Should I be concerned about adequate omega 3 intake while pregnant...?

[johanna84]

I feel conflicted about whether to supplement with fish oil or not while pregnant, with my current eating habits.  I take FCLO/BO blend, eat lots of grassfed beef, pastured chicken, eggs, drink raw milk, consume very little processed food, (so my omega 6 consumption shoud theoretically be relatively low', for what it's worth..).  I will admit that I don't eat a lot of seafood, certainly nowhere close to WAPF recommendations (which I get bogged down by their pregnancy dietary recommendations as it is!), particularly since salmon seems to be a weird food aversion I've been having with this pregnancy.  So,..with that kind of info, do you think that a fish oil supplement would still be needed?  I half-heartedly took a bottle's worth of NC wholemega supplements so far, but I'm just wondering if I'm being too much of a stickler, and am getting enough omega 3 from diet already? I like Nina Planck's recommendation in Real Food for Mother and Baby to focus on omega 3 later in pregnancy, since that's when a lot of brain development takes place, and as I am 24 wks, I'd really like to start to buckle down, if that's what I need to do.  Thanks!

[JMJ]

Even the USDA's new dietary guidelines recommend 8-12 oz of seafood per week for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers.  You know they've got to have some good evidence to recommend something that is completely contradictory to the vegetarian philosophy.  I think if you can stomach it, seafood 2-3 times a week at least would be good.  I'm not sure how your FCLO/BO counts, so if you can't handle real fish, that's probably pretty good.  You can also make DHA out of ALA (but your baby can't, and it's an imperfect conversion), so go ahead and eat flax and other vegetable sources of omega 3.

[cocobean]

I've been thinking about this same thing myself.  I also do not eat enough sea food to get extra omega 3's but eat a pastured diet and whatnot.  I also take FMCLO but I do know that this does not have hardly any omega 3's in it.  I think I'm going to start taking a fish oil supplement.  I don't think I'll take the full dose but I think it's important enough for the baby that I should take it while TTC and while PG.  Just my opinion though.  Just out of curriosity because I've been wondering this, how much FCLO are you taking?  I've heard  a lot of different amounts and don't know how much I should take. 

[johanna84]

I kind of wing it...I use a baby spoon, and it's probably about a teaspoon's worth? maybe? I use the gel kind, so I kind of mound it up on my spoon a little.  I did email Green Pasture a while back and they said that there's roughly about 30% of RDA of omega 3 in a serving--I think they say 1/2 a teaspoon is a serving.  I'm with you on the supplementing, I went ahead and ordered another bottle of Wholemega and will try  to increase my seafood intake in the meantime. (I choked down a small piece of salmon yesterday, yay!) 

[jesshrehor]

Maybe try non-salmon seafood?  I'm not a big seafood eater, but I'll eat scallops and they have a good amount of omega-3s also.  They're not difficult to cook, just be careful not to over cook them.  Dry them off, sprinkle with salt and pepper, then pan sear in butter or bacon grease for 1-2 minutes per side (closer to 2 minutes for large ones straight from the fridge.  If they're small and/or are allowed to reach room temp they cook faster).  I like to make them on nights when I know I'll want something quick to make.  Start a veg or two, then do the prep and cooking for the scallops and you have a nice meal.

Originally Posted by johanna84 

I kind of wing it...I use a baby spoon, and it's probably about a teaspoon's worth? maybe? I use the gel kind, so I kind of mound it up on my spoon a little.  I did email Green Pasture a while back and they said that there's roughly about 30% of RDA of omega 3 in a serving--I think they say 1/2 a teaspoon is a serving.  I'm with you on the supplementing, I went ahead and ordered another bottle of Wholemega and will try  to increase my seafood intake in the meantime. (I choked down a small piece of salmon yesterday, yay!)