Omega-3 Research

Fatty Acids

Our research strategy is based on using fatty acid supplements for the following reasons:

• A mounting body of research is showing that quality long chain fatty acids could have real benefits for a host of learning and behavioural conditions
• About 20% of the dry weight of the brain and some 30% of the retina are made from these elements
• The typical Western diet is usually deficient in fatty acids. We could see this for ourselves: children at our schools were ingesting processed foods high in carbohydrates and sugar in preference to oily fish and green leafy vegetables
• Since overhauling the diets of all pupils was out of the question, we decided to use supplements as a convenient and measurable dietary input.

Why Fatty Acids are Essential

In our fat-phobic world, many people do not realize that there are certain types of fat that are vital for living healthily. These are the two ‘families’ of essential fatty acids – omega-3 and omega-6. These life-enhancing compounds are long chain polyunsaturated fats, as against the short chain saturated fats, which should generally be avoided. Long chain fatty acids are crucial for most key processes in our life, and that is why they are regarded as ‘essential.’

Our bodies cannot make them, and so we have to get them from a dietary source. Fish and seafood are the main sources of the omega-3s, particularly the key ones for the eye and brain, EPA and DHA. Green vegetables, certain nuts and oils are the dietary sources for omega-6 fatty acids. But even if you have a good dietary input of the parent fatty acids (LA and ALA), your body may not be efficient at metabolizing them into the ones needed for optimal brain function. So the direct input of a supplement seemed a prudent

The Fatty Acids used in Durham

There are many fatty acid supplements on the market, and finding the right one was crucial for our research strategy. We needed a supplement that was mostly omega-3, but had some omega

6. It also had to be high in omega-3 EPA, which appeared to be the key fatty acid for optimal brain function. And in order for us to administer it to school children, it had to be of high quality.

We approached a specialist supplier of marine and botanical oils. We had seen through contacts with support groups that their popular supplement appeared to show very real benefits for many youngsters with learning conditions. They agreed to supply our trial programme with the supplement, either in capsule of liquid form, depending on the age group being assessed.

The supplement uses fatty acids specifically for eye and brain function. The omega-3 element is a marine fish oil that has a particularly high ratio of EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and is left in its purest natural format. Virgin-pressed evening primrose oil provides omega-6 fatty acid GLA.

In trial work so far, each participant on active capsules, or liquid, has daily taken:

• EPA: 558 mg
• DHA: 174 mg
• GLA: 60 mg •

This is either in the form of six 500-mg capsules, or three x 5-ml teaspoons of flavoured liquid. Participants were given these at different intervals throughout the day. Our pre-school trial used a citrus-flavoured liquid because many youngsters found it hard to swallow capsules.

Our placebo capsules contained olive oil, with an added flavour to simulate the taste and smell of fish oil. It also had a minor element of carrot oil added to give the same hue as the fish oil capsules.

The Durham LEA would like to thank all those involved, especially the pupils and parents for their participation and assistance in these trials.

© The Durham Local Education Authority. All rights reserved. Jan. 2004

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