Long-chain

The investigation, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that women who received 2.4 grams of long-chain omega-3 supplements in the last three months of pregnancy reduced their child's risk of asthma by 31 percent.

Canadian researchers measured the levels of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids in the women's blood at 24 weeks of pregnancy, and again one week following delivery. The health of the children was then tracked for five years, the age at which symptoms of asthma, such as wheezing, often first appear. Women who had low levels of omega-3 fatty acids at the start of the study benefitted the most from supplementation, researchers found.