Melbourne Holistic Health Group

Published in Articles - Children's health on 06 September 2011 by Melbourne Holistic Health Group

Fish oil provides two essential omega 3 fatty acids - docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). They are called essential fatty acids because our bodies cannot produce them and therefore we rely on our diets and supplements in order to meet our daily needs.

So what’s this got to do with children and learning?

DHA has a central role in brain health, mood and cognitive function. It’s not surprising then that fish oils are important for memory, learning, reasoning and behaviour, especially those higher in DHA. Fresh oily fish such as salmon, tuna, sardines and mackerel are good dietary sources of these omega 3 oils. Unfortunately, many children (and adults) do not eat enough of these foods to meet their needs and their memory, learning, reasoning, mood and behaviour may be impaired.

Many studies have found improvements in learning and behavior directly linked to fish oil supplements in children. These studies suggest that children with reading difficulties have shown major improvement in their reading after taking fish oil. Studies have also confirmed that fish oils improve reading, concentration and behaviours for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and for children with developmental problems; fish oil improves their reading, spelling, and behaviour.

The severity of concentration problems appears to lessen and social behaviours appear to improve when children with concentration difficulties, including kids with ADHD are given therapeutic doses of fish oils.
Fish oil supplements vary widely in their content, strength and purity and some provide more benefit than others. It can be a bewildering experience choosing fish oils with the increasing number of products available, so it is important to give children good high-strength high-quality fish oils.

The milligrams of fish oil in a product only tell us about the quantity of the oil per capsule or dose, not about the quality or the potency of the oil. In some cases a smaller dose of fish oil can provide more potency depending on the quality of the oil. Bewildering and confusing!

The good news is that there are excellent supplements that provide these essential oils. Based on DHA’s role on brain health, naturopaths at Melbourne Holistic Health Group usually prescribe fish oils that at have higher concentrations of DHA for children to provide their rapidly developing brain with the building blocks it needs. Our clinic maintains fish oils of the highest quality and purity obtained from sustainable sources.

Your naturopath will be able to prescribe the right fish oil for your child.

Caution: Fish oils are generally very well tolerated. However, children should not take fish oils if they have a known sensitivity of fish, have a bleeding disorder or are taking anti-coagulant or anti-platelet medications.

For more information on fish oils, please read the following article:

Fish Oil Supplementation

Other articles on children's health include:

• Feeding infants and toddlers
• Fever in Children
• Could your child have a dairy allergy or intolerance?
• Children friendly healthy recipes