Gaileen Sutton

Science has understood the benefits of omega 3 essential fatty acids for some time and these benefits extend to the health of our children. 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”.

DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) are the 2 most important essential fatty acids found in fish oil known as omega 3. Children in the US, as well as Australia, have levels of these essential fatty acids that are way too low. The deficiency of omega 3 in children has a range of health implications for our kids.

The study noted that the demands of omega 3 in children starts at conception and that brain development during the 3rd trimester of pregnancy required a high level of DHA to be available. Equally brain development during the first 2 years of infancy also required adequate levels of Omega3 fats. Kids need omega 3 for adequate brain development and do not have enough.

Children cannot make their own decisions to supplement their diet with omega 3. Children have these decisions made by parents and parents need to understand that as well as increasing their own levels of intake of omega 3 essential fats the health of their children also depends on adequate levels of Omega3 fats right from conception.

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.

In fact I supplement the diet of my own children with omega 3 fish oil capsules. If children are too young to take capsules it is a simple matter to cut the top off and pour the fish oil onto their breakfast. Children are not even aware that the fish oil is there.

The decisions that parents make about the diet of their children affects the healthy development of their children. Omega 3 supplementation is simple, cost-effective and should be started by the mother from the beginning of pregnancy. Omega 3 supplementation in the mother even increases the levels of DHA in her breastmilk which in turn increases the level of Omega3 in infants who are breastfeeding.

Not all fish oil capsules are the same quality and you need to understand that there are differences between them in the freshness of the fish oil used, the amount of DHA present in the capsules and the effectiveness of the essential fats.

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

Want to know more about Fish Oil? Or more about Omega 3 And Children? Visit Peter’s Website Healthy Omega 3 Fish Oil.