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3
THE CLEVERNESS CAPSULE
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THE CLEVERNESS CAPSULE; The Mail asked a class of seven-year-olds to take fish oil capsules (said to improve brain power) for three months. The results? Reading ages improved by up to THREE years. And the children became calmer, cleverer, better behaved and best of all happier . . . Good Health.
The Daily Mail (London, England)
The Daily Mail (London, England); 5/10/2005
Byline: TANIA ALEXANDER
JAMIE OLIVER may be responsible for revolutionising school dinners, but now it seems one simple change to children’s diet could not only boost their brain power but also make them better behaved. Last week, a major new study found that a daily dose of fish oil supplements had a dramatic effect on the abilities of underachieving children in Durham Now in an exclusive Daily Mail study, conducted in conjunction with eminent specialists, fish oil supplements have been found to have a dramatic, and at times almost immediate, effect - even on children who have not been diagnosed with learning or behavioural problems.
Children on both trials were given similar doses of a fish oil supplement called Eye Q, containing Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids.
The main difference was that in the Mail’s study, the supplement (available as capsules or a fruit-flavoured solution) was offered to pupils regardless of whether they exhibited behavioural or learning difficulties.
The results, according to parents and Dr Madeleine Portwood, a Senior Educational Psychologist at Durham LEA and principle investigator of both trials, were impressive.
At the start of the experiment Dr Portwood’s tests revealed that the Mail’s children - seven and eight-year-old pupils from Little Heath Primary School in Potters Bar, Herts - already had an average reading age nine months above their actual age.
But after just three months on the fish oils, they were reading at 18 months above their age.
‘In particular, three pupils had improved their reading age by two years, and one by three years,’ she said.
In addition, more than half showed a 10 per cent improvement in memory, while eight pupils improved by 20 per cent and one by 30 per cent.
Among the parents, about 35 per cent say their children showed significant improvements in reading, concentration, focus or behaviour. Many also reported that the children were much ‘calmer’, more ‘confident’ and ‘grown up’.
Marina Breeze, headteacher at Little Heath, says some of the improvement in reading age could be put down to the intensive reading practice children do in the spring term.
But she adds: ‘The fact that the children have inreased their reading age by a year in just three months is more than we would have expected, so there must be something in these supplements that helps.’ The improvements, says Dr Portwood, demonstrate that fish oils - or essential fatty acids - can make a huge difference to children’s performance regardless of current ability.
‘The results from the Daily Mail trial are particularly exciting as they show significant changes in children who were not identified as having specific problems and so suggest that dietary supplementation can help children of all abilities,’ she says.
In contrast, the Durham Schools Trial, conducted by the local education authority and Oxford University, tested 110 children aged six to 12, who were selected from schools in County Durham on the basis of co-ordination problems ( dyspraxia).
Many also had accompanying conditions such as ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) and dyslexia.
Results at the end of the double-blind placebo-controlled trial were just as impressive as the Daily Mail’s study.
They revealed that 40 per cent of the children who took the fish oil supplements for a minimum of three months showed a significant improvement in reading and spelling skills.
Some increased their reading age by as much as four years after just six months.
THEY also showed significant improvement in short-term memory and behavioural skills such as following teachers’ instructions, staying on task and working well with their peers.
Those suffering from ADHD showed improvement in symptoms similar to that seen after treatment with the controversial drug Ritalin.
‘Children who had specific difficulties in the classroom have seen a tremendous increase in performance,’ says Andrew Westerman, former head of Timothy Hackworth Primary School, Shildon, County Durham, one of the schools participating in the trial.
‘They concentrate more, read better, make connections - in some cases, it’s as if the light has been switched on. Best of all, their self-esteem has rocketed as they have begun to realise their potential.’ The results have shown that boys in particular can benefit from fish oil supplements.
