According to new guidelines given a few weeks ago, the FDA of the United States emphasises and clarifies advise that pregnant and nursing women, as well as young children, should eat fish low in mercury to promote brain, heart, and immunological health and development.
“Fish are part of a healthy eating pattern and offer critical nutrients during pregnancy, nursing, and/or early childhood to enhance a child’s brain development,” the FDA says in new advice released on Oct. 28.
The updated guidance contains additional information on how eating fish provides required omega-3 and -6 fats, iodine (during pregnancy), choline for spinal cord development, iron and zinc to strengthen children’s immune systems, and other nutrients such as protein, vitamin B12 and D, and selenium.
It also states that “strong evidence suggests that eating fish as part of a healthy diet may benefit your heart health,” and that “moderate scientific evidence suggests that healthy diets that include fish are associated with a lower risk of becoming overweight or obese, as well as a lower risk of hip fractures, colon cancer, and rectal cancer.”
While the updated guidance did not change the recommended serving sizes or frequency of consumption, it did clarify that children under the age of one can eat about one ounce of fish twice a week from the FDA’s “Best Choices” list, which includes anchovies, Atlantic mackerel, catfish, clams, crab, crawfish, flounder, haddock, mullet, oysters, plaice, pollock, salmon, sardines, scallops, shad, prawns, sole, squid, tilapia, trout and whiting.
According to the FDA, children’s portion sizes increase as they grow, with guidelines for 4-to-7-year-olds doubling to 2 ounces, 8-to-10-year-olds 3 ounces, and children 11 and older 4 ounces.
Pregnant and nursing women should eat two to three 4-ounce portions from the “Best Choices” list each week, or one serving from the “Good Choices” list each week, according to the new recommendations. The FDA did not change how it classified the different types of fish on the chart—which also includes “Good Choices” and “Choices to Avoid” due to higher mercury levels—except to call out the subset of “Best Choices” fish, which are listed in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans as “even lower in mercury.” It also didn’t alter the fish on each list.
‘A move in the right direction’
Industry stakeholders praised the amended guidelines for helping to explain a previously perplexing dietary option for pregnant and nursing women and young children, who were previously urged to avoid seafood owing to worries about the development of harmful components such as mercury. “The amended FDA guideline is a step in the right direction,” said Linda Lai Cornish, president of the Seafood Nutrition Partnerships. She elaborated: “Too many women and children are losing out on the crucial health advantages of seafood consumption. The FDA’s updated phrasing urges women and children to eat more seafood for brain, heart, and immunological health.
While this update is based on the most recent data, the FDA stated that it would continue to monitor mercury in fish and all food ingested by infants and young children as part of its Closer to Zero action plan, which was launched in response to concerns about heavy metals and toxins in baby food.
The FDA says it will “look more holistically at the role of fish in the diet, considering both components that are detrimental (such as mercury) and beneficial (such as nutrients) and evaluating their respective and interacting roles in child development” beginning next year. “Our goal is to have the most up-to-date understanding of the science on fish consumption in a whole diet context, which will help us determine if and how to update our fish advice in the future,” the FDA says.