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EFA (Essential Fatty Acids) Tips

You may wonder:

How do I get my child to take fish oil?!

What if my child is allergic to fish?

Can I give fish oil to my baby?

Coromega and other pure Omega 3 formula's like it and ProEFA and other Omega 3 and Omega 6 formula's like it are not the same things even though they could all be good quality fish supplements. Coromega, Cod Liver Oil and DHA Jr., etc are only Omega 3 from fish oil (DHA and EPA) supplements vs ProEFA or Efalex which are Omega 3 from fish oil (DHA and EPA) and Omega 6 from Borage Seed Oil or Primrose Oil, etc. (GLA) supplements. If you get the oil from the liver-such as in cod liver oil-then it will naturally contain Vitamin A. Some doctors and parents like Omega formulas with the Vitamin A, and some don't, so keep this in mind.

As far as taste, it depends: some like one and not the others. Some hate them all and parents give them to their kids anyway.

For those who want or need an EFA supplement without fish oil (if the child is allergic to fish for example) you could try Flax seed oil. However please note what Dr. Katz says about Flax seed oil:

"Flax seed oil or freshly ground flax seeds are an excellent source of the essential omega-3 alpha-linolenic acid (ALA or LNA) which is the quintessential parent member of the omega-3 family of essential fatty acids (EFAs). The body transforms it into EPA and the EPA into DHA.

This transformation is very inefficient (the yield is about 10%) and is further inhibited by over consumption of omega-6 fatty acids from most vegetable oils or certain disease states. Therefore, it is advisable to independently consume also ready made EPA and DHA from good quality fish of from high quality fish oil supplements." (Robert Katz, Ph.D.)

My 5 year old apraxic son is a trooper and takes the ProEFA from a spoon every day. I hold his nose for him, but he doesn't mind the taste. We started the holding the nose thing when he used to take another brand which was very fishy smelling and tasting, and it's our ritual now.

I rip only half of the protective waxy seal off the top of the ProEFA bottle, and put a pin in the part that is left. When it's time to give hom his ProEFA, I open the top of the bottle, pull out the pin, put a hole in the capsule, put back the pin, and squeeze the oil onto a spoon.

Here is some information that is very interesting concerning younger siblings of older children with speech delays/disorders. You may want to join the Cherab Foundation grouplist for some of the actual stories of those who have seen results within a week of supplementing their babies. It really is amazing - it appears to be working! (and as you know the FDA just approved EFAs for baby formula-so maybe in the future, less apraxic children?!)

From: "Robert Katz, Ph.D."
Date: Thu Nov 22, 2001 11:24 am
Subject: Re: nervous about 2nd child

Dear Kathie and Eileen,

The question is: can EFAs be supplemented to younger children so that verbal apraxia/dyspraxia can be prevented?

The simple theoretical answer to this is "yes". Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the addition of 100 mg/day of DHA (Docosahexaenoic, an omega-3 EFA) and 100 mg/day of ARA (arachidonic acid, an omega-6 EFA) that is produced from GLA to infant formula. The purpose is to make infant formulas more like breast milk. So, giving the content of one ProEFA to an eight months old would provide about the same amount of DHA and half the ARA. Since some of the linoleic acid from the borage oil will be transformed by body into ARA, the total ARA will be close to the 100 mg/day dose. The 140 mg of EPA will be welcomed by the body.

Recommendation: Since these are over the counter nutritional supplements the decision as to undertake this preventive pathway or not is ultimately yours. Nevertheless, please contact your pediatrician and share this information with him/her.

Robert Katz, Ph.D.

This text reprinted with permission from CHERAB