Fish consumption advice is depriving children of neurolipids and other nutrients essential to brain and eye development

Abstract

A large and growing body of published research has found considerable evidence of improvements and little evidence of harm to children’s neurodevelopment, including IQ, when pregnant women eat more fish, particularly ocean species. Fish is the primary dietary source for people of omega-3 fatty acids that are essential building blocks for brain structure and function. The human body cannot synthesize adequate amounts of these omega-3s for optimal brain development so they must be obtained preformed, mainly from fish. However, the evidence indicates that women often reduce or eliminate their fish consumption when they become pregnant out of fear that methylmercury will harm their children’s neurodevelopment. This discrepancy between scientific findings and behavior appears to be caused or amplified by highly influential federal advice (fish advisories) that have been urging pregnant women to observe precautionary limitations on their consumption since 2001. Our concern is that these limitations are inadvertently encouraging pregnant women to avoid what could be substantial gains to their children’s neurodevelopment on a population-wide basis. We discuss how a new fish advisory based on the latest scientific findings could benefit children’s brain and cognitive development. We urge the academic/scientific community to develop and disseminate it and use it as a basis for education campaigns.