functional medicine and nutritional genomics - American Association ...

AAPI’S NUTRITION GUIDE TO OPTIMAL HEALTH: USING PRINCIPLES OF FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE AND NUTRITIONAL GENOMICS
DIETARY SOURCES OF DHA AND EPA
Food DHA and EPA combined (mg per ounce)
Salmon, Atlantic, farmed 608
Herring, Pacific 602
Herring, Atlantic 571
Salmon, Atlantic, wild 521
Tuna, fresh, blue fin 426
Mackerel, Atlantic 341
Sardines (canned in oil) 278
Trout, mixed species 265
Flounder 142
Halibut 132
Source: USDA, Agricultural Research Service,
Nutrient Data Laboratory
Avoiding Mercury Contamination in Fish - When
adding fish to a child’s diet, it is important to
consider the health concerns surrounding heavy
metals like mercury and fat-soluble pollutants like
PCB and dioxins. In the autism community,
mercury is a heavy metal of special concern
because it is a neurotoxin that harms the brain
and nervous system of unborn babies and young
children. Mercury naturally occurs in the
environment and is also released into the air from
coal-fired power plants and municipal and medical
waste incinerators. The mercury travels for long
distances in the air before being deposited into
bodies of water such as lakes, streams, and the
ocean. Bacteria in these waters transform the
mercury into methylmercury. Fish absorb the
methylmercury as they feed in these waters and it
accumulates within them. Nearly all fish and
shellfish have varying levels of methylmercury,
depending on how long they live and how much
other fish they eat. Basically, the larger fish and
the longer its lived, the higher its level of
mercury. When a pregnant woman eats fish, she
exposes her developing fetus to methylmercury,
which poses a threat to its developing brain.
Depending on the level of exposure, methylmercury
can cause impairment in language, attention, and
memory; gait and visual disturbances; effects on
neurological development; and mental retardation.
Below are the FDA and the EPA’s
recommendations for choosing and eating fish for
women who are or may become pregnant and
nursing mothers:
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1) Do not eat shark, swordfish, king
mackerel, and tilefish.
2) May eat up to 12 ounces a week of a
variety of fish and shellfish that are lower
inmercury, such as catfish, salmon,
pollock, shrimp, and canned light tuna.
3) Limit canned albacore ‚white‛ tuna to 6
ounces per week due to higher mercury
levels.
4) Limit tuna steak to 6 ounces per week
due to higher mercury levels.
5) Check local advisories regarding the safety
of fish caught in your local lakes, streams,
rivers, and coastal areas.
6) If no advisory is available, you may eat
up to 6 ounces per week of fish caught
from local waters, but don’t consume any
other fish during that week.
There are currently no recommendations regarding
the amount of fish considered safe for young
children, so the FDA and EPA suggest following
the above recommendations, but serve smaller
portion sizes (43).
Other Dietary Sources of Omega-3 Fatty Acids -
A new trend has emerged recently in which foods
are fortified with omega-3 fatty acids. DHA can
now be found in a variety of foods, such as
infant formula, yogurt, bread, and juice. Eggs are
not naturally a good source of omega-3 fatty
acids, but now omega-3 enriched eggs, which
contain up to 400mg DHA and EPA, are
available in grocery stores. Omega-3 enriched
eggs are produced by feeding hens a special diet
containing ground flaxseed. The actual level of
DHA and EPA will vary depending on the flaxseed
composition of the chicken feed. Free-range
chickens that eat grass and insects also produce
eggs with higher-than-normal levels of omega-3
fatty acids.
How Much Omega-3 Fatty Acid Does a Child
Need? There is no RDA for omega-3 fatty acids.
Instead, the U.S. Food and Nutrition Board set
levels of Adequate Intake (AI) for ALA. No
specific requirements have been set for DHA and
EPA; however the Food and Nutrition Board
2012