The right omega-3 will nourish your child's brain

As the brain continues to grow and develop throughout childhood and adolescence, maintaining brain health through good nutrition is critical. Make sure your child is eating plenty of colourful fruits and vegetables and good fats, which will help support brain health now and in the future.

One good fat is DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) omega-3, a major structural fat in the brain accounting for up to 97 percent of the omega-3 fatty acids found in the brain. DHA specifically plays a role in how well cells communicate with each other, which may help with memory function and clear thinking. While most people believe that fish produce their own DHA, it's actually the microalgae in their food chain that makes them a rich source of this key omega-3.

Children traditionally have a low dietary intake of DHA since they don't usually stack their plate full of fatty fish, including salmon, tuna and mackerel. New research points to the benefits of DHA for mainstream school children who are underperforming in reading.

The Docosahexaenoic Acid Oxford Learning and Behaviour (DOLAB) trial found that supplementation with 600 milligrams of DHA from algae a day for 16 weeks improved reading and behaviour in healthy school-aged children with low reading scores, as compared to placebo.

"Just as calcium is needed for strong bones, DHA is needed for a healthy brain," says Dr. David Perlmutter, a board-certified neurologist and author of Raise a Smarter Child by Kindergarten. "It's never too early to incorporate DHA into a child's diet. In fact, mothers deliver this important fatty acid to their infants in their breast milk during nursing. The DOLAB trial demonstrates that DHA is an important nutrient for school-aged children too, helping to close the nutrition gap between infancy and childhood."

If your child isn't stacking his or her plate full of fatty fish, there are algal DHA fortified foods, beverages and supplements on the market. Visit www.lifesdha.ca to see a listing of products fortified with the same source of vegetarian and sustainable DHA used in the DOLAB trial.