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Omega 3 & kids: why it's necessary for their development!

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On Feb. 25, 2024
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The smell of freshly prepared fish fills the kitchen and you feel pride that you made a healthy meal today. You scoop some vegetables, potatoes and a piece of salmon onto your child's plate. A distrustful look follows with some poking at the piece of fish. "Go ahead," you encourage. A hesitant mini bite is followed by a dirty face. "Bah, this is really not tasty!" exclaims your child and shoves the plate away from him. How will your child ever get those good nutrients?

You probably know that struggle at the table. You want your child to eat his vegetables, fruits, meat and fish, but your child is currently eating only some bites of applesauce and pancakes. Now there are several nutrients very important for your child, such as omega 3. 

What is omega 3 again?

Omega-3 fatty acids, essential for our bodies, have several forms, including:

  • Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA)
  • Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA).
  • Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)

EPA and DHA, best known as fish fatty acids and present in fish and seafood, unlike these, you will find ALA - a plant-based omega-3 fatty acid - in foods such as flaxseed, chia seeds, walnuts and soybean oil.

ALA is also an important fatty acid that our bodies cannot make themselves. Therefore, we must ingest it with food. Although ALA can be converted to EPA and then to DHA in our bodies, this only happens in very small amounts. About 0.2 to 8% of ALA is converted into EPA and 0 to 4% into DHA. Therefore, it is important to get enough EPA and DHA directly from food.

Is omega 3 also good for my child?

Omega 3, like for you, is also important for your child. Can you remember the moments of your pregnancy? From the very beginning to that increasingly bulging belly. From that very beginning and even before that, omega 3 is super important. Here's why:

  • DHA (ingested by the mother) is an important building block for the brain of the fetus and of breastfed infants.
  • DHA supports the development of vision of infants up to 12 months of age.

Now you may already have a child(ren) who is already a little bigger. But even after birth and the time of possible breastfeeding, omega 3 remains essential.

This is what happens in the brain after birth

In the first few years after birth, your child's brain experiences remarkable growth. By the second year, the brain is about 80 percent the size of an adult brain. 

Imagine the brain as a construction site. During this construction period, brain cells move around, make connections with each other and are covered with a kind of protective layer, similar to a jacket. This allows the cells to better exchange messages with each other and lays the groundwork for how well you can think, how you feel about yourself and how you interact with others.

DHA is good for the brain

So your child's brain does not grow as fast after a while. Still, things like learning, feeling and interacting with others continue as they continue to grow up. And through all these developments, omega 3 is very important.(1) Did you know that about 60% of our brain is made up of fat? And of that fat, about 25% is the omega-3 fatty acid DHA? DHA is good for the brain, as it is an important building block for the brain. Did you know that the brain is only fully developed between the 20e and 25e year? In addition, it helps keep your vision sharp. Also not unimportant! So you want your child to get enough omega-3 fatty acids. If this doesn't work with food, fortunately there are other solutions.

The role of omega-3 gummies: a fun way to grow up!

Gummies are popular because of their taste and convenience. But, they often have drawbacks, unfortunately. Think high sugar and calories, sticking to your teeth and the inside of the jar. We also know that omega 3 gummies often contain very little omega 3. That's not what you want for your child. So what then?

Arctic Blue fish oil: Omega-3 Gummies

We make our gummies in a special way that makes omega-3 fish oil the main ingredient, not sugar or excipients. Each gummy contains 250 mg of DHA and 70 mg of EPA, five times more is than other omega-3 gummies. This is equivalent to the omega-3 fish fatty acids from one piece of herring. 

The Arctic Blue gummy contains hardly any calories due to the use of xylitol. Xylitol is a difficult name for the sugar substitute from the Finnish birch tree that is not bad for teeth. This also makes the gummy suitable for diabetics.

Why Arctic Blue is the best choice!

  • Sustainably sourced with label

For true sustainability, it is important that we do not put our fingers on the meal of marine animals and do not harm the oceans, the environment and local people. Therefore, a better way is to use fillet-cut offal for fish oil after the fish has already been eaten by humans.

  • Clean fish oil 

Many fish for making fish oil are caught on the other side of the world, in the plastic soup in the Pacific Ocean between Asia and South America. In contrast, the Barents Sea between Nova Zembla, Spitsbergen and northern Norway is one of the cleanest waters in the world where mainly wild cod swim. Yet almost all fish in the world contain some pollution. That is why it is important to test and purify for heavy metals, PCBs and dioxins. 

  • Freshness

The freshness of an oil is also called its oxidation value. You can smell and taste a high oxidation value. A fresh oil will never "boom" with a fish smell. The freshness of fish oil can be accurately measured in a laboratory, expressed as oxidation value or Totox value, which stands for Total Oxidation Value. The lower this value, the better.

Omega-3 fatty acids are susceptible to post-production damage from exposure to air and light. Therefore, for low Totox levels, the supplementation of antioxidants such as tocopherol-rich extract, rosemary extract and ascorbyl palmitate (fat-soluble vitamin C) is necessary.

  • Natural form: triglycerides!

We know of two types:

  • Ethyl esters are unstable fats with several disadvantages such as reduced absorption, greater risk of oxidation and possibly a somewhat foul aftertaste. These are especially cheap.
  • The triglyceride form is the natural form as fats also occur in fish. This form is easily absorbed by your body and the most stable. So if quality is your priority, this is a good choice.

In conclusion

So Omega 3 is very important for the whole family. But don't worry if your child refuses certain foods for a while. Children sometimes still need to learn to eat the flavors and textures. Therefore, be a little creative with meals from time to time. Not working out? Fortunately, there are other options such as omega-3 gummies. This way your child still gets all the nutrients they need. Enjoy a little more peace and quiet at the table!

Sources:

  1. Borasio, F., De Cosmi, V., D'Oria, V., Scaglioni, S., Syren, M. L. E., Turolo, S., ... & Lorusso, M. L. (2023). Associations between Dietary Intake, Blood Levels of Omega-3 and Omega-6 Fatty Acids and Reading Abilities in Children. Biomolecules, 13(2), 368.