Essential Fatty Acids in Children's Diets

Here is an email I have just written to my Daughters and daughter in law.

EFA have been forgotten in children's diets because of the anti fat anti obesity drive.

I believe the 2 things are linked. The anti fat drive has caused the obesity!

'I am doing more research on essential fatty acids. These are essential
fats that our body is not able to make and must come from food every
day.

Unfortunately the modern diet does not contain foods with good sources of EFA.

These would be grass fed milk, meat and butter.
Omega 3 enriched eggs
Tinned fish in their own oil ( not soya or veg oil)
Fresh oily fish

When I was a child I was given cod liver oil every day ( I hated the
fishy taste!) it was provided free for all children on the NHS in UK.
Dad was also given cod liver oil and malt every day.

I have now bought cod liver oil and malt from Link and Dawns kids are
starting to get accustomed to taking it!

Many of the formula milks available are also short on EFA. The
importance of these fats was not understood and soya oil or corn oil
were added to formula milk instead of the saturated fats ( coconut and
palm) that used to be added.

Can you supplement all the children with sources of EFA?

Give them cod liver oil and malt.

Use butter ( kerrygold) instead of margarine.

Get full fat cheese and milk and not low fat anything!

Try and give them fish once in a while!

Cut back on the use of vegetable oils, soya sunflower etc and increase
extra virgin oil oil use.

good fats and oil are very satisfying so children should be less
hungry between meals!

This is what I studied at college but we never looked at the
importance of fat! Rather it was the less fat you eat the better!'