Horizon fish oil trial

[camis8]

Is anyone planning to watch the Horizon programme tonight? Just saw in the paper that its going to show a trial with fish oil on school children. They were taking eye q which has been recommended to me by a couple of mums from my son's class. I have been told he has concentration problems and can be disruptive and my doctor has recoemmended eye q but wanted to knwo if anyone had any experience of it?

Thanks

I was planning to watch as well tonight. Ds has Eye-q, I started him off on it at 12 months (he's now 4) we gave it to him to help his dry skin as creams on the outside didn't work. It was the only oil he could have at that age. Obviously it said on the outside what it was for etc but we didn't really take any notice. It was only when I knew the name of the product it popped up alot on here and realised people where using it for concentration. I was then even happier that he was taking it as we don't eat alot of fish so not only was is skin silky smooth I knew he was getting his quota of omega oils. It will be interesting viewing, but more than likely the outcome will be, take it.

Thanks for that, my son has quite dry skin as well so maybe it would help that too. There is no way I'd get him to eat fish (apart from fish fingers and don't think they count!) so this could be the answer, will wait to see what the programme says

If you do an archive search, there is lots of info on fish oils esp eye-q and Eskimo oil.

Why not just do it? No side-effects and valuable for health anyway.

Thanks to recommendations from MNetters, I told a friend, whose son has Asperger's, about Eskimo Oil. She gave it a try, and her child is noticeably more settled and better able to concentrate after a month using the product.

Hi can you tell me how the eye q oil is taken. I currently use the fish oil supplement from Boots which is strawberry flavour and the boys have it with milk which they don't mind. I have been giving it to them for a while now and can't say the concentration levels especially of DS1 have improved. Not sure he will take anything else but would be interested in how eye q is taken as have heard good things in the past. thanks!!

You can get eyeQ in capsules or oily liquid in citrus or vanilla. We added it to fruit juice. Switched to efalex as it was supposed to have a "better" balance of the different components. Can't swear to the benefits although it made a positive difference at first but if ds doesn't have it you can tell as his behaviour becomes very erratic.

eye q oil is disgusting - managed to get mine to take it for a week with chocolate bribes - but they were starting to rebel so I tried it too and gagged so felt cruel continuing. They like the boots strawberry one.

My ds and dd take MorEPa which has twice as much epas in the capsule as EYEQ and is from deep sea fish so is very pure (no toxins etc) If he onlys eats fish fingers (which are not classed as an oily fish) you should supplement anyway as I do, cause my two do not eat (oily) fish. Dd has been taking it for 5 years for concentration and attention span, after a month her teacher commented on her improved concentration etc (we had not told her about the supplements!)

A good thread on this on MN Teenagers forum recently and asking about fish oil supplements for behaviour etc

Fimac 1 how is the Morepa taken i.e. capsule tablet or liquid and is it hard to get them to take.
thanks

Its a capsule - my two take them really easily - two a day is recommended - c&p from the web:

(I tried the liquid EYEQ and failed - cannot see the sense in giving the liquid when they can so easily take a capsule or two, the texture of the oil makes ME want to retch!!!!)

MorEPA Mini Capsules - High EPA Omega 3 Fish Oil Capsules
Combines omega-3/omega-6 with the highest available concentration of EPA.
Ideal for children and adolescents, to ensure an adequate daily intake of these essential fatty acids.

MorEPA-Mini is a natural source of highly purified and concentrated omega-3 fatty acids derived from pharmacuetical-grade fish oil. Impurities such as mercury and PCB's have been removed through advanced technological processes, including, but not limited to, molecular distillation. Protective anti-oxidants have been added to MorEPA.

A natural strawberry flavouring provides a pleasant taste. 100% of MorEPA, including the gelatine, has been manufacutred from deep-sea fish. MorEPA Hi-EPA fish oil capsules contain high levels - at least 75%- of highly purified omega-3 fatty acids. Instead of taking three to five capsules of fish oil a day, you only have to take two single capsules of MorEPA. This means you can avoid the surplus fat that you would get from consuming ordinary fish oil.

This supplement is highly recommended since Western nutrition, on average, contains insufficient levels of EPA.

Ingredients:
Hi-EPA deep-sea fish oil, softgel (fish gelatine, purified water, glycerol), mixed tocopherols, evening primrose oil, natural strawberry flavour.

Total Capsule Weight = 614mg
Fill Weight = 432mg
Energy KCal = 4 - KJ:18
Carbohydrates = 1.62mg
Protein - 101mg
Fats = 0.4g
Saturated Fat = 0g
Unsaturated Fat = 0.4g
Omega-3 Fatty Acids = 311mg

• EPA (Eicosapentaenoic Acid) = 240mg*
• DHA (Docosahexaenoic Acid) = 40mg* Evening Primrose Oil = 10mg Vitamin E (Mixed Tocopherols) = 2.5 I.U.

