Happier, cleverer and better behaved children...
Last week, a major new study found that a daily dose of fish oil supplements had a dramatic effect on the abilities of underachieving children in Durham.
Now in an exclusive Daily Mail study, conducted in conjunction with eminent specialists, fish oil supplements have been found to have a dramatic, and at times almost immediate, effect – even on children who have not been diagnosed with learning or behavioural problems.
Children on both trials were given similar doses of a fish oil supplement called Eye Q, containing Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids.
The main difference was that in the Mail’s study, the supplement (available as capsules or a fruit-flavoured solution) was offered to pupils regardless of whether they exhibited behavioural or learning difficulties.
The results, according to parents and Dr Madeleine Port-wood, a Senior Educational Psychologist at Durham LEA and principle investigator of both trials, were impressive.
At the start of the experiment Dr Portwood’s tests revealed that the Mail’s children – seven and eight-year-old pupils from Little Heath Primary School in Potters Bar, Herts – already had an average reading age nine months above their actual age.
After 3 months they were reading 18 months above their age
But after just three months on the fish oils, they were reading at 18 months above their age. ‘In particular, three pupils had improved their reading age by two years, and one by three years,’ she said.
In addition, more than half showed a 10 per cent improvement in memory, while eight pupils improved by 20 per cent and one by 30 per cent.
Among the parents, about 35 per cent say their children showed significant improvements in reading, concentration, focus or behaviour. Many also reported that the children were much ‘calmer’, more ‘confident’ and ‘grown up’.
Marina Breeze, head teacher at Little Heath, says some of the improvement in reading age could be put down to the intensive reading practice children do in the spring term.
But she adds: ‘The fact that the children have increased their reading age by a year in just three months is more than we would have expected, so there must be something in these supplements that helps.’
The improvements, says Dr Portwood, demonstrate that fish oils – or essential fatty acids – can make a huge difference to children’s performance regardless of current ability.
Supplementation can help children of all abilities
‘The results from the Daily Mail trial are particularly exciting as they show significant changes in children who were not identified as having specific problems and so suggest that dietary supplementation can help children of all abilities,’ she says.
In contrast, the Durham Schools Trial, conducted by the local education authority and Oxford University, tested 110 children aged six to 12, who were selected from schools in County Durham on the basis of co-ordination problems (dys-praxia).
Many also had accompanying conditions such as ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) and dyslexia.
Results at the end of the double-blind placebo-controlled trial were just as impressive as the Daily Mail’s study.
They revealed that 40 per cent of the children who took the Fish oil supplements for a minimum of three months showed a significant improvement in reading and spelling skills.
Some increased their reading age by as much as four years after just six months
They also showed significant improvement in short-term memory and behavioural skills such as following teachers’ instructions, staying on task and working well with their peers.
Those suffering from ADHD showed improvement in symptoms similar to that seen after treatment with the controversial drug Ritalin.
‘Children who had specific difficulties in the classroom have seen a tremendous increase in performance,’. says Andrew Westerman, former head of Timothy Hackworth Primary School, Shildon, County Durham, one of the schools participating in the trial; ‘They concentrate more, read better, make connections – in some cases, it’s as if the light has been switched on. Best of all, their self-esteem has rocketed as they have begun to realise their potential.’
The results have shown that boys in particular can benefit from fish oil supplements. Those tested consistently made greater improvements in short-term memory than girls and showed a reduction in ADHD symptoms. This is possibly because they are more susceptible than girls to a deficiency of the essential fatty acids found in ash oils.
‘Boys who had previously been very disruptive in class were able to concentrate for longer without being distracted, which obviously helps them and everyone else around them learn,’ says Dr Portwood.
Fish oils are believed to boost children’s brain power because they are high in the essential Omega 3 fatty acids called EPA and DHA, and contain some Omega 6 fatty acids – most notably GLA – all of which help brain function and memory.
The most important fatty acid for brain power is Omega-3
‘The most important family of fatty acids for brain power is Omega 3, which makes the brain thinks faster,’ says nutritionist Patrick Holford, Director of the Brain Bio Centre in London. ‘Learning, reading and writing can all be improved through an increase of Omega 3. It also affects the speed and efficiency at which the eye works.’
Essential fats are vital for mental functioning because they speed up the rate at which messages are sent around the brain.
Each of the brain’s billions of cells is surrounded by a membrane called a myeline sheath, which consists mainly of fats, including essential fatty acids. In order for electrical signals to carry messages to and from nerve cells, they need to pass through the membrane speedily and efficiently.
When something affects the functioning of the membrane, such as low levels of fatty acids, it can slow down the speed at which signals can pass through the brain. This in turn can cause problems such as reduced ef5ciency at processing information, so tasks take longer and following instructions is harder.
Omega-3 must be consumed through diet
Unfortunately, the body cannot make Omega 3 or Omega 6, so they must be gained through diet. But modern food preferences and cooking processes have reduced the amount we consume.
‘The average person today eats only a sixth of the Omega 3 fats found in the diet of people living in 1850,’ says Patrick Holford. ‘This is partly due to food choices – the best source of Omega 3 is oily fish which is not something that commonly appeals to children today – but mainly to modern food processing, which purposefully takes the essential fatty acids out of foods in order to give them a longer shelf life.’
Omega-3 can also be found in seeds such as pumpkin and flax, and in walnuts, but in much smaller quantities than in oily fish.
Deficiency of Omega-6 is less common as it is found in more foods – in most seeds and nuts, but also salad oils and olive oil.
Dr Portwood says: ‘It is clear that fish oil supplements can help children’s performance. I now strongly recommend all parents try to include more essential fatty acids in their children’s diet.’
by Tania Alexander - Daily Mail 10/05/05
Although this Daily Mail article was specifically referring to Fish Oils, vegetable oils high in Omega-3 essential fatty acids have several advantages: