Omega 3 For Delayed Child

Delayed Child. I've been checking out your site.....I have a son with delays due to hydrocephalus, as an infant. I am convinced that for this reason and many others I should be giving him and my other two children omega-3. They are aged 6, 4 and 14 months.

By Kristina.

Answer:

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Brain is about 60% fat by weight, DHA(one of the two essential fatty acids that form the fish oil omega 3 is the most abundant fat in the brain.

A lot of the fat found in brain is in the cell membranes of the neurons and in the protective myelin sheath that covers them. The types and proportions of fats in the cell membranes determine how effectively the brain cells communicate. If an adult is deficient in the right fats, his brain does not function optimally, and if a child is deficient, the brain does not develop nor function optimally.

Imagine a child learning math. The act of learning makes the brain to form new neural connections. DHA is needed, especially for the delicate neural synapses which are composed entirely of DHA. This child, like the vast majority of U.S. children, eats almost no Omega-3 fatty acids. What does the brain do? Again, it struggles and finally uses other types of fats, which are the wrong shape: Trans Fats or omega 6.

Low levels of DHA have been associated with depression, memory loss, dementia, and visual problems. DHA is particularly important for fetuses and infants; the DHA content of the infant's brain triples during the first three months of life. Optimal levels of DHA are therefore crucial for pregnant and lactating mothers. Unfortunately, the average DHA content of breast milk in the United States is the lowest in the world, most likely because Americans eat comparatively little fish.

You are right about the importance for all your children to get omega 3 every day. Their brain cells connections depend on it. You see, the brain is mainly fat, and the fat the body has available to work with is the fat used to build brain links. If you supply your brain with “good fats”, good solid connections will be formed. But if the brain only has omega 6 fatty acids and Trans fats, low quality links between brain cells will produce a faulty operation. The same happened in all the nervous system, omega 3 is the basic construction element.

Now, it takes time for the brain to replace these “faulty connections”. Maybe 3 or more months, when you have a high omega 3, low omega 6 and Trans fats diet. You can learn more at Our Eating Section . To complement this diet, I would suggest that you provide your children with many hours a week of outside playing opportunities with their friends and a restricted number of TV or computers hours.

This is not an exact science but I recommend you provide 1.000 mg of fish oil( 180 mg of EPA and 120 mg of DHA, or its equivalent in cod liver oil you use) a day to your 3 children, up to 12 years of age. I would reinforce the doses to double that to your 4 years old, and watch his reaction. There is no danger of vitamin over dosage is you use cod liver oil in the winter and fish oil the rest of the year. Again, it depends in what part of the world you live, the amounts of sun exposure, their skin type, etc.

The molecularly distilled type of omega 3 is the best you can buy and you can get at my Omega 3 Store .

My best to you,