Do not hesitate to give fish in children's meal. Because the results of a recent study revealed that eating fish can improve brain activity, prevent heart disease, and boost the immune system.
Quoted from medicaldaily.com (Friday, 04/12/2013), a team of researchers from Sweden claimed that giving fish in the diet until the age of 12 years can help prevent the onset of allergic disease.
The experts from the Institute of Environmental Medicine and the Department of Clinical Science and Education, Stockholm, Sweden analyzed data from 3,825 children enrolled in the Swedish cohort study.
Parents of the children who participated in the study were surveyed when they were children aged 1, 2, 4, 8, and 12 to assess the onset of allergy symptoms, lifestyle factors, and environmental exposures. The questionnaires were given to parents with children aged 1 year noting how much fish is consumed in the daily menu. Then when the child was 8 years old, they were given a test Immunoglobulin E (IgE) to find out if there are symptoms of allergy.
The survey showed 80 percent of children aged 1 year or regularly consume fish more than 2 times / month. Fish in the diet gives children between the ages of 1 to 12 years can reduce the risk of allergies by 74 percent.
In The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the researchers revealed that eating fish regularly during infancy may reduce the risk of allergic diseases up to the age of 12 years. Although the researchers are confident with this conclusion, they still have not found the cause.
Content of omega-3 fatty acids in fish expressed by medical experts on previous research can enhance immune and cardiovascular function, this is supposedly the cause.
Parents should also always consider the dangers of consuming high levels of mercury. To that end, The American Pregnancy Association provides a list of fish that allegedly contain high mercury levels such as shark, marlin, swordfish, mackerel, and tuna.