Omega-3 fatty acids have become popular over the past few years as awareness of their health benefits in reducing the risk of heart disease has increased. However, these essential acids also play a crucial role in brain function as well as normal growth and development.

Follow up:

Omega-3 and Omega-6 Fatty Acids are long-chain, polysaturated fats which are vital to many key processes within our bodies. Hence, they are regarded as essential for our physical well-being. Fish is the main source of omega-3 fatty acids, but they can also be obtained from other seafood including algae and krill, some plants, and nut oils. We get omega-6 fatty acid from foods such as flaxseed (oil, seeds, meal,) hempseed, grapeseed oil, pumpkin seeds, pine nuts, pistachio nuts, sunflower seeds (raw,) olives, olive oil, evening primrose oil and borage oil. Refined and hydrogenated versions of these Omega-6 essential oils should be avoided. Others to avoid include corn, safflower, sunflower, soybean and cottonseed oils.

Our bodies are capable of making these essential fats assuming our diet is high in green leafy vegetables, flax, flaxseed oil, canola oil, walnuts and Brazil nuts which all contain Alpha-Linolenic Acid (ALA). ALA is converted by our bodies into Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) which is converted into Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA.) Unfortunately, this process is ineffective and easily affected by processed sugar, vegetable oils, and alcohol.

Our brains are composed of over 60% fat and the neural synapses are composed entirely of DHA. DHA is critical for brain function and learning. During the learning process, the brain forms new neural pathways A child who is not eating a diet with foods high in ALA will not have the ability to form DHA needed by the brain. When this child is actively involved in the learning process, the brain will have to use other fats available in the body. These wrong fats lead the child’s neural network to develop slowly become defective and is ultimately inefficient for learning. DHA defienciencies have been associated with dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADD/ADHD, Pervasive Developmental Disorder, memory problems, allergies, eczema, depression, heart disease, inflammatory diseases, cancer, and much more.

Research has shown that giving children supplemental essential fatty acids, specifically fish oils with daily DHA intake of around 500 mg, Night Primrose Oil, Flaxseed Oil and Vitamin E oil will greatly improve symptoms associate with essential fatty acid deficiencies and improve learning disabilities.