• Consumption linked to lower breast cancer, autism risk, studies find
OBSTETRICIANS and gynaecologists have endorsed a daily intake of dietary supplement rich in fish oil (Omega 3), twelve vitamins including vitamin E and eight minerals and trace elements comprising iron and selenium, for women of child bearing age.
The vitamins include beta-carotene, vitamin B1 to B12, C, D3, E, folic acid, biotin, and nicotinamide while the minerals and trace elements are chromium, copper, iron, iodine, molybdenum, selenium, zinc and magnesium.
Omega-3 fatty acids refers to a group of three fats called ?-linolenic acid (ALA) found in plant oils; eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), both commonly found in marine oils including fish oils.
According to the medical experts, humans cannot make omega-3 fatty acids from scratch, but need them for healthy brain function as well as growth and development. However, fishes are much more efficient than mammals at converting the ALA to the EPA and DHA omega?3 fatty acids. These acids can be found in fish as well as in foods such as walnuts and flaxseed.
The mother and child care experts, which include a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist and former provost of Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja, Prof. B. O. Osinubi and consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist Reddington Hospital, Lagos, Dr. F. Olufisayo Balogun, at the official launch of Pharmaton Matruelle by Boehringer Ingelheim and Benjamin Michaels said the supplement contains all nutrients needed for mother and baby from before conception, pregnancy and breastfeeding.
The experts said for the mother, Matruelle optimally prepares a woman’s body for pregnancy, all components are carefully balanced to support the mother’s increased nutritional needs, and provides the micronutrients for the extra energy needed during breastfeeding.
For baby, the medical experts said the supplement forms the basis for healthy development and growth right from the start; supports the healthy development of baby’s spinal cord, brain, eyes and all organs; and supports the healthy development of eyesight and brain, nervous system and cognition.
They, however, acknowledged that pregnant mother make require additional folic acid supplementation, which would be determined by their doctors.
Managing Director of Benjamin Michaels Limited, an indigenous pharmaceutical sales and marketing company, Mr. Yemi Amuwo, said adequate intake of Omega 3 will develop the baby’s brain, eyes among other sensory organs right from the womb.
Amuwo said: “The use of Omega 3 also nourishes the mother to effectively carry the foetus all through the pregnancy period. Mineral supplements like Omega 3 is needed during pregnancy to cover for the increase needs of vitamins, minerals, trace elements and DHA during pregnancy. It also helps in providing protection against embryonic neural tube diseases of the foetus.
“Also during lactation, there is a need to replenish maternal micro-nutrients depleted during pregnancy and increase the concentration of key micro-nutrients in maternal milk. Thus, supplementation is the only guaranteed source of Omega 3 that is mercury free and this is obtained in Pharmaton Matruelle.”
The Managing Director further listed food sources such as cold-water fish (salmon, sardines, herring, mackerel and tuna), fish oil, algae and specialty eggs as some of the intake that could enhance Omega 3 in human bodies. He noted many seafoods available in Nigeria are largely iced fish and not many people get to eat fresh fish.
According to a new study published on Monday in the British Medical Journal, the consumption of polyunsaturated fatty acids found primarily in fish is linked to a 14 per cent decline in breast-cancer risk.
The researchers said people would need to eat one to two portions of oily fish such as salmon, tuna or sardines each week to reduce their breast-cancer risk.
The study’s results confirm the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) recommendation to eat fish once or twice a week.
Chinese scientists led by Duo Li of Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China, pooled and analyzed data from 21 previously published studies that had enrolled 883,585 participants. They found that for each 0.1 gram or 0.1 per cent energy increment of fish oils taken daily, the risk dropped by five per cent. Plant-derived fatty acids such as alpha linoleic acid didn’t affect risk, the study said.
“This is a pretty sound result, we are very confident in this study,” Li said in a telephone interview. Polyunsaturated fatty acids “are very, very beneficial for human health.”
The individual studies tracked either how fish or other fish oil sources their participants consumed, or measured how much of the substances could be found in subjects’ fat or blood.
The study belongs to a form of research known as a meta-analysis, which evaluates data from previous investigations without doing new clinical work.
Asian participants were shown to have the largest risk reduction, possibly because of the high level of fish consumption in Asian countries, the researchers said.
A study published recently in the Journal of Child and Adolescent and Psychopharmacology found that omega-3 fatty acid treatment is safe and effective as an autism treatment. However, they also suggest that larger studies need to be conducted utilizing double-blind methodology. They also recommend that future studies include various dosages of omega-3 fatty acids in order to determine the most effective dose in the treatment of autism.
Autism is a neurological disorder diagnosed in childhood and characterized by social interaction difficulties, communication abnormalities, repetitive behaviors and restricted, obsessive interests and activities. Considered a “spectrum disorder,” autism can strike children with varying severity.
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