Healthier children when the father takes fish oils pre-conception
For many years I have been advocating taking high quality, full spectrum Omega-3 fish oils regularly. Now new research has discovered that if prospective fathers take it pre-conceptually their children have better weight control, blood sugar management and more.
In England, more than one in five kids in Year 6 are now obese, with the rate increasing as a result of the pandemic.
Piling on the pounds at a young age can increase the risk of serious health issues including diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol - and may also lead to poor self-esteem and depression, say doctors.
To find out whether dads' diets could influence the health of their children, American researchers fed male mice a high-fat diet with or without the addition of fish oil.
They found that the children of the males that consumed fish oil had a lower body weight and showed better metabolic health than the offspring of mice who didn't consume fish oil supplements.
This builds on the researchers previous work, which showed the benefits of mums taking fish oil supplements to cut the risk of childhood obesity.
The research team fed more than 140 male mice a high-fat diet either with or without added fish oil for the new study.
They were then mated with female mice that consumed a regular healthy low-fat diet.
The research team found that offspring that were fed a low-fat healthy diet and fathered by males receiving fish oil weighed less at both seven and 21 days, compared to the offspring of the male mice who didn't receive fish oil.
Female offspring from males receiving fish oil also had better metabolic health - measured by glucose clearance and sensitivity to insulin.
Metabolic health relates to the way your body processes things like fats and sugar.
A key component is how the body responds to insulin. Insulin helps move sugar from the blood into cells in your body.
When this process starts to not work as well, we build up something called insulin resistance, which causes blood sugar levels to rise.
Higher blood sugar levels are linked to a larger waist size, increased blood pressure and higher levels of unhealthy fats like cholesterol in the body, according to BUPA.
This is great news and also why I advocate that father’s also understand and incorporate healthier eating habits and have done for decades. We are what we eat!
Neolife’s Salmon Oil Plus is stocked at the clinic. Uniquely it contains ALL 8 Omega-3 oils and is devoid of over 160 contaminants - esp important if you are looking after the future health of your child. These are the best, most comprehensive quality I can find at a reasonable price. It is not available in regular stores but if requested I can post it to you. See more details in https://www.livingelements.co.uk/store and contact me at the clinic directly.
Happy diet = healthy children
Gayle Palmer July 2024