The omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil have been shown in studies to fight everything from heart disease to depression. Now, new research demonstrates that omega-3s can also significantly decrease babies’ allergic responses to common allergens like dust mites and milk.

Australian researchers gave 420 infants either a placebo or fish oil capsules containing 280 mg of the omega-3 component DHA and 110 mg of the omega-3 component EPA. The infants were given the placebo or fish oil daily from birth to six months of age. At the end of the study, an analysis of the fish oil group showed they had significantly lower allergic responses to dust mites and milk protein. They also had significantly lower amounts of a blood marker associated with eczema.

The researchers believe the immune-system-boosting properties of EPA and DHA also provide allergy protection. “To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the effects of direct postnatal fish oil supplementation on immune development in the first six months of life,” they wrote in the August 2012 issue of the journal Clinical and Experimental Allergy.

The researchers noted, “we suggest maternal supplementation is a more attractive and efficient mode of supplementation for breastfed infants.”