2008/731 The Australian Seafood Diet for Intergenerational Health: Development of a healthy high Australian seafood diet that will be acceptable to women of child-bearing age

By Lily Chan 

Consumers are advised to eat more fish for a range of health benefits, including for growth and development, protection against heart disease and lowering of plasma triglycerides. However, there are some caveats in these recommendations for some sub-groups of the population, such as those women who are pregnant or who wish to become pregnant. This in general relates to the level of methylmercury present in fish. In Australia, the current dietary advice from Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) for pregnant women is that 2-3 serves of most fish can be safely eaten each week, but to limit the intakes of orange roughy (Sea Perch), catfish shark, swordfish, marlin or broadbill to once a week or fortnight for the purposes of avoiding contaminants that may be damaging to the sensitive developing foetus.

This project aimed to:

• Provide an up-to-date review of the benefits of fish and long chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCn3PUFA) intakes in relation to maternal and infant health.
• Develop a healthy Australian seafood dietary pattern to achieve sufficient intakes of LCn3PUFA.
• Add to the existing database of compositional profile of fish products.
• Explore the effects of cooking methods on the contents of fish and seafood
• Assess the acceptability and effects of a diet that is higher in fish

Available literature demonstrated good evidence that long chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCn3PUFA) are beneficial for maternal and infant health. Fish is a good source of LCn3PUFA and other nutrients but its consumption within Australian women is overall less than optimal.