The
brain of a newborn baby integrates DHA to ensure normal
development and function. A fetus requires large amounts
of DHA during the last 
three
months of pregnancy. Since this is obtained through the
placenta, the mother's diet has to be rich in DHA through
seafood or omega-3 supplements.
Babies
are not able to metabolize DHA from other omega-3 fatty
acids the way normal adults are able to do, to a small degree.
Mother's milk contains omega-3 fatty acids, both EPA and
DHA. The relative percentages will be high if the mother
has a sufficient dietary intake of fish. However, many mothers
do not consume enough omega-3 and others do not choose to
breast feed their babies. It is important to know that most
infant formulas do not contain long-chained omega-3 fatty
acids such as DHA, which may lead to unsatisfactory saturation
of this essential fatty acid in the child’s brain.
Children given infant formulas containing omega-3 fatty
acids usually develop visual acuity and intellectual functions
better than those given standard formulas.
Omega-3s
and mental disorders
Mental depression is very common, affecting 8-10% of the
population at any time. Statistics show that the prevalence
of major depression has increased and the age of onset has
decreased in every decade during the 21st century in the
Western World. Anti-depressive medication is on the top
list of social expenditure for drugs in many countries.
A population
study of 3,204 adults in Finland revealed that those with
frequent intake of fish were less susceptible to having
depressive symptoms compared to the group of infrequent
fish consumers. In Iceland people usually don’t experience
winter depressions, which is very frequent in Canada. Living
at the same latitude, the diets of these two populations
are very different with the Icelanders eating fish several
times per week.
Along
the same line, a population study from the US examining
the prevalence of depression after giving birth. It demonstrated
that low seafood consumption increased the risk of experiencing
depression. In fact, patients with major depression usually
have low levels of omega-3 fatty acids in blood analysis.
