Chapter 2: Pretty little bows...all in a row. Christmas 2007 and Omega-3

As with all of my posts, if you want to get right to the research and skip my babble, just scroll down. I am not a doctor, I draw stuff for a living. This blog is my interpretation of the research. Please research these things on behalf of your health that of your loved ones, and discuss them with your doctor or nutritionist.

When we brought up the idea of trying Omega-3 with our pediatrician he seemed interested. Although he was not familiar with the research with learning disabilities, he had read much about Omega-3 and it's role in many other health conditions. His reply was that it might, at least, be beneficial from a health standpoint even if it did not help with the ASD or speech. We received an ok for Omega-3 and a referral to ECI services to get our child, "G", evaluated, but he was not sure where to go from there. We really didn't know either.

I wondered if Omega-3 might be benificial for me as well, I had suffered mysterious autoimmune issues most of my life. It was worth a try. So on November 1, 2007 we purchased some Omega-3 fish oil capsules from Sam's. I would put 1/2 of a 1000 mg capsule in his sippy cup with is juice (by all means, get a dosage from your doctor if trying this for your child). By the end of the week G's dull, dry hair began to have a gloss to it...mine was still a dull frise. By week two his nails were less brittle and the rough dry skin on his back was gone...my face was still a flaky mess. By week three his babbling had turned from a robotic "Da, lk tk ga la" to a normal babbling sound. He had begun saying "Uh-oh". He began to drink from a straw, showed more interest in playing with his toys and we could swear his eye contact was getting better. His day caretaker thought she noticed it too. Soon he could say tee-tee and doo-doo and was excited to tattle on our chihuahua every chance he could. His temper tantums were drastically reduced in quantity and length. Tantrums could last for hours at a time, now they were 45 min - 1 hour tops. He was also starting to sleep about six hours a night. By Christmas he could be responsive to adults and show a playful side. Strangely, children still seemed mysteriously invisible to him, even when playing near them.

During this time we found out we were pregnant with identical twins (the other one was missed on the first ultrasound and not seen until the second). I was exhausted but hopeful, finding the Omega-3 was helping G. He still had autism but he was noticeably better. It was to be the first in a series of miracles, although we had no idea at the time. We began working on his play skills. I had found several articles on the importance of play for children. Play is how children apply the knowledge they learn, without play the knowledge is not of much use. Helping a special needs child learn to play is vital!!! I remember my brother as a kid, he would sit in the middle of a pile of toys and not play with them. He loved science fiction and had every "Star Wars" toy, but he never really seemed to play. Another unusual thing, he was obviously bright and reading on college level by fourth grade, but it was like he could'nt really do anything with his knowledge. He sat for hours in the middle of his pile of toys, rocking or watching T.V. So I came home from work and played with G every night. Eddie focused on motor skills and speech while I focused on playing with toys. I had found some helpful videos called Teach to Play!, produced by Jenny McCarthy. They gave ideas on how to build play skills and he was responding well.

The week after Christmas we found out we had lost the twins. But that same week something amazing also happened, G began hugging again! We had not had his hugs and goodnight kisses in so long, it was wonderful. I think that's the one thing a mother misses the most, whether your child's hugs are lost to illness, seperation, death, or autism. We spent a whole day on the couch cuddling and watching cartoons. We still do that every chance we get.

By January I had noticed something in myself too, I didn't take nearly as much allergy medicine. I used to depend on it to sleep at night(I did without it during my pregnancies and suffered through the allergies). I also wasn't using up a box of kleenex every couple of days. It had taken a three months but I was starting to get benefits from Omega-3 as well.

Now I was even more fascinated with Omega-3 and continued to find information on it. In what other areas was the deficiency hurting? In what other ways was Omega-3 supplementation helping? I thought of all of the people around me suffering with allergies, inflammation, behavior problems, autoimmune problems and wondered how much could have been prevented? How much money had we spent on allergy medicines and prescriptions? How many times could we have enjoyed our lives more if it were not for these conditions? Our quality of life and our pocket books have both taken a hit! I wondered how the Omega-3 deficient modern diet may affect our pets. If corn fed beef was hurting us, what about dogs, they eat beef too. As it turns out, they are suffering many of the same ailments we are dry skin, allergies, agressive behavior, and inflammatory responses.

One could spend a lifetime researching Omega-3. It appears that if it our diets weren't so defficient in Omega-3 half of the medical and psychiatric communtiy would be unemployed. You can find it tied to just about anything: brain development, aging, dry skin, PMS, and the list goes on. It's role in cancer is still controversial. Some studies point to benefits while others don't, but the research will probably continue for this. If you ever have time on your hands to kill and need entertainment, just Google "Omega-3". What you learn may improve your quality of life.

