In spring 2009, Health Canada released
revised nutrition guidelines to provide women with the information they need to eat well during pregnancy. A key new recommendation is for women to eat at least 150 grams of fish each week to ensure adequate intake of omega-3 fatty acids.
Groundbreaking Research
The groundbreaking research behind this recommendation comes from the laboratory of Dr. Sheila Innis, a world-renowned nutrition researcher at the
Child & Family Research Institute. Innis’ years of work studying omega-3 fatty acids highlights the importance of maternal nutrition for fetal and infant development.
Omega-3 fatty acids are found in fish such as salmon, trout, tuna and mackerel, as well as in leafy green vegetables, vegetable oils, and flax seed oil. While other research has shown that this type of fat is important for adult heart health, Innis’ studies have also demonstrated their key role in the development and functioning of babies’ brains.
“We’ve proven that omega-3 passes through the placenta from mom to fetus, and that it’s transferred very readily through breast milk,” Innis explains. “More importantly, our studies have shown that omega-3 fats have a profound effect on the developing brain.”
Increased visual function & language skills
Her research has demonstrated that babies whose mothers consume high levels of omega-3 fatty acids show measurably increased visual function and language skills in the first 18 months compared to controls.
This work underscores how much nutritional knowledge has progressed due to research. “When I started looking at the role of fat in child health 25 years ago, we thought about fats simply in terms of providing energy for growth,” Innis recounts. “We now know that they have an important functional role, affecting everything from the structure of cell membranes to how our brains and hearts function.”
Research Funder
- Canadian Institutes for Health Research
Dr. Sheila Innis is a professor in the department of pediatrics at UBC and director of CFRI’s Nutrition & Metabolism Research Program.