It’s back to school time again … time to dust the summer cobwebs off of young brains. The brain is made up of 60 percent fat, and these essential fatty acids are, well … essential. They are necessary for our health, but our body doesn’t make them. They are sometimes called omega oils or fish oils and consist of some combination of the fatty acids DHA, EPA, and GLA. We get them through foods such as fish, algae, krill, some plants and nut oils.
Essential fatty acids play a very important role in proper brain function and normal growth and development. An increasing number of children are deficient in essential fatty acids – particularly Omega-3s because of a diet lacking in fish, nuts and plants. Excess processed food is also part of the reason for deficiency.