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American Morning

Fish Reduces Pregnancy Depression

Aired May 21, 2003 - 08:44   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


SOPHIA CHOI, CNN ANCHOR: A new study reinforces the known benefits of eating fish to help pregnant women avoid depression. The study is significant, because the federal government has long been warning against consuming too much fish during pregnancy, but now the benefits might outweigh the risks and, our Dr. Sanjay Gupta is here to tell us more about this and how to get the most off your daily workout.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Well, the fish, first. Certainly this is a big topic. We'll talking about postpartum depression here. One in 10 women can have significant postpartum depression, interferes with their functioning of life. So a new study gaining some attention now, and talking about fish, and specifically the Omega III fatty acids in fish. For a long time, people have known that these actually help reduce the risk of heart disease?

But is there a link between this and depression as well? Well, a study out of Britain, looking at 11,000 women, says possibly. Specifically, they looked at women in their third trimester and found that women who ate more fish, and this is the real fishy fish -- we're talking about salmon, sardines, herring and stuff like that, had lower rates, almost half the rates of depression compared to women who didn't eat as much fish. But exactly as you point out, Sophia, there are concerns about fish as well, real concerns, proven concerns, specifically about the mercury in fish, the predatory fish, the shark, the tile fish and the king mackerel tend to have very high levels of mercury. Those are probably good fishes for pregnant women to avoid.

Bottom line, there could be some benefit in terms of depression, reducing the rate of depression. But avoid eating too much. About 12 ounces a week is a good amount, and stay away from those predatory fish if you're pregnant as well.

CHOI: Could you get the same benefits from maybe taking fish oil?

GUPTA: The fish oil supplements. Yes, a really good point. And they have shown to have the benefits in terms of the heart disease. If there is a cause and effect relationship between the omega III fatty acids and depression, the fish oils may be a good way to go as well.

CHOI: All right, well, we know there is an awful lot of benefit to exercise. Just when to exercise is key as well.

GUPTA: Everyone struggles with that -- I struggle with that -- what time of the day is the best time to exercise. I think I just avoid it by doing different times of the day.

But there may be some real science behind it. And depending on what your goals are, in terms of what you want to get out of it, you may want to exercise at different times of the day. This is what we found out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA (voice-over): For many people, morning workouts are like a cup of coffee: they stimulate and get the day going strong.

RICHARD COTTON, EXERCISE PHYSIOLOGIST: There is some evidence that morning exercise promotes more fat burning than other times of the day.

GUPTA: And of course, you get it out of the way for the day. But for all of the advantages, morning workouts could also cause...

DR. PHYLISS ZEE, NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY: Injury, fatigue, tearing your muscles, not having that nice warm-up period.

GUPTA: That may have to do with timing. According to Dr. Phyllis Zee, a neurologist at Northwestern University.

ZEE: The best time to work out is probably in the late afternoon. And the reason for that is your muscle strength it at its peak, its at its highest. It's the time you will be less likely to injure yourself. It's also a time when most people are most awake and most alert.

GUPTA: Dr. Zee studies circadian rhythms, which are the bodies own daily rhythms, controlled by the brain. These rhythms, she says, control the body's internal time clock, regulating things like when we sleep and wake, even ideal exercise time. They also control body temperature, which can be one to two degrees warmer in the afternoon, when she says muscles are more supple and the risk of injury dips.

ZEE: It is a better time. And not just for your circardian (ph) rhythms, but really also for your sleep.

CHOI: But not everyone agrees that afternoon exercise is ideal.

COTTON: In middle-aged and younger adults, it's probably not a big difference for them in terms of their exercise time. It is really their lifestyle and what works for them in their schedule that's most important when determining your exercise time.

CHOI: All health experts do agree on one thing -- it's better to exercise sometimes than not at all. So if your schedule prefers exercise in the morning, spend a few more minutes warming up to stay on the path to good health.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE) GUPTA: That's right, sort of interesting, really quickly. If you talk about morning exercise, a couple of benefits you're probably going to get. You're probably going to burn more fat, and you're going to burn it sooner. That's because your body is in a fasting state. You probably haven't eaten for 12 hours.

