Those fish oils my kids should be having-advice needed please!!!!!

[MilaMae]

Which is healthier and cheaper the supplements or real thing?

If it's the real thing how many portions a week?

Any advice on what I can feed them?

Any good quality BUT cheap supplements around as have 3 kids so can't afford the £30 a month I calculated I'd be spending if I got the one I saw in the health food shop?

Many thanks.

afaik, the only actual evidence for these being any good is for children with specific learning difficulties (and I'm not sure that is all that conclusive) so I wouldn't worry about it. Just eat oily fish- isn't that cheap?

check out the guidelines for oily fish on eatwell.gov.uk (Food Standards Agency). Suggest you give your children real food rather than supplements - there is little evidence of any benefits from supplements in children who do not have SN.

the real thing is better.

Thanks for that

Make sure they eat lots of oily fish and nuts and seeds, and buy some extra virgin rapeseed oil to use in all your cooking. You don't need extra supplements if you have a balanced diet that includes natural sources of omega 3, 6 and 9.

Oh, definitely the real thing - can be very cheap, and is very nutritious in lots of ways.

Agree with madlentileater that there isn't really any conclusive evidence that supplements will help the general population.

Which? magazine did a feature where they concluded it was better to have two portions oily fish a week than spend loads on supplements. They tested quite a few supplements and were unconvinced they provided the right amount of omega3 oils in any case. The Holland&Barrett one came out quite well though and if you are going to buy supplements they often have promotions so they aren't too expensive.

But I think my boys would rather eat fish than swallow those capsules every day

Don't worry about omega 6 and 9 - the British population tend to be short of 3, not the others. And the important thing is the balance between the different types - too much 6 will mean you don't get enough 3.

The easiest thing to do is just feed them oily fish twice a week rather than worry about 3, 6 and 9! Btw, Birds Eye fishfingers are now made with Alaskan Pollock which they claim count as oily fish, so that's an easy way to get one portion. I also do tinned mackerel in tomato sauce with pasta for ds. (Canned tuna doesn't count as canning reduces the omega 3 but that doesn't seem to apply to mackerel.)

Look at Ben Goldacre's bad science columns every week in Saturday's Guardian: both funny and informative... and will stop you wasting your money unless your children have specific dietary needs that cannot be met by a normal diet

Most supplements are a waste of time, tbh - you can't guarantee what is in the tablets, whether it's in a form that will be absorbed by your body and even if it is, it might not be at all useful. All the research shows it is a healthy diet that makes the difference EXCEPT for some specific supplements such as folic acid for ttc/early pregnancy.

What about fish hating families though?

Have currently given up on supplements for the dses as their diet is now generally good (they've got less fussy over the last 6 months), EXCEPT for fish - we all hate it. Only fish that gets eaten is cod (usually battered ), fishfingers or a very occasional bit of tinned tuna (which doesn't count as oily fish).

Tried to cook salmon the other day and I could just about tolerate eating it, but wasn't enjoyable - the rest of the family loathed it. So the incentive is small

Walnuts are also really good sources of Omega 3, as are linseed/flax oil. The Vegetarian Society recommends 1 tsp of flax seed oil a day to give you the right amount of Omega 3 without also giving you too much Omega 6.

Leafy green veg also helps top up Omega 3 levels.

From what I have studied regarding omega 3 oils etc, humans can get all the essential fatty acids they need from green leafy veg!! The problem is that most people have far too many saturated fats and omega 6 in their diet, which the body absorbs/uses before it does anything with the omega 3 oils. Cutting down on saturated fats and bumping up green veg will help. This is why, despite all the advice telling us to eat lots of oily fish, vegans don't tend to have any shortage of essential fatty acids. Flax oil instead of olive oil can help too.

So if you like oily fish, eat it a couple of times a week to boost omega 3 intake, but there's nothing really to worry about it if you aren't eating fish - unless you're eating loads of bacon, sausages, chips and cheese instead.

Also agree that the Ben Goldacre columns are worth reading.

Omega 3 in oily fish is more easily absorbed by the body though, which is why it's the first line recommendation. You have to make an effort to get enough omega 3 from other sources - it is possible but you need to do your research and make real changes to your diet.

btw, I'm veggie - feed ds oily fish but rely on flax seed oil etc. etc. for myself. Although the thing about veggie sources of omega 3 is you just don't know how good or bad your body is at turning it into what you need. With oily fish, you definitely know it can be used by your body.

Never knew that pollack was oily fish.

Me neither. Think I checked it on the FSA website when I saw the claim.

I'm pretty sure that the fish oil supplement thing has been debunked scientifically

But eating the real thing - oily fish- is good. Spend your £30 on that

When I saw they type of fish in the them the other day I almost had a go at dh for getting duff ones.

Think they had to switch anyway as cod is practically an endangered species these days.

had mine on eye q for 18 months solid, didnt kntice any difference i'm afraid.

That's great advice,they like smoked mackerel and we've been getting those fishfingers so job done!!!!!!!!

Can you cook with flaxseed oil? I didn't think it could be heated. What other sources of Omega 3 are there one of my dc doesn't do green or leafy