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It's Never Too Early to Learn About the Benefits of Fish

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Robinsbite: It's Never Too Early to Learn About the Benefits of Fish

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

It's Never Too Early to Learn About the Benefits of Fish

At the tender age of 4 months, young Benjamin is already learning about the benefits of consuming fish. Tagging along with his Mom to the grocery store has quickly become one of his favorite activities. He is being educated daily on the benefits of eating well. Where better to begin than at the grocery-specifically the seafood counter?

You see, Ben's mom consumed lots and lots of Omega-3 fatty acids when he was in the womb. Research has suggests that increasing intake of dietary omega-3 fatty acids may have a number of health benefits. And babies whose diets include an abundance of essential fats seem to have an edge in terms of early development. Now new research shows that the same is true for infants born to mothers whose diets contain plenty of this essential fatty acid.


From the www.aboutseafood.com website:

Benefits for Baby

Benefits for Mom

  • May help prevent and manage post-partum depression.
    Low levels of omega-3s are associated with low levels of the brain chemical, serotonin. And low levels of serotonin are linked to depression.
    Read "Eat Fish, Beat Post-Partum Blues"
  • Helps manage optimal weight gain.
    Choose fish prepared healthfully - for example baked, broiled, grilled, microwaved or steamed.
  • Protects heart health.
    Read "Eat Fish, Your Heart Will Love You"

Types of Fish to Focus On

For Women Who Are or May Become Pregnant, Breast feeding Women, and Young Children

  • Eat a variety of 12 ounces, or 2-4 meals, cooked seafood each week. If you like, up to six ounces can be albacore tuna. Avoid Shark, King Mackerel, Tile fish, and Swordfish.
  • All fish contain traces of mercury, but these fish - which most American's already don't eat - should be avoided as they tend to have higher levels.
    Read "What You Need to Know About Mercury in Fish and Shellfish"
Blog-about-seafood is a fun blog written by Registered Dietitian Jennifer McGuire with the National Fisheries Institute. I encourage you to take a look at her mouth watering photos as she blogs about her life consuming seafood!

FYI, young Benjamin chose tilapia that evening for dinner for his parents. He knows his parents are trying to increase their fish consumption to twice a week for health purposes. He also knows that his mom has found a great recipe here for those tilapia fillets. They are definately in the rotation now and he knows he'll be eating it soon enough!

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5 Comments:

Blogger allwellnews said...

I consumed high quality, low mercury DHA concentrated fish oil throughout my pre-pregnancy, pregnancy and 11 months of nursing, and you know, it worked, because my kid is a genius! ;-) (Well, as genius as a one year-old can be expected to be.)

Seriously, though, fish oil is the only supplement I recommend for every one of my patients, and for the wanna-be pregnant/pregnant/nursing patient, well, I am a bit more insistent. ;-) To drive home how important I think it is, it is the only supplement I sell in the office.

Long live high-quality fish and fish oil, and live long,

Melissa M. Monroe, PhD, L.Ac
Eastside Family Acupuncture
Los Angeles, CA
http://www.eastsidefamilyacupuncture.com

January 19, 2010 at 6:18 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Robin,

Thank you for providing such a well informed post. As you can attest, pregnancy is a life changing event in so many wonderful ways. There is perhaps no better time for proper nutrition and health to take top priority for both mother and child. In the health profession, we view pregnancy as a “teachable moment”, or simply a mother's opportunity to channel her love for child into a lifetime of positive lifestyle choices. I love that you’ve embraced the occasion and are introducing Benjamin to the benefits of healthy eating at such a young age!

Here at the International Food Information Council Foundation, we’ve developed many educational materials that pregnant and breastfeeding women may find helpful. Check out our brochures: Healthy Eating During Pregnancy and For Good health, Go Fish and be sure to stop by foodinsight.org for much more information on all things nutrition!


Kris Sollid, RD
Manager of Nutrients
International Food Information Council

January 21, 2010 at 6:40 AM  
Blogger robinplotkin said...

Thanks so much for your comments, Melissa--you'll be glad to know I'm still taking my supplements!


Kris-I agree! Thanks for the great additional information from IFIC!

Feel free to share this post with any pregnant, soon to be pregnant or breast feeding mom!

January 22, 2010 at 12:09 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

I really wish I would have started enjoying sea food as a baby... then maybe I would like it now. I have tried numerous times to eat it, but I just don't enjoy it. So many people have told me I just have to have it prepared correctly, but so far I have not found that recipe. If you have any suggestions for me, I would appreciate it! Fish have so many health benefits and its a great way to get protein.

Kaylee O'Connell
Intern with Mitzi Dulan, America's Nutrition Expert
http://nutritionexpert.com

February 1, 2010 at 6:28 PM  
Blogger Jennie said...

Hi Robin - Baby Ben is beautiful and lucky to learn to love the taste of fish early on. A book I’ve been singing the praises of lately is “My Two-Year-Old Eats Octopus: Raising Children Who Love to Eat Everything” – a witty read that reminds parents how fun introducing kids to a variety of new delicious foods can be.
http://www.mytwoyearoldeatsoctopus.com/

Kaylee, please peruse my BlogAboutSeafood for tasty recipes. A good place to start is adding seafood (shrimp or tuna for example) to recipes you already love like pasta, quesadillas, or pizza.
http://www.aboutseafood.com/health-nutrition/blog-about-seafood

Jennifer McGuire, MS, RD
National Fisheries Institute

February 11, 2010 at 11:58 AM  

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