Tuesday, January 21, 2014

DHA Supplementation Support for Reading Performance

In the November 2013 issue of the Natural Medicine Journal, author Sarah Bedell Cook discusses the impact of DHA (an omega 3 fatty acid) supplementation on UK children with below average reading ability (but no diagnosis of a significant learning disability).  The information in the article draws from the DOLAB (DHA Oxford Learning and Behaviour) study out of the UK.  The study examined 493 children between the ages  of 7 and 9.  The children's DHA blood levels were measured and lower DHA levels were associated with poorer reading ability, poorer working memory performance, and higher levels of parent rated oppositional behaviour and emotional fluctuations.   The children were then supplemented with 600 mg of DHA per day for 16 weeks.  The results found that the parent rated oppositional behavior and emotional fluctuations were significantly reduced and that children who were below the 20th and 10th percentiles, reading performance wise, received significant benefit.  This study helps to confirm the support that DHA supplements offer for overall emotional health and brain function and that it is worth considering integrating a DHA supplement for many children, even those who do not have a specific learning disability diagnosis, that find school/learning more difficult than some of their fellow students.

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