Fats and Oils for Children’s Health
Randall Neustaedter OMD
Excerpt from Child Health Guide: Holistic
Pediatrics for Parents, North Atlantic
Books, 2005
Children need fats. Low-fat foods can create
fatty-acid deficiencies. Children especially
need saturated fats and cholesterol to maintain
healthy tissues and healthy cell membranes.
Cholesterol and saturated fats from breast
milk, organic eggs, cream, coconut oil, and
meats are essential parts of your child’s
diet.
Children also need omega-3 fats for brain
development. Breast milk contains the omega-3
fat DHA for this reason. Most children and
adults eat too many polyunsaturated fats in
the form of vegetable oils (omega-6 fats).
Children get all the omega-6 essential oils
they need from breast milk, grains, seeds,
vegetables, and nuts. They should eat as little
additional polyunsaturated oils in the form
of vegetable oils as possible (corn oil, canola
oil, safflower oil, etc.). A diet high in
polyunsaturated oils impairs growth and learning,
and promotes heart disease, cancer, and immune
system dysfunction. This process arises when
polyunsaturated oils become oxidized after
exposure to heat, oxygen, and moisture in
processing and cooking. They release free
radicals that attack cells membranes and damage
DNA, initiating cellular and tissue damage
that can promote tumor growth and inflammation
of blood vessels with plaque formation (Fallon,
2001).
Saturated fats are necessary for calcium
to be effectively incorporated into bones.
At least 50 percent of dietary fat should
be saturated (Watkins, 1996). Omega-3 fats
are retained better in tissues in the presence
of saturated fats, and saturated fats promote
healthy immune systems because of their antimicrobial
properties that prevent the buildup of harmful
microorganisms in the digestive tract. Saturated
fats do not cause heart disease, they prevent
heart disease and cancer.
Cholesterol acts as a precursor to vital
hormones including sex hormones and corticosteroids
that protect the body against heart disease
and cancer. Cholesterol is also a precursor
of vitamin D that is essential to bone growth.
Babies and children need cholesterol-rich
foods to ensure proper development of the
brain and nervous system (Fallon, 2001). Breast
milk is especially rich in cholesterol.
Trans fats damage cell membranes, block the
utilization of essential fatty acids, and
promote disease (diabetes, heart disease,
immune system dysfunction). Trans fats must
be artificially manufactured. Polunsaturated
fats are mixed with a metal (nickel oxide)
and subjected to hydrogen in a high-pressure,
high-temperature reactor. The hydrogen is
forced to move in the fatty acid chain creating
an altered molecular structure. The normal
cis structure of the oil is converted to its
trans formation when the hydrogen atoms is
forced to the other side of the chain. This
straightens the molecule allowing the molecules
to pack together more closely forming a solid
that mimics saturated fats. The result is
a partially hydrogenated oil, margarine, or
shortening. Manufacturers of packaged foods
love partially hydrogenated fat because it
keeps products fresh and oily tasting. You
will find it in most packages down the center
aisles of the supermarket, in chips, crackers,
cakes, croissants, and cookies. Trans fats
will sit in cell membranes, creating a barrier
that blocks the exchange of health promoting
nutrients and chemicals necessary for efficient
function of the cell. Trans fats prevent normal
cell metabolism because cells can only function
normally when the electrons in cell membanes
are in certain arrangements or patterns. This
arrangement has been fatally altered by hydrogenation.
Fried foods are unhealthy because extreme
heat damages fats. The damaged polyunsaturated
oil and cholesterol release free radicals
into the body that will in turn damage tissues
and cells and promote disease processes. In
addition, many fried foods are cooked with
hydrogenated fats. Children should avoid commercial
french fries, potato chips, and corn chips.
These are not health-promoting foods.
Another problem with fried foods is the presence
of a class of carcinogens called acrylamides.
These are formed when starchy carbohydrates
like potatoes, corn, oats, or wheat are subjected
to high temperatures (above 360 degrees) for
prolonged periods, as in deep-frying. French
fries, potato chips, doughnuts, and even oven-baked
french fries contain acrylamide. This chemical
is monitored in drinking water because of
its ability to cause cancer.
By contrast omega-3 fats have health-promoting
and far-reaching preventive health effects.
They create a flexible and permeable cell
membrane that allows nutrients to pass easily
into the cell. Omega-3 fats may be the key
to prevention of heart disease, cancer, and
arthritis, and the best thing going for allergies,
asthma, and healthy brain functions.
Pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers
should take a DHA-containing omega-3 supplement
to ensure adequate levels of DHA in breast
milk and adequate brain development in their
babies. The DHA content of most American women
is lower that that in milk from women in most
other countries, and the DHA content of a
woman’s breast milk correlates with her
dietary intake of DHA. Vegetarian women have
the lowest levels of DHA in their breastmilk
(Fidler, 2000). When women supplement their
diets with DHA in the form of fish oil, high-DHA
eggs, or a DHA-containing algae capsule the
content of DHA in their breast milk increases.
The increase in breast milk DHA also translates
into higher DHA levels in infants (Jensen,
2000). In another study, infants whose mothers
took fish oil supplements during pregnancy
also had higher blood levels of DHA at birth
than a control group that did not take a supplement
(Connor, 1996).
It is difficult for children to get enough
omega-3 fats from their diets once they are
no longer breastfeeding. Children need to
have supplements of omega-3 fats. The best
sources of omega-3 fats are cod liver oil
(1 tspn per 50 lbs of body weight), fish oil
capsules (containing 250 mg of DHA for children
over 7 years old), and DHA (docosahexaenoic
acid) supplements derived from algae (Neuromins).
Chickens, eggs, and beef are also sources
of omega-3 fats if the animals eat green plants
and not just grains. Therefore, only cage
free chickens that eat green plants or algae
and pasture-fed cattle are reliable sources.
Small fish (achovies, herring, and sardines)
are another good source of omega-3 fats, but
larger fish (tuna, shark, swordfish, mackerel,
and salmon) may be contaminated with mercury
and harmful pesticides. Children should not
eat these larger ocean fish or farmed fish
(See page X).
DHA supplementation
Pregnant/breastfeeding women
1 Tbspn cod liver oil per 150 lbs body weight
Infants
¼ tspn cod liver oil per 12 lbs (5.5
kg) body weight
Children >3 years old
1 tspn cod liver oil per 50 lbs body weight
or 200 mg DHA from algae (Neuromins capsule)
or 200 mg DHA from fish oil capsule
Flax seed oil is often recommended as an
omega-3 supplement for children, but there
is a problem. Flax seeds contains the omega-3
fatty acid ALA that must be converted to DHA
by an enzyme so that the body can incorporate
it into cells. The problem is that children
make this enzyme only in small amounts, if
at all. If they do not have the enzyme they
will not benefit from the omega-3 fat in flax
seeds. Newborns are completely unable to convert
ALA to DHA. A study of breastfeeding mothers
who took a flaxseed oil supplement had no
resulting increase in their own plasma or
breast milk levels of DHA, showing that adults
do not make this conversion either (Francois,
2003). Flaxseeds are not an adequate source
of DHA.
The only oils suitable for use at home are
olive oil for salads and marinades (monunsaturated
fat) and coconut oil for cooking (saturated
fat). Olive oil will not cause any health
problems, but it does not contain either of
the two essential fatty acids LA or ALA. Coconut
oil contains health-promoting lauric acid,
which helps prevent infection and aids in
the prevention of diabetes, heart disease,
and cancer.
Vitamin E is a potent antioxidant that is
also absorbed into cell membranes where it
will prevent rancidity of fats that reside
in the cell. In addition, vitamin E has anti-inflammatory
effects and increases resistance to infection.
Use only natural vitamin E (d-alpha-tocopherol),
not the synthetic form (dl-alpha-tocopherol).
A mixed tocopherol form of vitamin E is best.
The dose for children 1-3 years old 100 IU,
for 4-12 year-olds 200 IU, and for teens 400
IU.
Healthy fats for children
(from organic sources)
Eggs
Butter
Whole dairy products (milk, yogurt, cheese)
Coconut oil for cooking
Extra virgin olive oil for salads
Fats to avoid
Partially hydrogenated oils (in chips, cookies,
crackers, cakes)
Vegetable oils (polyunsaturated)
Fried foods
Sources of Fatty Acids
Omega-6 fats
Canola oil
Safflower oil
Sunflower oil
Corn oil
Omega-3 fats
Flax seed
Fish
Algae
Eggs (cage free)
Omega-9 fats
Olives
Avocados
Fatty Acids by Category
Omega-6 fatty acids
LA Linoleic acid
GLA Gamma linolenic acid
AA Arachidonic acid
Omega-3 fatty acids
ALA Alpha linolenic acid
EPA Eicosapentaenoic acid
DHA Docosahexaenoic acid
Omega-9 fatty acids
Oleic acid
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