But as you saw in the piece there, if you exercise in the afternoon, you're probably going to have better performance. You're going to be stronger, and you're going to be less likely get an injury. So it depends what your goals are. If you want to burn fat, probably exercise in the morning. If you want to get power and strength, probably afternoon is going to be better for you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired May 21, 2003 - 08:44   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOPHIA CHOI, CNN ANCHOR: A new study reinforces the known benefits of eating fish to help pregnant women avoid depression. The study is significant, because the federal government has long been warning against consuming too much fish during pregnancy, but now the benefits might outweigh the risks and, our Dr. Sanjay Gupta is here to tell us more about this and how to get the most off your daily workout.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Well, the fish, first. Certainly this is a big topic. We'll talking about postpartum depression here. One in 10 women can have significant postpartum depression, interferes with their functioning of life. So a new study gaining some attention now, and talking about fish, and specifically the Omega III fatty acids in fish. For a long time, people have known that these actually help reduce the risk of heart disease?

But is there a link between this and depression as well? Well, a study out of Britain, looking at 11,000 women, says possibly. Specifically, they looked at women in their third trimester and found that women who ate more fish, and this is the real fishy fish -- we're talking about salmon, sardines, herring and stuff like that, had lower rates, almost half the rates of depression compared to women who didn't eat as much fish. But exactly as you point out, Sophia, there are concerns about fish as well, real concerns, proven concerns, specifically about the mercury in fish, the predatory fish, the shark, the tile fish and the king mackerel tend to have very high levels of mercury. Those are probably good fishes for pregnant women to avoid.

Bottom line, there could be some benefit in terms of depression, reducing the rate of depression. But avoid eating too much. About 12 ounces a week is a good amount, and stay away from those predatory fish if you're pregnant as well.

CHOI: Could you get the same benefits from maybe taking fish oil?

GUPTA: The fish oil supplements. Yes, a really good point. And they have shown to have the benefits in terms of the heart disease. If there is a cause and effect relationship between the omega III fatty acids and depression, the fish oils may be a good way to go as well.

CHOI: All right, well, we know there is an awful lot of benefit to exercise. Just when to exercise is key as well.

GUPTA: Everyone struggles with that -- I struggle with that -- what time of the day is the best time to exercise. I think I just avoid it by doing different times of the day.

But there may be some real science behind it. And depending on what your goals are, in terms of what you want to get out of it, you may want to exercise at different times of the day. This is what we found out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA (voice-over): For many people, morning workouts are like a cup of coffee: they stimulate and get the day going strong.

RICHARD COTTON, EXERCISE PHYSIOLOGIST: There is some evidence that morning exercise promotes more fat burning than other times of the day.

GUPTA: And of course, you get it out of the way for the day. But for all of the advantages, morning workouts could also cause...

DR. PHYLISS ZEE, NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY: Injury, fatigue, tearing your muscles, not having that nice warm-up period.

GUPTA: That may have to do with timing. According to Dr. Phyllis Zee, a neurologist at Northwestern University.

ZEE: The best time to work out is probably in the late afternoon. And the reason for that is your muscle strength it at its peak, its at its highest. It's the time you will be less likely to injure yourself. It's also a time when most people are most awake and most alert.

GUPTA: Dr. Zee studies circadian rhythms, which are the bodies own daily rhythms, controlled by the brain. These rhythms, she says, control the body's internal time clock, regulating things like when we sleep and wake, even ideal exercise time. They also control body temperature, which can be one to two degrees warmer in the afternoon, when she says muscles are more supple and the risk of injury dips.

ZEE: It is a better time. And not just for your circardian (ph) rhythms, but really also for your sleep.

CHOI: But not everyone agrees that afternoon exercise is ideal.

COTTON: In middle-aged and younger adults, it's probably not a big difference for them in terms of their exercise time. It is really their lifestyle and what works for them in their schedule that's most important when determining your exercise time.

CHOI: All health experts do agree on one thing -- it's better to exercise sometimes than not at all. So if your schedule prefers exercise in the morning, spend a few more minutes warming up to stay on the path to good health.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE) GUPTA: That's right, sort of interesting, really quickly. If you talk about morning exercise, a couple of benefits you're probably going to get. You're probably going to burn more fat, and you're going to burn it sooner. That's because your body is in a fasting state. You probably haven't eaten for 12 hours.

But as you saw in the piece there, if you exercise in the afternoon, you're probably going to have better performance. You're going to be stronger, and you're going to be less likely get an injury. So it depends what your goals are. If you want to burn fat, probably exercise in the morning. If you want to get power and strength, probably afternoon is going to be better for you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com