During early childhood, the brain develops rapidly. You see the rapid progression of infants transitioning from just crying, drinking, pooping, and sleeping to walking, eating, and talking in merely under one year. 

This is also why we always say a baby’s brain is like a sponge. It absorbs new knowledge and develops new skills very quickly. In fact, the infant brain doubles in weight by 2 years of age from birth and continues to develop rapidly until at least 5 years of age. And the brain does not stop development and reshaping until we die. 

Amazing…

As the brain develops more nerve cells, more fat, in the form of fatty acids, is needed. Omega 3 fatty acids make up about 8-10 percent of brain tissues. It is the major component of myelin sheaths on nerve cells. Myelin is the fatty coating on nerve cells. The myelin sheaths insulate nerve cells (imagine electrical wiring) to ensure smooth uninterrupted transmission of impulses, preventing misfiring of nerve impulses. Rapid myelination during early childhood is what helps the brain develops.

Because of these special needs in infants and young children, fat should not be restricted. Infants and children up to 2 years old should maintain a diet of up to 50% of calories coming from fat.

Healthy fats, such as avocado, safflower oil, olive oil, organic animal fats, organic eggs, coconut oil, and organic nut oils are encouraged.

Organic oils/fats are preferred because pesticides, hormones, and other chemicals tend to accumulate in fatty tissues in animals and/or plants. Organic choices will help to minimize the intake of these toxic substances, which can affect brain development and health.

Fish oil and cod liver oil are excellent sources of omega-3 fatty acids, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), while flaxseed oil and algal oil are excellent sources of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), which is the precursor to DHA and EPA.

ALA is an essential fatty acid, which means our body cannot produce this fatty acid. Our body makes limited DHA and EPA from ALA. However, this ability is limited. This is even more so in children with ADHD. Males, in particular, have a harder time converting ALA to DHA and EPA than females.

Furthermore, the typical American diet, which is excessive in omega 6 and deficit in omega 3 fatty acids, makes the situation even worse. This comes to no surprise as the major food sources of omega-3 fatty acids are seafood and nuts and seeds.

The optimal omega-6 to omega-3 ratio is 4:1. You might think 4:1 – it seems we need more omega 6 than omega 3.

But not if I tell you the typical American diet provides a ratio of 20:1. We eat way too many omega-6 fatty acids in the form of processed foods. That means, our children will need to increase their dietary omega 3 intakes by 5 times to get to the optimal 4:1 ratio. That’s a lot of fish to eat.