It's Bad For You ... but eat enough to keep you healthy ???

[Guest guest]

Eating too much oily fish during pregnancy may increase the risk of

delivering the baby too early, scientists believe.

The researchers told New Scientist magazine the harm is probably

caused by high mercury levels in oily fish such as mackerel, salmon

and sardines.

 

But experts warn it is important for pregnant women, and indeed

everyone, to eat enough fish to keep healthy.

 

Pregnant women should eat fish twice a week, says the Food Standards

Agency.

 

Advice

 

But they should avoid shark, marlin and swordfish because these fish

are particularly high in mercury and other pollutants, it recommends.

 

Girls, women who are breastfeeding and those trying for a baby should

also eat two portions of oily fish per week.

 

Other women, and men and boys, can eat up to four portions per week.

One portion is about 140g of fish - one tuna steak, for example.

 

FISH

OILY

Salmon

Trout

Fresh tuna

NON-OILY

Haddock

Cod

Tinned tuna

Source: Food Standards Agency

 

Oily fish are high in beneficial fats such as omega 3.

 

Studies show eating enough fish can boost the birth weight and brain

power of babies and help prevent premature labour in pregnant women.

 

The latest work in New Scientist, also published in the journal

Environmental Health Perspectives, looked at 1,024 pregnant women

living in Michigan, the US.

 

Dr Fei Xue and colleagues measured the amount of mercury these women

had in their hair and compared this with the date that the women

delivered their babies.

 

The women who gave birth more than two weeks early were three times

as likely to have double the average mercury level in their hair

samples.

 

On the whole, these women also tended to eat more oily fish, and

particularly canned fish.

 

Caution

 

Only 44 of the women gave birth prematurely, however, and the

researchers said more work was needed to corroborate their findings.

 

They also pointed out that the women were asked to recall how much

fish they had eaten, which might be inaccurate. It is also possible

that the women could have been exposed to mercury from other sources

too, they said.

 

Dr Xue said until the risks become clearer, women could take fish oil

supplements instead.

 

A spokeswoman from the British Nutrition Foundation said: " If

pregnant women do decide to take supplements, it is important to read

the label and check that the supplement does not contain high amounts

of vitamin A (retinol). Too much retinol can be toxic to the

developing baby. "

[Guest guest]

Hi Jo

 

> Eating too much oily fish during pregnancy may increase the risk of

> delivering the baby too early, scientists believe.

 

It obviously makes them more slippery!!!! ;-)

 

BB

Peter

[Guest guest]

ha ha!

 

midwives have been given castor oil for ever,

 

 

when my baby was late, i drank an entire bottle of it.

 

it worked, everything loosened up inside me.

 

the bad part, was that the baby got diarehha and almost died.

 

the meconium (baby's first poop) was in his water and so parts

of it got stuck in his nose.

literally

his nose was clogged with poop

and the monitors showed him struggling.

 

that is when they did an emergency c-section on me.

 

drinking oil works for inducing labor, but there is a risk.

 

, " Peter " <metalscarab wrote:

>

> Hi Jo

>

> > Eating too much oily fish during pregnancy may increase the risk of

> > delivering the baby too early, scientists believe.

>

> It obviously makes them more slippery!!!! ;-)

>

> BB

> Peter

>

[Guest guest]

LOL - it must do.

 

BB

Jo

 

-

" Peter " <metalscarab

 

Friday, October 13, 2006 8:37 PM

Re: It's Bad For You ... but eat enough to keep you

healthy ???

 

 

> Hi Jo

>

> > Eating too much oily fish during pregnancy may increase the risk of

> > delivering the baby too early, scientists believe.

>

> It obviously makes them more slippery!!!! ;-)

>

> BB

> Peter

>

>

>

> To send an email to -

>