Nutritional benefits for pregnant woman eating salmon

Salmon reared on special fish feed diets by the Skretting Aquaculture Research Centre in Norway were eaten by pregnant women in England in the first ever intervention study of the potential benefits for pregnant women of eating oily fish. The study was part of the EU-funded AquaMax project.

Philip Calder, Professor of Nutritional Immunology at the Medical School of Southampton University, who led the research team said: “Our ‘Salmon in Pregnancy Study’ was the first time anyone had stipulated a different diet for two groups of pregnant women and looked for the differences in their blood.” Over 2,000 kg of salmon were reared with a diet that ensured the fish would have a good content of the nutrients under investigation. Two fillets a week provided more than the recommended minimum intake of EPA and DHA; substantially more than the amount usually eaten by most young women in the UK. “We recruited 120 women who did not regularly eat oily fish and divided them into two groups of 60. One group continued their normal diet and the other group ate salmon twice a week from week 20 of their pregnancy,” said Calder

He explained that they measured the levels of the EPA, DHA, vitamin D and selenium in blood samples and found significant differences, with the levels being higher in the salmon group. Levels of DHA and EPA declined during the pregnancy in the non-salmon group and increased with the salmon eaters.

“DHA is an important structural component of the eye and nervous system, including the brain. These organs develop during the growth of the foetus and in early life. The DHA is provided by the mother, either through the blood supply to the foetus or in breast milk following the birth. Eating these salmon could make an important contribution to the early growth and development of the babies.”