Something else fishy with Fish Oils?: Part 2

Well – there’s a surprise!  After years of being told that fish oils are great for the mental development of children and postnatal depression, the latest study reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association tells us that this ain’t necessarily so (1).  This latest report is especially significant as it comes from the same group who first suggested an apparent link between postnatal depression and the omega-3 fats in fish oils nearly 7 years ago (2).  No doubt scores of women have taken fish oils since, persuaded by glossy brochures and the internet that here was a scientifically based “cure” for their postnatal blues.  In the latest study, the same authors have also reported that the omega-3 fats in fish oils taken by pregnant women do not improve mental or language development in their babies.  They also report in a separate study that higher doses of fish oils in premature babies had no effect on later language development (3). Read the rest of this entry »