Those tested consistently made greater improvements in shortterm memory than girls and showed a reduction in ADHD
symptoms. This is possibly because they are more susceptible than girls to a deficiency of the essential fatty acids found in fish oils.
‘Boys who had previously been very disruptive in class were able to concentrate for longer without being distracted, which obviously helps them and everyone else around them learn,’ says Dr Portwood.
Fish oils are believed to boost children’s brain power because they are high in the essential Omega 3 fatty acids called EPA and DHA, and contain some Omega 6 fatty acids - most notably GLA - all of which help brain function and memory.
‘The most important family of fatty acids for brain power is Omega 3, which makes the brain thinks faster,’ says nutritionist Patrick Holford, Director of the Brain Bio Centre in London. ‘Learning, reading and writing can all be improved through an increase of Omega 3.
It also affects the speed and efficiency at which the eye works.’
Essential fats are vital for mental functioning because they speed up the rate at which messages are sent around the brain.
Each of the brain’s billions of cells is surrounded by a membrane called a myeline sheath, which consists mainly of fats, including essential fatty acids. In order for electrical signals to carry messages to and from nerve cells, they need to pass through the membrane speedily and efficiently.
When something affects the functioning of the membrane, such as low levels of fatty acids, it can slow down the speed at which signals can pass through the brain. This in turn can cause problems such as reduced efficiency at processing information, so tasks take longer and following instructions is harder.
Unfortunately, the body cannot make Omega 3 or Omega 6, so they must be gained through diet. But modern food preferences and cooking processes have reduced the amount we consume.
‘The average person today eats only a sixth of the Omega 3 fats found in the diet of people living in 1850,’ says Patrick Holford. ‘This is partly due to food choices - the best source of Omega 3 is oily fish which is not something that commonly appeals to children today - but mainly to modern food processing, which purposefully takes the essential fatty acids out of foods in order to give them a longer shelf life.’ Omega 3 can also be found in seeds such as pumpkin and flax, and in walnuts, but in much smaller quantities than in oily fish.
Deficiency of Omega 6 is less common as it is found in more foods - in most seeds and nuts, but also salad oils and olive oil.
Dr Portwood says: ‘It is clear that fish oil supplements can help children’s performance.
I now strongly recommend all parents try to include more essential fatty acids in their children’s diet.’ * Eye Q is priced from [pounds sterling]7.99 and is available from Boots or tel: 0870 241 562.
How to boost your child’s Omega levels
PATRICK HOLFORD, Director of theBrain Bio Centre in London(www.brainbiocentre.com), says you canincrease levels of essential fatty acids through supplements and diet.
* If choosing supplements, check the levelof the Omega 3 fatty acids called DHA andEPA, and the level of Omega 6 fatty acid GLA. Dosage can vary between brands.
* A school-age child can take almost thesame dose as an adult - 300-400mg of bothDHA and EPA per day, and 100mg of GLA.
Follow the advice on the pack.
* Cod liver oil, the most famous fish oil, contains only Omega 3 fatty acids,so it may be simpler to try a combined supplement.
To increase essential fatty acids through diet, Patrick Holford says: 1. A child should eat about 200g of oily fish every week.
2 Eggs are also a good source. A sixyearold child should eat about four eggs per week, a ten year-old could eat five. If possible, in addition to the fish.
3 For snacks, give your child pumpkin seeds - naturally high in Omega 3 and Omega 6.
4 Add a heaped tablespoon of freshlyground pumpkin seeds and linseeds to your child’s cereal.
5. Avoid hydrogenated fat which prevents the body making best use of essential fats.
7. Check your child’s skin. If it is dry, this could be a sign of deficiency.
8. It would be very hard to overdose on fish oils. An Eskimo consumes the equivalent of about ten capsules of Eye Q per day. The only thing that may happen is that your skin would become oily.
DO ADULTS NEED FISH OILS?
THE adult brain still needs the essential fattyacid EPA for sending brain signals efficiently, while DHA helps build the brain and make new connections.