I found tons of information on the role of Omega-3 supplementation and fish consumption and reduced risk cardiovasculer disease. We've been told to eat a high grain (and thus high omega-6 diet) to prevent heart disease. It seems for some of us, whether we eat a junk diet or "healthy" according to the food pyramid we can wind up with a similar response: Inflammation. I was beginning to think what was taught as a healthy diet was not all it was cracked up to be. If I wanted to take better care of my family I needed to learn more. It all started with a mind blowing chapter in a book on Omega-3, but that's not where it stopped...

Omega-3 fatty acids!

Medline Plus: Omega-3 fatty acids, fish oil, alpha-linolenic acid!

Effects of n-3 fatty acids on autoimmunity and osteoporosis.!

Omega-3 fatty acids in inflammation and autoimmune diseases.!

Dietary lipids and risk of autoimmune disease.!

Role of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in diet of patients with rheumatic diseases]!

Cod liver oil (n-3 fatty acids) as an non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug sparing agent in rheumatoid arthritis!

A meta-analysis of the analgesic effects of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation for inflammatory joint pain.!

The importance of the omega-6/omega-3 fatty acid ratio in cardiovascular disease and other chronic diseases.!

Omega-3 Kills Cancer Cells!

Omega-3 Fatty Acids!

Effects of nutrients (in food) on the structure and function of the nervous system: update on dietary requirements for brain. Part 2 : macronutrients.!

Omega-3 fatty acids supplementation in children with autism: a double-blind randomized, placebo-controlled pilot study.!

[Omega-3 fatty acids in psychiatry]!

Omega-3 fatty acid treatment of children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.!

Amounts of Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Autism!

Correlation between changes in blood fatty acid composition and visual sustained attention performance in children with inattention: effect of dietary n–3 fatty acids containing phospholipids!

EFA supplementation in children with inattention, hyperactivity, and other disruptive behaviors.!

Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Autism and other Neuropsychiatric Disorders!

Roles of unsaturated fatty acids (especially omega-3 fatty acids) in the brain at various ages and during ageing.!

Dietary omega-3 fatty acids for women.!

[Lipids, depression and suicide]!

Dietary supplementation with eicosapentaenoic acid, but not with other long-chain n-3 or n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, decreases natural killer cell activity in healthy subjects aged >55 y.!

Omega-3 fatty acids' relationship to canine aggression!

Association of inflammatory markers elevation with aggressive behavior in domestic dogs!

The Effect of Omega -3 Fatty Acids On Canine Atopic Dermatitis!

Dietary fatty acids and cardiovascular disease: an epidemiological approach!

Fish and Omega-3 Fatty Acids!

Dietary fat and cardiovascular disease risk: quantity or quality?!

Dietary fat consumption and health.!

Omega-3 fatty acids and cardiovascular disease.!

n-3 fatty acids and cardiovascular disease.!

Risk stratification by the "EPA+DHA level" and the "EPA/AA ratio" focus on anti-inflammatory and antiarrhythmogenic effects of long-chain omega-3 fatty acid!

Long-chain n-3 fatty acids and mortality in elderly patients.!

Blood concentrations of individual long-chain n-3 fatty acids and risk of nonfatal myocardial infarction.!

Chapter 1:It all began with a chapter on Omega 3.....

As with all of my posts, if you want to get right to the research and skip my babble, just scroll down. I am not a doctor, I draw stuff for a living. This blog is my interpretation of the research. Please research these things on behalf of your health that of your loved ones, and discuss them with your doctor or nutritionist.

