The prestigious weekly The Economist publishes in the latest issue. There are two articles on omega-3 fatty acids, one of which discusses a study conducted in the UK on the effects of omega-3 fatty acids on pregnant women on their children's development. In short, the study seems to show once again that the positive aspects of fish consumption are many times greater than the negative ones.
The study, which The Economist covers, lasted 15 years and included 14,000 women and their children. The results of the study, called the Avon study, were presented at a recent scientific conference in London. Numerous studies on the effects of omega-3 fatty acids have been conducted in recent decades, and many articles have been published in reputable scientific journals on their beneficial effects, including for the heart and brain. Articles on this subject in a magazine as widely read as The Economist can be expected to have a wider impact on people's opinions than many others.
According to the author of The Economist, the results of the Avon study should be of particular interest to the US authorities, who have warned against consuming fish by pregnant women, partly because of fears about the harmful effects of certain types of mercury. Dr. Joseph Hibbeln from the National Institutes of Health in the USA says, however, that the study unequivocally shows that the benefits of fish consumption are multiplied by the dangers that can arise from mercury in fish.
Although the author of The Economist points out that one should be careful not to draw too broad conclusions from the results of the Avon study so far, but is clearly convinced of the merits of omega-3.
For those who still doubt the health of the fish, it can be pointed out that research shows that the amount of undesirable substances found in fish from Icelandic waters is far below the reference limit.