Fish oils......advice and info please

[nutcracker]

A woman i know from the school gates has suggested i give my Dd2 fish oils as she said it would help her behaviour probs.

I have read bits and bobs on here about them but don't really know what they are and if i should be giving them too her.

Any advice greatly recieved

I've started giving the EyeQ oils to DS1 (5) and 2 (3). We're 3 weeks into the 12 week initiation bit where you have to give them 3 teaspoonsfull a day. After that it's 1 a day. Not sure (a) when I should notice a difference or (b) what that difference should be but I'll keep on with it.

I put it on their cereal in the morning as the oil is vanilla flavoured.

Hi Soupdragon
Are Eyeq oils available on the high st - ie in Boots or are they mail order?
Thnaks

You can get them from Boots - they were even on 3 for 3 a couple of weeks ago. (at £9.99 for a bottle, it was well worth stocking up!!)

3 for 2!

Not 3 for 3,

They still are 3 for 2 on Boots.com

cheers soupdragon - I'll stock up tomorrow when go shopping.
was a bit flumoxed trying to work out what the offer was on 3 for 3!!!

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DSs have never noticed the vanilla one on their cereal even though it's separated out when they get to the milk at the end . I'm not sure I'd try to give it to them unhidden though (and I'm not sure I could bring myself to taste it either!).

robinw I know you know about this - how do supplements compare with just eating these things in the diet? What and how much would a child need to eat?
I also wondered about the origin of these supplements given issue of contamination of fish...

most brands of fish oil are make from farmed fish, so the risk of contamination is quite high IMO. Eskimo oil is a brand which uses fish from the unpolluted artic seas and in my opinion the best fish oil you can get (everyone in my house uses it.) not sure if eyeQ if farmed fish or not. Eskimo is available in capsules, liquid(lemon flavour) and kids (tutti frutti flavour and contains mixture of omega 3,6 and 9).
It has no artifical additives, no bad taste and never repeats!
you only need to give a small amount each day (adult dose is 5ml). EyeQ seems to be large dose, so must work out quite expensive.
there have been quite a few threads on this before, under behaviour, i think. i'll look for one later.
supplements are a good idea unless you eat a variety of oily fish, seeds and nuts everyday.

elliot, I have been wondering this myself as my kids are very good fish eaters and I was thinking of trying some fish oil supplement as both kids have eczema. Anyway, after a search I found a university paper on how much omega 3 is contained in oily fish. There are other sites that quote the amount in salmon but in this article its contained quite nicely in a table.

According to this, as long as they 2 potions of oily fish a week, they are probably getting enough of the omegas not to worry (unless supplementing for other purposes i.e. autism etc.). The dose of things like omega 6 and 9 which are contained in the supplements aren't mentioned.

Hope this helps as its cleared things up a tiny bit for me!

oils naturally occuring in fish

oh and I think the government advice is to eat 2 potions of fish a week

another thread on fish oils

I think the amount in the diet if eating fish is OK for general health...but should probably take some supplements as well if for specific reason such as ezcema/dyslexia/add/adhd etc.

Gloworm - where can you buy Eskimo oils from?

debstar, you can get eskimo oil from any good health shop (H&B probably wont do it, they always seem to sell the poorer quality supplement IMO)

you may be able to get it online i'll check later.

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robin - I have a fantastic list somewhere of the omega 3 fats in other foods (vegetables etc). I'll have a look for you.

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I can't find it and have to go out but also egg yolks are a very good source of omega 3 but they have to be completely free range chickens who have produced them because it is what they eat that makes the omega 3 in the yolk (in fact the same goes for normal meat - those that have been allowed to feed 'wild' - like game, have a far higher content of omega 3 in their meat than traditional animals like cows/pigs whose diet is determined by the farmer for commercial reasons).

Flax seed oil (its the alpha linolenic acid in it which is part of the omega 3 group) is very good but you can get it in dried format and sprinkle it on her food if you like (thus avoiding having to take an oil!).

Walnuts are excellent but not as full of omega 3 as flaxseed.

thks Robinw - just ordered, unfortunately think now temporarily out of stock but they 're getting more on Mon - seem v efficient

ds age 9 has just been diagnosed with dyspraxia so which type of oils should we try?

this site has some good info on Eskimo kids

Eskimo kis

robin...its screened for mecury and others.

gloworm or robinw - do you know if is there a suitable brand for breastfeeding mummies too?

i used the eskimo capsules whole way through pg and bf. the liquid is better though (the regular liquid not the kids one)