Pregnant women who skimp on eating fish may predispose their children to high blood pressure for life, new research suggests.
Consumption of omega-3 has been shown generally to prevent depression, fight Crohn’s disease, reduce menstrual cramps and ease the pain of rheumatoid arthritis. It has also been shown to cut the risk of heart disease reducing cholesterol and decreasing blood-clotting factors. However, research by Andrew Sinclair, a professor of food science at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, highlights the importance of omega-3 during pregnancy.
Sinclair and his colleagues conducted research on pregnant lab rats, depriving of some omega-3 .They found that newborn rats deprived of omega-3 suffered from elevated blood pressure and continued to exhibit high blood pressure even after they were switched to an omega- 3-rich diet. The Australian team is convinced that a diet low in omega-3 would be equally harmful to human babies.
Omega-3 is found in all fish, although fatty a fish such as Atlantic salmon are the richest sources, and in dark green leafy vegetables, walnuts and soy beans. The recommended consumption of marine omega-3 is two fatty-fish meals a week.
