(January 14, 2016) Researchers
at Tohoku University's School of Medicine have found an explanation for the
correlation between eating fish during pregnancy, and the health of the baby's
brain.
Dietary lipid contains fatty acids such as omega-6 and
omega-3, which are essential nutrients for many animals and humans. The
research group, led by Professor Noriko Osumi, found that a balanced intake of
lipids by pregnant women is necessary for the normal brain formation of the
unborn child.
In an animal study, the researchers noticed that when female
mice were fed an omega-6-rich/omega-3-poor diet, their offsprings were born
with a smaller brain and showed abnormal emotional behavior in adulthood.
This is significant because people in many countries these
days have similarly poor dietary patterns and tend to consume more seed oils
that are rich in omega-6 fatty acids and less fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids.
According to Professor Osumi, the brain abnormality found in
the offsprings of mice used in the study, was caused by a premature aging of
fetal neural stem cells that produce brain cells. The premature aging was
promoted by an imbalance of oxides of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids. The
offsprings also showed higher anxiety levels, even though they were raised on
nutritionally optimized diets from an early lactation period.
A diet that contains a good balance of omega-6 and omega-3
fatty acids is known to improve the development of brain functions; this is
based on earlier researches that evaluated the effects of maternal intake of an
omega-3-poor diet on brain function in children.