Eating fish helps pregnant women reduce stress

Stress is a common mental state in pregnant women. It affects health, making them prone to premature birth and babies born with low weight. However, according to a new study published in the journal PLoS ONE, eating a lot of fish during pregnancy helps reduce the risk.

Scientists surveyed the diet of 9,500 pregnant women. The results showed that those who did not eat fish had 53% higher stress rates than those who ate regularly. Vegetarians who are stressed are 25% taller than those who eat a lot of meat and fish, who are in good health and who have a healthy diet that is 23% less stressful than those with eating habits. unhealthy.

Women's nutritional needs increase during pregnancy. The team recommends that pregnant women eat fish twice a week and that eating a fish that contains a lot of oil once is sufficient to significantly reduce stress.

However, some types such as sharks and swordfish should be avoided and should not eat more than 4 cans of tuna per week because they contain high levels of mercury, harmful to the development of the fetus. Also, do not eat twice as many fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel, sea bass every week, but do not restrict eating white meat fish such as cod and halibut.

Dr. Juliana Vaz, the lead author of the study, said: 'To have a healthy pregnancy, women need to have a healthy diet full of cereals, vegetables, salads, fruits, milk, meat, poultry, beans and fish '.

Co-author Pauline Emmett said that women who eat a lot of fish during pregnancy are very happy, although it is still not certain which nutrients in the fish are most effective.