Serious about seafood? Fanatic about fish? There's some good news for pregnant fish lovers. A new study has found no link between a mom-to-be's mercury exposure from eating lots of fish during pregnancy and autism in the child.
If you're expecting it's likely that your head is swimming with fishy fish facts. Fish is loaded with baby's-brain-boosting DHA! Go fish. Fish has dangerous mercury in it! Don't go fish. Eat these types of fish only! Avoid these fish at all costs!
While everyone agrees that fish is heart healthy (for mom) and an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids — the fabulous fat that's known to boost baby brain power (as well as your memory, which, let's face it, isn't quite up to snuff when you've got baby on board)— there's also been concern about the mercury content in fish, specifically the effects of high levels of the toxin on your baby-to-be's developing brain and the potential for causing developmental disorders like autism.
But now a new study published in the journal Epidemiology has found that children exposed to low levels of mercury in the womb because their moms ate large amounts of fish during pregnancy (up to 12 meals of fish each week) don't appear to be at an increased risk for autism
Researchers from the University of Rochester Medical Center looked at 30 years of research in the Republic of Seychelles — where expectant moms (and the entire population of this island country) use fish as a primary source of nutrition. In fact, the nation's residents eat 10 times the amount of fish as Americans and Europeans do. Even with their high fish consumption, experts say their mercury exposure is still considered low.
The Seychelles Child Development Study — from which these findings emerged — was created 30 years ago specifically to study the impact of fish consumption and mercury exposure on childhood development. The autism study looked at nearly 1,800 children and their mothers. Researchers verified the level of prenatal exposure to mercury through hair samples of the moms when they gave birth. They found that these moms had mercury levels that were six to 10 times higher than what is seen in the U.S. and Europe. They then used questionnaires and behavioral scales (the same ones used in the U.S. as autism spectrum screening tools) to determine whether or not the children showed autism-like behaviors when they were older.
The researchers found no correlation between prenatal exposure to mercury and autism — and these findings back up previous studies measuring language skills and intelligence among kids in the Seychelles that found no adverse developmental effects.
These findings are some welcome news, since it could mean the good that comes from fish — the DHA, the vitamin E, the lean protein — outweighs the bad. In fact, researchers wonder if the beneficial properties of fish counteract the potential negative effects of the mercury.
So does this mean you should cast your fishing net widely and go wild when it comes to fish? Not so fast. First, high levels of mercury shouldn't be on your pregnancy menu at all, so be sure to avoid fish that contain high levels of mercury (shark, swordfish, king mackerel, fresh tuna, sea bass, tilefish, mahi mahi, grouper).
Second, it's unlikely current recommendations on eating fish during pregnancy — limiting to 12 ounces per week your consumption of shellfish, canned (or packaged) light tuna, smaller ocean fish, farm-raised fish, and store-bought freshwater fish, and to safely eat wild salmon, sole, flounder, haddock, halibut, ocean perch, pollack, cod, and trout — will change based on this research. But at least this study should put your mind at ease when it comes to the level of mercury in the fish you're eating when you're expecting.
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