Can eating fish oil make your head stronger? German scholars: Just supplement in moderation

In order to prevent their children from losing at the starting line, many new parents pay great attention to prenatal education from the moment of pregnancy. In addition to balanced nutritional supplements, many pregnant women will also take other nutritional supplements in the hope of improving the baby's "inner strength" in one fell swoop. However, a German scholar recently expressed a different opinion, believing that pregnant women only need to take a small amount of cod liver oil, which has aroused widespread discussion.

German scholars believe that if pregnant women consume large amounts of fish oil products, it will not be of much benefit to the fetus. (Photo/taken from Germany's "Süddeutsche Zeitung")

Germany's Süddeutsche Zeitung recently reported that the latest research from the Technische Universität München showed that among pregnant women in Munich, up to 40% will take fish oil (das Fischöl) capsules in addition to meals in order to improve the intelligence and immunity of the unborn fetus and reduce the chance of obesity; however, the research results suggest that there is no obvious correlation between the two. In other words, taking cod liver oil is often just a "safety measure".

Previous animal experiments have confirmed that the omega-3 fatty acids (Omega-3 Fettsäure) rich in fish oil help inhibit the proliferation of adipose tissue (die Fettgewebe) in the body, and it is believed that such results should be applicable to humans. The research team then conducted a survey on more than 200 pregnant women. They arranged for one group of people to consume a large amount of supplements or foods rich in fish oil during pregnancy, while the other group maintained their original eating habits. After the children were born, the amount of fat tissue in their bodies was measured. The results showed that there was no significant difference between the two control groups.

Hauner, the researcher who wrote the report, further stated that Australia had previously conducted a similar study on more than 2,000 pregnant women and found that consuming cod liver oil neither reduced the risk of poisoning during pregnancy nor made the fetus develop healthier, and certainly did not alleviate the symptoms of postpartum depression. However, Hohner's research team found that pregnant women who take cod liver oil can greatly reduce the chance of premature birth, and the baby will most likely be born a few days later than the expected date of delivery and will be heavier. However, he believes that such babies are more likely to have complications (Komplikationen), which is not something to be happy about.

The conclusion of the research report mentioned that taking more fish oil capsules is not as effective as imagined, so the researchers recommended that pregnant women should eat one or two fish a week. If you really don’t like the fishy smell of fish, then taking a small amount of fish oil is actually enough.