Get your kids to take their Omega-3s with NutraSea Kids

Making sure I get enough Omega-3s in my diet has been on mind ever since I attended the New Harvest event last June. (You can read about it at New Harvest Omega-3 EPA supplements: all the goodness without the fish oil.) But it wasn?t until the Seafood for Thought luncheon at BlogHer 2010 that I learned how important Omega-3s are for pregnant women and growing kids.

Omega-3 is made up of plant and nut based alpha-linolenicacid (ALA) and long-chain eicosapetaenoicacid (EPA) and docosahexaenoicacid (DHA). You can get EPA and DHA from eating fish, seafood, DHA/EPA fortified eggs or taking supplements like fish oil and New Harvest.

Growing evidence suggests DHA is extremely critical to brain and learning development in children, and EPA is good for heart health. However, our bodies do a poor job of turning ALA into EPA and DHA. Instead, you need to find foods and supplements that contain significant amount of EPA and DHA fatty acids. (Read labels!)

When I was approached by Mom Spark Media to do a review of Ascenta?s NutraSea Kids, I couldn?t wait for my kids to try it out.

NutraSea Kids includes vitamin D3 and is rich in EPA and DHA omega-3 essential fatty acids. It also contains GLA, and omega-6 fatty acid that when combined with EPA, may play a crucial role in early childhood development. Research has shown omega-3 and -6 may be beneficial for concentration and behavior, improved mood and ADHD in children, too.

The liquid supplement comes in a ?very berry? bubblegum flavor. The recommended dosage is one teaspoon. You can either give it by the spoonful or add it to your child?s food in a smoothie, yogurt or applesauce.

NutraSea Kids is available in health food stores across the country including Vitamin Shoppes, Whole Foods and online at VitaminShoppe.com.

I was really impressed with the amount of DHA and EPA that NutraSea Kids contains - 320 mg EPA and 200 mg DHA. This was so much more than the other Omega-3 supplements I checked out at my local warehouse store. It also contains 500 IU of Vitamin D3.

All of Ascenta?s products are third-party tested for quality, purity and label claims. The test results for each bottle are posted online with the Pure Check program and can be accessed using the lot number on the bottle. This provides unique transparency that no other omega-3 supplement manufacturer offers.

So lots of pluses, but what did my kids think? In one word: YUCK!

Both Lucie, 7, and Nathan, 10, thought NutraSea Kids tasted awful. When I tried it, it had a very strong bubblegum flavor. My kids are candy fiends and have no problems taking liquid medicines, so I was surprised they hated the taste.

I wondered if they didn't like it since the liquid is kind of oily. So I put it in some food ? one teaspoon per one cup of strawberry banana smoothie. They could still taste the strong bubblegum flavor, and frankly, so could I. They hated the taste so much that they refused to drink their smoothies and I had to throw them out. I finished my smoothie, but adding the supplement really ruined the flavor.

Maybe your kids will feel differently about the taste, but for our, family NutraSea was a miss. No matter how good something is for kids, if they won?t take it, there is no point in buying it - much to my chagrin.

Disclosure: I was given one bottle of NutraSea Kids to facilitate this review.