Science has understood the benefits of omega 3 essential fatty acids for some time and these benefits extend to the health of our kids. Omega 3 fatty acids are as important in the diet of our children as it is in the diet of adults, and right from conception.

Omega 3 essential fatty acids are primarily found in fish oil. Kids, like adults, have a minimum requirement for levels of omega 3 essential fats in their bodies for proper and healthy development. This has now been emphasised by a new study from the University of Wollongong’s School Of Health Sciences in Australia which has concluded that Australian children are highly deficient in omega 3. Children in America and the rest of the developed world will be the same.

In fact the study found that on average the intake of omega 3 fats in 3-year-olds was just 47 milligrams which the professor describes as “desperately low”.

The 2 essential fatty acids that are commonly found in fish oil are DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid). And it is well known that the levels of these essential fatty acids in adults in the US are way too low. This now applies to children. Omega 3 levels in our children are also way too low and there are a range of health implications from this.

A child’s requirement for omega 3 fats starts right at conception. The study noted that brain development was extremely fast during the 3rd trimester of pregnancy and that for adequate brain development an adequate level of DHA was essential. And it also noted that the first 2 years of infancy was equally important for brain development and placed an equal demand on DHA levels.

A child cannot supplement its diet own with omega 3. Children have these decisions made for them by their parents. Parents should consider increasing their own intake of fish oil as well as increasing the amount of fish oil in children’s diets because their own health and the health of their kids depends on it.

It’s not just brain development that is affected by a child’s intake of omega 3. Kids have a whole range of health and development issues which can benefit from an increased intake of fish oil. Inadequate levels of essential fatty acids can put them at a higher risk of asthma, poorer visual development, slower brain development, lower IQ as established on IQ tests, an increased incidence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and others.

It is quite clear that there are important health issues involved when we consider dietary supplementation of omega 3 in children. It is possible to increase children’s fish oil intake by increasing their intake of fish however fish can be contaminated with mercury and other contaminants, is expensive and is generally not liked by children.

I supplement the diet of my own children with omega 3 fish oil capsules. When they were too young to take capsules it was a simple matter to cut the top off the capsules and pour that fish oil on their breakfast. They don’t even know fish oil is there.

The decisions of parents about what their children eat are important ones affecting the development of their children. Omega 3 supplementation is cost effective and simple and is important right from the conception of the child. Even during breastfeeding omega 3 supplementation by mothers increases the amount of DHA available to the infant in the breastmilk.

However not all Omega 3 capsules are as good as others. There are many issues relating to the quantity of DHA present in the capsules, the freshness of the fish oil used, (fish oil oxidizes quickly) and the effectiveness of the fatty acids.

To find out which Omega 3 capsules I give to my own children and take myself visit my website.

Tags: , , <BR/>

Related posts:

  1. DHA And Fish Oil. Breastfeeding Mothers Need More Of Both.
  2. Should You Be Using DHA Infant Formula For Your Baby Or Not?
  3. Camphor Blocks – Conventional Self Healing.
  4. Mercury in Fish | The Effects on Pregnancy
  5. Fertility Herbs And Vitamins For Men And Women

Filed under: Children

Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!