• Please note that the amount of EPA and DHA will vary slightly per batch, these figures are accurate for the current batch only (as I write this page) and may not be accurate for the batch that you order. These slight variations will not make any difference to your enjoyment of the product. For precise batch details please contact us.

Directions for use:
As a food supplement for children, teenagers and adolescents.

One to Two softgel capsules once per day, preferably at mealtime.

The content of the capsule can also be mixed with foods like yoghurts and desserts, salad dressings, fruit juices or fruit smoothies etc. or as directed by a healthcare practitioner

Please read manufacturer's instructions

So much information - thanks! Where do I buy them from please. If you know a website please can you let me know.

Have been into Boots today and got the eye q smooth which is a yoghurty sachet. My son has already had one and went down a treat so really pleased! Great to see all the info sent through. I asked about the high EPA supplements like the more Morepa one and was advised against as they use alcohol to manufacture and are not suitable for children. Not sure quite what this means but apparently eye q is natural oils, like freshly squeezed fish not concentrated and more easily absorbed by a child's system.

think I got a very knowledgeable pharmacist! cross fingers it works!

Did anyone watch this? I missed it as dh was watching Spooks!

Have been giving my 11 year old fish oil since she was 4-5 ,initially as a lemon flavoured oil (tried hiding it in tomato sauce ,doesn't work)and now in capsule form ,(currently using efalex) .Have not noticed particular improvements in ability (daughter bright but did sn lessons at school,brain gym, booster classes and now at secondary school springboard 7)or concentration . However I do believe in a better diet ,which this is part of.
The best bet diet ,which i try to follow encourages omega 3 and avoids hydrogenated veg oil(6)plus other things . I take it for my (benign )ms . Nothings garenteed ,but a more natural ,less refined diet has got to be good for us. I'm looking for some purslane seeds now so i can sew a bed for my chickens to graze on!

I watched Horizon and it was pretty convincing, most amazing was the little boy's handwriting also the other child who said his brain felt different after taking eye q.

have to say I was a bit confused by the omega 6 and omega 3 part, they did say that certain types of omega 6 are good for the brain (that must be the omega 6 evening primrose oil in eye q)

moyasmum, which foods do you keep out of their diet to reduce the bad omega 6?

I missed the end as was watching in bed and fell asleep [blush[. dh said it suggested an improvement in performance of 40% of the children but they didn't isolate what proportion of those might have improved during the timespan due to development anyway so still not proven. I was interested in the bit about depression but a sample of one isn't really conclusive proof.

was it a double blind trial?

Hi camis8- hydrogenated vegetable oil is in so many convenience foods nowerdays, so I dont buy shop cakes and biccies, also dont use trex et al.I use PURE(spread), butter and olive oil and i dont do ready meals.
Omega fats are in three categories 3,6 and 9. the essential fatty acids in omega 3 are EPA and DHA both found in oilyfish.
Omega 6 contains GLA which is beneficial in ms,and found in evening primrose and borage oil for instance but too much omega 6 can depress the immune function , and they said on the t.v, inhibit omega 3 uptake. so dont eat it in "empty "foods (like convenience food).
Omega 9 are monounsaturated fats found in nuts and olives and stuff ,there are fine but not as influential as the other two types.
I think i.q ,concentration, coordination et al are complicated and cant be "cured" by one dietary change. But taken with other omissions (stimulents)and inclusions(better diet , more sleep ,exercise,differently structured teaching)can only be beneficial.
My info is from Ashton Embrys Best Bet Diet

yes, it was a double blind trial - I didn't watch it dh did - I went to bed!

Thanks moyasmum,

think I've got the hang of that! I found a website earlier called Food and Mood which is linked to the Mind charity which you might find interesting - www.foodandmood.org/Pages/project.html
ds still happily taking the eye q smooth, did anyone see the news item (might have just been in the north) where a child had is eye q confiscated from his lunchbox because other children might be allergic to fish?!!!! Luckily they had an expert on who said if schools continued on this riduculous route they would have to ban tuna sandwiches!

That's just silly about the eye q confiscation as allergies are caused by proteins and there are none in fish oils except where the capsules themselves are made from fish gelatin

LIZS - there are many studies that show a very strong link between depression and low levels of DHA. I think it is extremely convicing.
Human beings evolved near water. Every settlement of earlyl man is near water. So fish would have been a huge part of the diet. We need those nutrients to grow and develop our brains, but nowadays, thanks to junk food and lack of fish in our diet, we are nearly all deficient in them. Nutritional deficiencies cause problems including neurological problems.

This is interesting about fish oils and mental health

My son has recently been diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome and has to change schools at 7. We live in Surrey, can anyone recommend a good school for children with special needs in Surrey. We are applying for a statement but are unlikely to get one.