It's truly possible to give kids a head start in life. Moms can increase the I.Q. of their unborn children by supplementing their diet with cod liver oil.

Over the course of five years, researchers in Oslo, Norway ran a study that included 300 pregnant women. Half were given cod liver oil supplements, a source of omega-3 fatty acids, from week 18 in their pregnancy through the third month after their baby was born.

The brain undergoes great growth spurts during the third trimester of pregnancy and the first few months after birth. Omega-3 fats are integral to the development of brain cells, contributing to the membrane that surrounds each n erve cell and facilitates the transmission of impulses through the brain.

The women not fed cod liver old were given placebo supplements of corn oil for the same period of time. Both groups filled out surveys detailing their diets. And both groups of women breast-fed t heir infants.

The researchers theorized that DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), a type of omega-3 fatty acid found in fish and cod liver oil, would have beneficial effects on a baby's intelligence that could be measured at least four years after the baby received a supplemented diet from his mother.

Indeed, the children in the DHA-supplemented group scored higher on cognitive tests. Their scores were equivalent to about four I.Q. points higher than the children whose mothers took corn oil capsules. The study results appeared in a recent issue of the journal Pediatrics.

The study findings corroborate those of other research, observes Norman Salem, Ph.D, senior investigator at the Laboratory of Membrane Biochemistry and Biophysics at the National Institutes of Health.

"DHA appears to have a positive affect in many studies," he says. "But it's important in this case to note that we're not talking about kids who are below normal. All of these kids were normal; DHA still boosted performance above normal levels in the test group."

This finding is in tune with a widening body of research showing that the fat found in fish can not only ward off heart disease but can protect the brain and aid its operations in many ways. It lowers rates of depression, bipolar disorder, postpartum depression and suicide.

These fish fats contain fatty acids considered "essential" because, unlike many nutrients, our bodies cannot produce it. Omega-3s can only come from specific parts of our diets, including seafood, walnuts and flaxseed.

Nerves and brain cells depend on omega-3s because these cells are made from fat. The fats in our diet will literally determine the composition of our brains.

Last year, the Food and Drug Administration acknowledged the power of DHA by suggesting that it be added to baby formula. Studies show it is helps not only a baby's brain, but her eyes as well.

Salem says women should be urged to consume more fish during their pregnancy to provide adequate DHA to their developing child. Women should also breast-feed to bring the benefits to their babies after birth.

"Imagine if we could boost the I.Q. of the entire population by three or four points," he says. "That would be something."

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