6. Don’t fry foods.
Alice Airey
ALICE AIREY, eight, took fish oils for three months as part of the Daily Mail trial. She lives in Potters Bar with her mother, Carolyn, 42, a school assistant, her father, Michael, 50, a property developer, and sisters Elizabeth, nine, and Catherine, 11. Carolyn says:
ALICE has always been an easygoing, loving, bright, happy child who did well at school. My only worry was that she was never a big reader.
She’d do her reading homework out of a sense of duty rather than enjoyment.
I’d read an article about how fish oils could help children’s learning skills, so I thought it would be worth trying.
But even I was astounded at how quickly I saw changes. From Day Two of taking the oils, she suddenly started reading far more. All of a sudden, she wouldn’t get out of the bath until she had finished a 60-page book. She has also started reading on her own in bed. The best change is that I no longer have to nag her to do her reading homework.
This change of attitude has overlapped in other areas. She plays the viola and now happily takes herself off to practise without being asked. This week she had finished her homework by Tuesday, even though it did not need to be handed in until Friday. In the past she has had to work hard at her spellings. Now it is not such a chore and she has been coming home from school with all of them correct. She’s become a model pupil, always listening and never messing around.
I’ve been so impressed with the oils that I’ve put her nine-year old sister Elizabeth on them too - and again, I’ve noticed huge changes.
Elizabeth has become far more responsible and loves getting on with work.
She is also far easier to deal with and more grownup. My next goal is to get my oldest daughter Catherine, 11, on them.
Harry Maddocks
HARRY MADDOCKS, seven, took part in the Daily Mail trial at Little Heath primary school. He lives with his mother, Alex, 36, a housewife, his father, and four year old brother Joe. Alex says:
HARRY is noticeably different since he first starting taking the fish oils three months ago. I’ve been amazed how his reading and spelling have come on.
He used to find spelling quite challenging and often lacked the motivation to try. Now he is reading books faster than we can buy them!
Last month I bought him six books, all of which he has read avidly. It almost sounds almost too good to be true.
He also wants to do his homework now.
Previously I used to have a half-hour battle trying to get him to start, during which he would get really cross and use every excuse under the sun to avoid doing it.
Now he says he wants to get his homework done as soon as he gets home from school because then he has the rest of the day to play. He actually does it with zest!
His whole attitude to learning has turned around, which has obviously taken pressure off me as a parent.
I’m glad to see that he is much more confident and happier in himself. He seems less moody and more settled.
Even other parents have said what an exceptionally happy boy he’s become.
Another benefit is that he needs less sleep. He often used to snooze on the sofa when he came home from school.
But now he never sleeps in the day. It also used to be a struggle to get him up at 7.40am to go to school.
Now he is wide awake and ready to start the day. It’s made a real difference to his energy levels.
Benjamin Mann
BENJAMIN MANN, seven, was also part of the Daily Mail trial. He lives with his mother, Paula, 35, a housewife, his father and three yearold sister Sophie. Paula says:
I CAN’T get over the difference the fish oils have made to Benjamin.
They seem to have affected his whole personality. When my parents-in-law visited us about six weeks ago, half way through the fish oil trials, I wondered if they’d notice any difference in him - and they did almost immediately. They wanted to know what we’d done because he seemed like a different child - far more grownup.
Benjamin was born two months premature and we were told it would take time for him to catch up.
That’s part of the reason we were keen for him to take part in the trial.
My husband and I noticed a change after about three weeks. There was a striking difference to his concentration levels and manual skills, and this had a knock-on effect on his confidence. For example, only three months ago he would never ride a bike or climb trees. Now we can’t get him off his bike and he is always asking to play outside.
He has also improved with his work at school.
We used to worry about his reading. Now he reads to his three-year-old sister and rattles through a book on his own. Teachers used to tell us that his mind wandered, but there has been a huge improvement. We are delighted.
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