We don't have the luxury of ignorance that our mother's did! We can't smoke or drink our way through our pregnancies. Damn! We can't throw our kids in the car without proper harnesses. Ugh! We can't even spank our kids to teach them discipline without feeling the fear that child protective services might come after us! Things are just different now and we no longer can take a blind eye to certain topics! Especially regarding the health of our children!!!
In a blink, childhood obesity, diabetes, and the 4-A's : Autism, ADHD, Asthma, and Allergies have skyrocketed over the last twenty years!!! We have a serious childhood epidemic taking place and there needs to be a LOT more attention and passion towards curbing and ridding our society of these life altering diagnoses! It seems everyday there are tidbits of information thrown at us regarding what is or isn't safe, which of course is different than yesterday. I feel blessed to know all this news but burdened by the weight of constantly seeking out and following through on what's safe, healthy, and non-carcinogenic for my babies!!! I am not sure where my health stands in the big picture being raised on crop dusted fruits, hormone injected dairy, and overly bleached breads, but at least I can try to decrease the toxins and nutritional deficiencies that might attack my child's immune system! It's tough work but a battle worth waging!!!
It seems almost every conversation I have with girlfriends some version of this comes up! One day it's dealing with serious allergies, the next it's speech disorders, and scariest of all potential autism cases! This is not just happening "over there"! This really
is taking place in our back yards! What to do? Let's face it, with midnight feedings, tantrums, work-home balance, and maybe a relationship with your spouse or even self, there might not be tons of opportunities for us as mothers to start rallies or petitions to move our government towards impacting this epidemic appropriately. But, don't despair!! There are tons of little things we can do that might help improve the overall health of your child. Think small, think consistent, think green. That already is a huge step forward!!!
One small shift for our family started when we all began taking fish oil supplements. It was a no brainer for me with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Psoriasis. Then randomly, I saw a children's version at the store and I was instantly curious. It didn't take long for the research to point out the enormous benefits of this daily addition for my children. Now, both my boys take fish oil daily. But it wasn't until speaking to a girlfriend whose pediatrician suggested fish oil to help with her child's speech disorder by fostering support of the brain, nervous, and immune system, that I looked into the benefits of Omega-3's for adults and children even more.
Low and behold, the benefits of fish oil can actually help with just about all the disorders mentioned above!!! Here is some info I found in my little investigation:
Fish Oil:
1. Improves concentration
2. Calms ADHD symptoms
3. Improves learning
4. Increases in test scores
5. Reduces Dyslexia and Dyspraxia
6. Helps language skills
7. Helps with autism
Fish oil is very useful for pregnant women as DHA present in it helps in the development of the eyes and brain of the baby. It helps in avoiding premature births, low weight at birth, and miscarriage.
Type II diabetic patients are more prone to cardio vascular diseases such as coronary heart disease, atherosclerosis, and stroke. As mentioned above, fish oil is helpful in treating various heart problems.
It is well known that fish oil is good for its ability to improve vision. It also helps in avoiding age related macular degeneration.
Since brain consists of about 60% of fats, especially essential fatty acids such as omega 3 and omega 6, fish oil helps in improving the functioning of the brain. Further, it is believed that fish oil is useful in the normal development of the brain. It helps your kid concentrate on the studies better. It has been further found that when pregnant women are given regular doses of fish oil, the born toddlers show enhanced hand eye coordination.
Fish oil does seem to have a positive effect on babies and baby formula manufacturers are beginning to add fish oil to their recipes like: Enfamil Lipil, Similac Advance, and Nestle Good Start Supreme DHA & ARA.
Fish oil has the ability to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) due to the high concentration of fatty acids.
Due to the presence of Omega 3 fatty acids, fish oil is good for relieving depression, sadness, anxiety, restlessness, mental fatigue, stress, decreased sexual desire, suicidal tendencies and other nervous disorders.
It is believed that regular consumption of fish oil aids in increasing your immunity thereby enabling you to resist incidence of common diseases such as cold, cough and flu.
Recently, a study has been revealed, which mentions that the kids who consume fish oil products have scored higher grades than the kids who don’t consume them. During teenage and infancy, a human brain grows rapidly.
(Pulled from different sites such as: http://www.organicfacts.net/organic-animal-products/organic-fish/health-benefits-of-fish-oil.html;http://www.fishoilblog.com/benefits/fish-oil-improves-behavior-of-children-improves-concentration-and-parent-bonding.php; http://fishoilbenefits.weebly.com/;http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-206813/Fish-oil-helps-hyperactive-kids.html;http://www.aboutomega3.com/fish_oil_and_children.html; http://www.healthy-oil-planet.com/fish-oils-for-children.html;http://www.nordicnaturals.com/en/General_Public/FAQs/264/; )
With all the toxins attacking our little ones on a daily basis, why not start assisting them now with a simple fishy step forward. Oh Yeah and while you're taking one beneficially leap for your little one, jump on the train and grab some for yourself! This might be the best health conscience decision you'll make all year!!! Believe me after a few weeks, you'll be thanking yourself that you did!!!
•Please note, that before you start taking or giving fish oil to your loved ones, you must check the quality, purity, recommended dosages, dates, and age appropriateness of your product. There are huge variations of the above and a little research is required!!! Going to Whole Foods, PCC, or your local vitamin or health store would be a great place to start. Otherwise there are tons of resources online! I found that Nordic Naturals is a high quality, trustworthy brand. Plus, they seem to always be on sale at our local PCC!!! I take the Nordic Naturals Arctic-D Cod Liver Oil as recommended by my ND as cod liver has least possible mercury and vit d helps with my psoriasis. My kids take the Nordic Naturals Omega-3 Gummies for toddlers and they just eat-em up like candy every morning! Please research what would be best for you. Cross those T's Please!!!
Posts
I can attest to the fact that fish oil has helped many young children with speech and language delays increase the expressive language skills. And it is a staple with Autistic children along with a gluten/cassain free diet. Thanks for the info on gummies. I didn't know they sold those. Many of my families use a lemon tasting fish oil that their children will take from a spoon. For me.. I perer the capsule!!! Love your Blog.
ReplyDelete