fish oil for behaviour problems

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does anyone know if this is helpful? Can't remember where I heard it.

can i lurk here pls??!!

i read that it can improve concentration, can't remember where though..was it on MN? do a thread search, i'm sure something will come up

Yes.
Mine has taken fish oil since the age of 3. Massive difference, I am not stopping now.

Yep

DS2 started on it to help with his ASD - it helped his speech and behaviour.
DS1 then had a go too( he is nt but was so impressed with how DS2 got on that he wanted to try them as well) and he still takes them perodically. He started taking them every day in the three months up to his GCSEs as he swears he can feel the difference in terms of concentration in particular.

They can have great results. depends on the child I think

also does anyone know if they may cause problems for excema, dd1has severe excema, and ceoliacs and behaves in a way that I am told is very typical of a child with allergies, always fidgety, no patience, short temper (amazing tantrums for a 6yo) and never still. she doesn't seem to have concentration problems as such though.

Can make a big difference but isn't the only thing to look at. Can I recommend to you the book "they are what you feed them" by Alex Richardson, the lead researcher into fish oils and behavioural/learning issues. Very accessible book. I am not her, btw - but I know her and have heard her lecture several times. Very clever, she is.

There are other nutritional aspects that can help - iron and zinc deficiency can both cause behavioural issues, as well as certain fatty acids.

There was a study done on supplementing inmates in a juvenile detention centre and seeing how it affected levels of violence - they were reduced substantially by taking the supplements - will go and find it now.

Those whose DC's do take fish oils, may I ask you get them down them?

as omegas tend to be beneficial for excema they are far more likely to help than hinder.

DS1 has excema, gluten and casein intolerance and autism as well as OCD and anxiety.
They help all of these symptoms enormously.
But buy the best brand you can. If you buy cheap shit witrh flavourings and colourings they can cause reactions.
I tend to use Nordic naturals or Eye-Q in juice

Ok having trouble finding the actual research paper but here is the report and the new studies that are building on the original research.

Fish oils should not affect coeliacs and it is also unlikely that they will adversely affect eczema, although no one can say for sure that it won't.

ABitTipsy - what have you tried? Common "tricks" are to open the capsules and mix them into smoothies or into mash potato; you could try the Equazen liquid oil that is already mixed with juice, either citrus or tropical. I prefer the PharmaNord product as it has least "taste reflux", iykwim.

X-post pag!

I have been trying various childrens omega 3s with dd1, and so far I haven't found any that she will take (chewy ones, liquids even disguised in other things - she seems to know there in there).

If you use the capsules and squeeze the oil into stuff, which ones are the best to use.

If anyone one would like to do a swapping system, please cat me, because I would be happy to send on the ones that we have tried but failed with ( atm we have Haribo liquid, EyeQ liquid and Bassetts chews ) - they are all so blooming expensive.

Oh and I can't get her to eat oily fish either!

HJ - try the Pharmanord ones. Pharmanord are in H&B but they might have to order the Pharmanord fish oils in for you, they don't always stock them. They have the lowest "fishy" taste and lowest "fishy reflux" of any I've tried.

can't see that they make much difference to ds1(6). but he loves them and asks for them all the time.

thumbwitch thanks will try those.

hazeyjane, yes they are bloomin' expensive aren't they, especially when they end up in the bin.

hi, this is an interesting thread, my ds just loves smoked salmon, is this just as effective as the capsules etc?

The 'fish oil trials' have made a lot of appearances in the Guardian's Bad Science column. You could find it on the Guardian's website, I guess.

smoked salmon is possibly not the best way to get the fatty acids into your DS passmyglass, as smoking any food adds in extra contaminants, some of which are potentially carcinogenic - but it is still a souirce of omega 3 fatty acids. Just better not to be the main/only one.

I give DD2 Eskimo Kids - it tastes of bubble gun but is oily and fishy, but she likes it
I was advised to give her fish oils to help with behaviour (she has asd).

My view is that it definitely does not make kids more clever, but can help kids with asd with moodswings (I've read the Bad Science articles)

bubblegum even

Merrymonsters, the bad science article was about particular trials to do with intelligence.

Fish oils and Vit B complex have both been shown to be beneficial with mood and behavioural issues.

My 4 y.o. has been getting Eskimo kids fish oil for 2.5 years now. he loves it. Bubblegum flavour they are just yummy. I get mine either on victoriahealth.com or in Sweden. they re Swedish vitamins by the way.

I have been giving my son omega 3 now for about 4 months now. TBH I have not noticed any change.

I give both my girls fish oils in a little shot glass mixed with fruit juice. I call it princess juice and they love it, they ask for it in the morning if I forget now.

You need to be sure you get a good quality fish oil due to the polluted seas. I buy Eskimo tutti frutti flavour pure and and great taste as fish oils can be. Think you can buy from nutri centre.

Definitely helped with my little ones tendency to constipation.

Here's some info on fish oils and benefits for children
wp.me/pS00T-I

If you want it for behavioural problems try to find one that doesn't have any colours or flavours that might affect your dc's behaviour, if they are sensitive to that.

My DS (5) with ASD and dyspraxia has been on fish oils for 2 years-we take eskimo oil (additive free). Dont think fish oils make children cleverer but Durham trial (Alex Richardsons)bdid show a benefit for children with issues. EPA to DHA ratio thought to be important so we take higher EPA ratio ones. DS became more hyper with oil containing omega 6 so we now only have omega 3s-big change in ability to concentrate which was atrocious before-speech also improved (verbal dyspraxia). he used to have eczema but whether coincidence or not but lovely skin now!! Hair also very glossy and grows incredibly fast!! I also give DS a multi vit with extra zinc and magnesium which also decrease adhd behaviour.

Agree that from scientific point of view may not hold much water but hey worked for us!!

HTH