Omega 3 - What Schools Need to Know

It has been known for some time that a child's nutrition can have an effect on his or her behaviour. Junk food, artificial additives and colours have been blamed for some of the attentional problems that disruptive children show in classes every day.

Recent media scrutiny has however moved away from good food in general and focused more on the befits of "Essential Fatty Acids" found in Omega 3 Fish oils.

Omega 3 Benefits for Children

Scientists have shown that not only can Omega 3 fish oils improve concentration and reduce disruptive behaviour they can also improve reading and spelling.

Improving Attention and Behaviour

Increasing numbers of children are exhibiting symptoms of ADHD, and many teachers and parents suffer with unruly, disruptive children.

In recent research, teachers rated children's ability to concentrate and saw a reduction of 18% in attention-deficit symptoms among children taking fish oil supplements. Many believe that improvements in children's attention can lead to improved performance in the classroom.¹

Recommended Omega 3 Intake for Children

The government recommended that we should all eat oily fish twice a week to ensure we get the appropriate levels of Omega 3s in our diets. However Jamie's School Dinners has shown how hard it is to get children to eat anything good for them- let alone oily fish like mackerel and salmon.

Many nutritional experts suggest purified, concentrated fish oil supplements as a good alternative (and much more palatable) source of omega 3 fatty acids. Below is a table comparing the amount of omega 3 fatty acids in various supplements as well as how much they cost.