Fish consumption advice is depriving children of neurolipids and other nutrients essential to brain and eye development
Spiller P, Brenna J, Carlson S, Golding J, Crawford M, Hibbeln J, Koletzko B, Columbo J et al (2025) Neurotoxicology 2025 May 20:109:27-31 doi: 10.1016/j.neuro.2025.05.007
Web URL: Read this research on PubMed
Abstract:
A large and growing body of published research has found considerable evidence of improvements and little evidence of harm to children's neurodevelopment, including IQ, when pregnant women eat more fish, particularly ocean species.Fish is the primary dietary source for people of omega-3 fatty acids that are essential building blocks for brain structure and function. The human body cannot synthesize adequate amounts of these omega-3s for optimal brain development so they must be obtained preformed, mainly from fish.
However, the evidence indicates that women often reduce or eliminate their fish consumption when they become pregnant out of fear that methylmercury will harm their children's neurodevelopment. This discrepancy between scientific findings and behavior appears to be caused or amplified by highly influential federal advice (fish advisories) that have been urging pregnant women to observe precautionary limitations on their consumption since 2001.
Our concern is that these limitations are inadvertently encouraging pregnant women to avoid what could be substantial gains to their children's neurodevelopment on a population-wide basis. We discuss how a new fish advisory based on the latest scientific findings could benefit children's brain and cognitive development. We urge the academic/scientific community to develop and disseminate it and use it as a basis for education campaigns.
FAB RESEARCH COMMENT:
Once again - leading international experts warn that low intakes of fish and seafood in pregnancy are harming the mental health, wellbeing and performance of future generations, and that the BENEFITS of fish and seafood in pregnancy far outweigh the (purely theoretical) risks.The compelling scientific evidence is still not being reflected in dietary guidelines in the UK, US and many other developed countries.
Instead - the guidelines all emphasise potential risks of fish and seafood (for which there really is NO supporting evidence from human studies).
Healthy brain development and function – and therefore mental health, wellbeing and performance – depends upon adequate supplies of certain critical nutrients that must come from dietary sources.
The richest source of these brain-essential nutrients is seafood - consumed for millions of years during the evolution of the nervous system. However, both changing dietary preferences and important sustainability issues mean that fish and seafood are now lacking from many people's diets.
Typical modern diets are now deficient in vital omega-3 fats, provide an excess of pro-inflammatory omega-6 fats, and lack other key brain nutrients found in fish and seafood. Decades of converging evidence now shows that this is making a major contribution to the current worldwide mental health epidemic.
Early life is a critical period, as deficiencies of key nutrients during pregnancy and infancy have lifelong effects on brain development, which increase the risks for a wide range of neurodevelopmental and mental health problems.
However, current dietary advice for pregnant women - together with changing dietary preferences and environmental concerns - deters many of them from eating fish and seafood.
Official dietary advice in the US and UK for pregnant women to limit seafood intake is based on purely hypothetical risks - for which there is simply NO evidence (and never was). By contrast, there IS now good evidence that avoiding or limiting fish and seafood intake significantly impairs children's cognitive, behavioural and social development.
In addition, more general dietary advice still promotes 'low-fat' foods and diets as 'healthy' choices - while failing to emphasise the critical importance to brain and body health of
1. the balance of omega-3 / omega-6 fats in the diet
2. the unique importance of the long-chain omega-3 fats found in fish and seafood, and that
3. seafood is also a rich source of other key brain-essential nutrients that few other foods provide, and which are often lacking from modern western-type diets.
Read the related news article here:
And for more information on fish and seafood in pregancy, see:
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