Feed Your Foetus And Yourself

Omega-3 fatty acids are good for your unborn baby’s development, and also benefit your brain, heart and general health during pregnancy...

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YOU’VE PROBABLY HEARD that omega-3 fatty acids provide your unborn baby with energy and promote brain development. They also help provide a healthy supply of blood, nutrition and oxygen to your baby. They are even connected to better sleep patterns once your baby is born… But did you know how important these fatty acids are to you during your pregnancy? Apart from keeping your brain nimble, they can also help prevent many pregnancy complications, such as pre-eclampsia and postnatal depression.

Registered dietician Zelda Ackerman from Family 1st Nutrition explains that omega-3 and omega-6 acids are polyunsaturated fats that form an important part of cell walls.

“They serve a variety of functions such as the regulation of blood pressure and blood coagulation and the development and functioning of the brain and nervous system. The most important omega-3 fatty acid is alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). ALA can’t be manufactured in your body and that’s why you need to get enough of it through what you eat. DHA and EPA can be made out of the ALA in your food, but the process isn’t very efficient.”

Zelda says your best bet is to try to get all the different kinds of omega-3 fatty acids in every week through food.

Linolenic acid (LA), arachidonic acid (AA) and gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) are all omega-6 fatty acids. LA can’t be made by your body either and therefore we need to take in enough of it through our diet.

OMEGAS AND YOUR BABY