In a study that was published recently in the American Journal of Physiology, researchers at the Liggins Institute, University of Auckland in New Zealand found that nearly 30% of newborn rat pups born to pregnant moms fed with highly oxidized fish oil died within 2 days after birth. These rat mothers who’d been given the ‘off’ fish oil also had higher incidences of insulin resistance at weaning as compared to that had been given water or unoxidized supplements.

Oxidized fish oils cause newborn deaths

The study was necessitated by a previous research that found that 83% of fish oil supplements sold in New Zealand were oxidized beyond the levels recommended internationally. The same has been discovered in other studies in areas like North America, Europe and South Africa. According to these studies, Omega 3 fatty acids break down when exposed to natural conditions such as heat, light and oxygen as a result of their chemical fragility and instability.

Once this was discovered, it became necessary for the researchers to look into the health effects of these oxidized fish oils during and after pregnancy. And though some negative health effects were expected on the rat off-springs,  the death rates surprised researchers.

Until we see each other again,