Fish oil supplements are safe for children and have been shown to help malnourished children get the essential fats they need. (1)
Research shows that fish oil supplements can help kids with dyslexia (reading difficulties), dyspraxia (problems with co-ordination), and ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder). (2)
But what about the effects of fish oil supplements on healthy children? Recent research shows that mothers that supplement with fish oils during their pregnancy had children with BETTER HAND TO EYE COORDINATION THAN KIDS WHOSE MOTHERS DID NOT SUPPLEMENT WITH FISH OILS! (3) So, if you are a pregnant mother, taking fish oil supplements throughout your pregnancy can help your kids have better hand-eye coordination.
More studies with healthy kids need to be done to see if fish oils can help with higher cognitive function such as memory or actually improve grades in school compared to kids who don’t take supplements
For now, I enjoy watching my best friend’s son, 2 year old Alexander, play and DOMINATE the memory game in the IPAD! Alexander supplements with fish oils!
Dosage:
For kids ages 2 and up: 200 – 300 mg of EPA (eicosapentanoic acid) and 100 – 200 mg of DHA (docosahexanoic acid) with a total of 1,000 mg of fish oils per day
Pregnant Mothers: 2.2 grams of DHA and 1.1 grams of EPA for a total of up to 4 grams of fish oils per day
References
(1) Smit, E et al. (2000) Fish oil supplementation improves docosahexaenoic acid status of malnourished infants Arch Dis Child;82:366–369
(2) Stordy BJ (1997) Dyslexia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, dyspraxia – do fatty acids help? Dyslexia
Review; 9(2)
(3) Dustan, JA et al.(2008) Cognitive assessment of children at age 2½ years after maternal fish oil supplementation in pregnancy: a randomised controlled trial. Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed 8;93:F45-F50
