in the wake of this study.