"Honey, get a load of this", I said to my husband, and then read word for word the entire chapter of the book to him. I had read it several times to myself, thinking "Hmmm...is this real? How could that be?". The title of the book was "The Late Talker, What to do if Your Child Isn't Talking Yet" (Agin, Geng & Nicholl). Eddie listened and replied "What the hell, it's worth a try".
We had discussed the possibilities of having an autistic child before we had even become pregnant. My brother, age 40, has autism, and my mother has a touch of it as well. Even though our little fellow had a rough time from one week age with his gi tract, there was clearly no signs or reasons to worry about autism. He loved attention and knew how to get it. He figured out very early that strangers couldn't resist his smiling face. He would "work the room" everytime we went out to eat. He tried to make eye contact with other diners and loved the reactions he got in return. Sometimes people would come over to let us know what he was up to. This started at about five months of age. Speech started at six and a half months, although he seemed to babble almost from the beginning. At eighteen month of age he had about 10 words he could use. When he wanted something he would look at you and say "This". He spent his entire eighteenth month sick with sinus infections and strep throat. It seemed to hit from out of nowhere. He took three prescriptions for antibiotics that month, which produced butt scalding diahhrea. His appetite slowely decreased from there, and so did his sleep scheadule. He could scream all night, and then fall asleep from exhaustion at about 7 a.m. and sleep until 9 a.m. His speech disappeared too. It started with him going into the kitchen, looking towards the fridge and letting out a blood curdling scream, followed by a complete meltdown. We thought the terrible twos had shown up with a vengeance. Meltdowns became a frequent part of our life. But he still enjoyed getting smiles from strangers and crackers, magnets and other objects were played with as though they were cars. There was still no reason to suspect autism.
One year and several prescriptions of antibiotics later, the speech was still not coming back. I had purchased some books on late talking toddlers hoping to find out what we could do to help the process. The book "The Late Talker, What to do if Your Child Isn't Talking Yet" (Agin, Geng & Nicholl) was just what I was looking for. It discussed when you should seek therapy, what kind of testing to expect, etc... very basic stuff. The first thing that got my attention was warning signs they listed for autism: staring at lights, lining up objects, lack of eye contact, any loss of aquired skills, etc. Our child had slowely drifted that direction in the past year. Then it included a chapter that totally blew my mind. It was about something called Omega-3. Scottish researcher, Gordon Bell,! father of an autistic child, had noticed that almost all autistic children had signs of omega-3 deffieciency...dry skin, brittle nails, etc. His study and several others found a noticeable reduction in autistic symptoms when supplemented with EPA, an omega-3 fatty acid. Parents with non-autistic speech delayed children had heard about the study and tried it on their own children. Many of the children began speaking, some within days, others took longer. We decided to discuss this with our doctor at the next visit. In the meantime I delved into online research, trying to understand how this could work. My first stop was wikepedia.com! which I would recommend to everyone to at least read what they have on Omega-3, even if you and your family are healthy. The more I read about Omega-3's and how important they are to our immune systems and how lacking they are in the modern diet, I thought "Holy Crap" everyone needs to know this stuff.

Omega-3's and Omega-6's are called EFA's(Essential Fatty Acids). The "essential" means that we desperately need them AND we are unable to produce them ourselves, so we must get them from our diet. The immune system uses Omega-3's for an anti-inflammatory response and Omega-6 for inflamation. If you cut your finger then your body uses Omega-6 to provide some swelling to stop the bleeding. It uses Omega-3 to keep you from swelling too much. You need the right balance of EFA's in your diet to keep you immune system in balance. Omega-3s are found in some fish, walnuts, flaxseed, some beans, grass fed meat, winter squash and olive oil(small amount). Omega-6's are found in grain oils, especially corn oil. The American diet has made a huge shift from animal based fats to vegetable fats, upping our Omega-6 consumption. At the same time our Omega-3 consumption has drastically dropped. One category has almost been eliminated completly from our dinner plates: grass fed beef.

Here's what happened. Grasses have Omega-3's in them. Cows eat the grass and then we eat the cows, getting a dose of Omega-3 for ourselves. Since the 1940's commercial beef has shifted completely over to feeding the cows a high corn, and thus high Omega-6 diet. And the cows? They are worse for the wear as well. Cows were designed to eat grass, not to be penned into feedlots and stuffed full of corn. Most of the cows would not survive this diet even if they were not made into steaks. The same is true of poultry who are now on high grain diets. We now get lots of Omega-6 from the vegetable oils and meat we eat and almost no Omega-3's. This means we are eating our way into inflamation. Heart disease, auto-immune problems, allergies, ADHD, autism, depression, even common hayfever have all been rising in epedemic proportions since we switched our eating and agricultural habits.

Research and Articles
Long links may need to be copied and pasted into your browser window

Fatty acid tied to depression and inflammation1

Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Inflammation and Autoimmune Diseases!

Omega-3 fatty acids supplementation in children with autism: a double-blind randomized, placebo-controlled pilot study!

Omega-3 fatty acids as treatments for mental illness: which disorder and which fatty acid?!

Allergic sensitisation and allergic rhinitis are associated with n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in the diet and in red blood cell membranes.!

Dietary modification of inflammation with lipids!

Omega-3 fatty acids: a comprehensive review of their role in health and disease.!

Functional foods for health: focus on diabetes.!