Omega 3: Is Your Child Getting Enough Omega 3?

Is your child getting enough omega 3? The odds are fifty to one the answer is “No!”

How do I know? Because studies show that only 2% of American women are getting the omega 3 DHA and EPA fatty acids they need for their own health and well-being. And, if Mom isn’t getting enough omega 3s, you can bet her children aren’t either.

Why is this so? The answer’s simple. Omega 3 DHA and EPA fatty acids are found only in salmon and other fatty fish such as sardines, herring, anchovies and albacore tuna. Very few adults and even less children are eating these fish at all, not least a couple times a week, as recommended by the American Heart Association and just about every other health authority.

We’re not the only country with kids not eating enough fish. A recent study in Ireland found that 98% of the children weren’t getting adequate amounts of omega 3s in their diets. And Ireland is totally surrounded by water and has a long, rich heritage of fishing.

But we don’t need research studies on the eating habits of children to know that there’s a major deficiency of omega 3s in the diets of American children. All we have to do is look at the health of kids today and it’s not a very pretty picture.

Childhood asthma, juvenile diabetes and ADD/ADHD are at epidemic levels in this country and they’ve all been found to be related to dietary deficiencies of omega 3 fatty acids.

Asthma, for example, is responsible for nearly 14 million lost school days each year. But, did you know, according to Australian researchers, children who eat fish on a regular basis have four times less risk of developing asthma. And fish oil supplements have been shown in other studies to significantly reduce the severity of children’s asthma symptoms. So there’s definitely a link.

And nearly 30,000 children and young people under the age of 20 are afflicted each year with juvenile (type 1) diabetes. Yet, studies have proven when pregnant and nursing mothers supplement their diet with fish oil rich in DHA and EPA fatty acids they reduce their child’s risk of developing juvenile diabetes by amazing 26 percent.

Dietary deficiencies of fish oil DHA and EPA have also been found to significantly increase the incidence of attention deficit disorder (ADD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in young children, while fish oil supplements have been shown to decrease both the incidence and severity of ADD and ADHD symptoms in children.

But don’t be afraid of mercury toxicity in fish. According to the Harvard University School of Public Health, as long as your child doesn’t eat shark, swordfish and other large predator fish, the health benefits of fish outweigh any perceived risk of toxicity by as much as 300 to 500 to one. In other words, despite the negative press, fish toxicity in reality is just a tiny blip on the screen.

When you take everything into consideration, feeding your child wild caught salmon or some other fatty fish (but not fish sticks) two or three times a week and/or getting them to take good quality fish oil supplements makes good sense.

Actually, it makes good sense for the whole family.

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