Feed Your Baby, Feed Your Brain
Lost keys? Missed appointments? Memory like a sieve? This condition is affectionately called 'Placenta Brains ' or Mummy Brains, common in women who are pregnant or breastfeeding a new baby.
Fortunately experts now think they have discovered the cause - a deficiency in essential fatty acids. During pregnancy, Mother Nature gives the baby priority, and it effectively treats mother's brain as a food source, taking structural fatty acids, which are then carried across the placenta to help grow the baby's brain. In addition, breastfeeding leads to a loss of another 50-80mg of fatty acids each day.
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Extensive research is increasingly showing that long chain fatty acids are vital for one of life 's most crucial tasks: building the cells that make up a baby 's brain and eye during pregnancy. About 20% of the dry weight of the brain and 30% of the dry weight of the retina is made up of fatty acids, particularly the omega-3 structural fatty acid DHA (docasahexaenoic Acid) and omega-6 AA (Arachidonic Acid).
"Omega-3 fatty acids, specifically DHA are vital to pregnant and nursing mothers," says Yinka Thomas, Nutrition Consultant. "It is so important for a child to have the best start in life and we know from research studies that high levels of DHA in breast milk mean healthier babies, who have much more efficient brain function. A supplement such as mumomega™ is the ideal way to ensure optimum levels of DHA to mums who do not get these through regularly eating oily fish throughout pregnancy and breastfeeding."
mumomega™ is to be used in a trial with approximately 1,700 pregnant women organised by a local health authority, starting this year. The researchers hope to build upon findings of previous trials that show supplementation with DHA and AA can:-
Feed your Baby, Feed your Brain....Topping up the Essential fatty Acids
 Result in a higher IQ in children born to mothers who took omega-3 DHA whilst pregnant and breastfeeding
Lead to improved problem solving ability in 10 month old babies after supplementation from birth to four months
Faster and more efficient information processing in four-month-old babies whose mothers had high DHA levels in late pregnancy
Reduced instance of pre-term delivery
Increased head circumference in babies at birth
Lower instance of post-natal depression
DHA and AA can be found in oily fish. However the Food Standards Agency (FSA) Guidelines issued last year advise that pregnant women eat no more than two portions a week due to possibility of the fish containing pollutants such as PCB 's and dioxides. mumomega™ contains a pharmaceutical-grade fish oil which has been cleaned of all pollutants and impurities and is in full compliance with European Union and World Health Organisation regulations. The evening primrose oil in qarma is an organic virgin-pressed specification.
Research is showing that a child 's requirement for fatty acids is most acute during the first two years of life. But few mothers will breastfeed for this length of time, so Equazen opted for a novel solution to enable children to get their fatty acids. mumomega™ infancy uses small twist-off capsules to deliver the mumomega™ formulation straight into a baby 's food. Along with mumomega™ pregnancy, the two products ensure proper fatty acid intake for mother and baby, before, during and after pregnancy.
Intake Levels
The International Society for the Study of Fatty Acids and Lipids advises that pregnant and lactating women take at least 300mg of DHA per day. This is provided by just one 750mg capsule of mumomega™ pregnancy. ISSFAL also advises that children need at least 100 mg of DHA during their first two years of life, and this can be delivered by one mumomega™ infancy twist off capsule.
Metabolising fatty acids
Although the body can receive omega-3 fatty acids from food such as oily fish it requires certain enzymes to break these parent fatty acids down to DHA and AA. If the efficacy of these enzymes are reduced in any way a deficiency can occur. There are various factors that inhibit this process: excess caffeine, cholesterol, saturated fats and high sugar consumption, also deficiencies in zinc and chromium. Taking this into consideration along with the concerns of pollutants in oily fish, the benefits of supplementation become apparent.
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