Omega-3 oils and your child's behavior and learning

12/12/2005 - Supplements of omega-3 and omega-6 oils can improve the behavior of disorderly kids and help language skills, researchers from England have found.

During five months, 65 children with behavioral problems were given a daily supplement of omega-3 fish oil in combination with evening primrose oil (omega-6). The children had a seven month delay in language skill development.

"Children taking the supplement made an average seven month improvement in receptive language ability, and a nearly nine month improvement in expressive language ability. The matched control group made an expected gain of five months," said Dr Madeleine Portwood, lead researcher and senior educational psychologist for Durham Council.

The progress in behavior due to the supplement also appeared to have a positive effect on the parent-child relationship.

"What was most surprising was the increased engagement with the parents. At the start of the study 47 per cent of the parents rated their child's behavior as poor or very poor. At the end of the study the figure was four per cent," Dr Portwood told NutraIngredients.com.

"It appeared that the improvement in the child-parent bond in these crucial early years, played the most fundamental role in facilitating the remarkable changes we have seen in the development of the children's language skills," she concluded.

The supplement, provided by Equazen Nutraceuticals, was derived from high-EPA marine fish oil and virgin evening primrose oil (GLA). The eyeq smooth formulation contained 475 mg EPA, 151 mg DHA, 54mg GLA, and 3.2 mg vitamin E, delivered in a tropical fruit-flavored emulsion.

The mechanism behind the supplement's effect seems to be specific to the type of omega oil. Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) is proposed to function by increasing blood flow in the body. It is also suggested to affect hormones and the immune system, both of which have a direct effect on brain function. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), on the other hand, is involved in the membrane of ion channels in the brain, making it easier for them to change shape and transit electrical signals.

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