Fish Oil: Omega 3 Fish Oil for Dyslexia

Omega 3 fish oil may help prevent and reverse dyslexia. That’s the conclusion of numerous scientific studies on the subject.

Dyslexia used to be considered a learning disability problem, but not any more. Today many researchers are beginning to think dyslexia is linked to a nutritional deficiency of omega 3 fatty acids, particularly DHA (docosahexaenoic acid, which is found only in fatty fish such as salmon and sardines.

Dyslexia affects about 5% of school age children. Diagnosed children usually have normal intelligence, vision, hearing and speech, but are unable to learn how to read and write effectively. This disability puts great pressure on both the child and the parents.

The best thing you can do to help prevent dyslexia in your child is to make sure you’re getting at least one gram of fish oil omega 3 fatty acids in your diet before and during pregnancy and after birth if you’re nursing. If you’re not nursing, a small amount of omega 3 fish oil can be squeezed into a baby’s formula. They won’t mind and, in fact, will probably develop a taste for fish, which is excellent for their long term health in so many other ways.

Did you know a baby’s brain is made up of about 70% omega 3 DHA? That’s why hundreds of studies show dietary DHA to be vitally important for the development of a child’s brain. Research shows children born of mothers who ate lots of fatty fish or took high quality fish oil supplements are less likely to have ADD, ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia and other developmental difficulties. They have also been shown to have a higher intelligence.

This is all very good news if you’re planning on having more children, but what if you already have a child with dyslexia? Well, it’s not the end of the world. As a matter of fact, fish oil omega 3 fatty acid research shows great promise for dyslexic children and adults too.

An Oxford University Laboratory of Physiology study published in Prostaglandins Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids (Vol. 63:69-74) concluded “children with high fatty acid deficiency ratings showed poorer reading and lower general ability” than children without a deficiency. They went on to say the results of their study “support the hypothesis that fatty acid deficiency may contribute to the severity of dyslexic problems” and that dyslexia may be corrected through diet, specifically supplementing with omega 3 fatty acids from fish.

Other researchers agree. S.M. Baker, for example, wrote in the Journal of Learning Disabilities (Vol. 18:581-584) that dyslexic children demonstrated improved schoolwork after treatment with fatty acids. And, B.J. Stordy, writing in Lancet (Vol. 346:385), found a normalization of visual deficits in dyslexic adults after supplementing with omega 3 fatty acids.

So if you have a child dealing with dyslexia, then it’s time to up your family’s omega 3 fish oil. Based on the research, it’s best to get at least one gram of combined fish oil omega 3 DHA and EPA a day.

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