Sunday, September 5, 2010

An Essential For Optimum Health

Pudding Pie is not crazy about fish. She'll agree to eat fish sticks only if she can load them up with ketchup and that's about it. Its a shame because fish is full of protein and the 'good fats' - omega-3 fatty acids, and children especially need these essential fatty acids (EFAs) in their development.

Although Pudding Pie eagerly takes her multi-vitamin gummies every night, and although I do my best to ensure she follows a healthy diet, I worry about whether she is getting enough omega-3. It's true that, aside from fish, you can find omega-3's in other foods, such as walnuts, flaxseeds, beans, olive oil, winter squash. But, although this is great for adding add fatty acid variety to my diet, Pudding Pie is not too crazy about any of these foods either.

One daily teaspoon of Ascenta's new Nutrasea Kids supplement will deliver children their EFAs - with a Very Berry taste - and Pure Check quality assurance. The Pure Check logo on all Nutrasea products guarantees that they have been independently tested and certified for quality, purity and potency. Some fish oil supplements have high levels of PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyl compounds), environmental pollutants that pose significant health risks, so the Pure Check quality guarantee was a big factor in my decision to test the product on both myself and Pudding Pie.

I've always known that fish oil supplements are one way to get enough of those EFAs for both the big and little folk, but I was concerned that my most particular Pudding Pie would gag and create a terrible fuss if I tried this approach and I confess, I can understand - that fishy taste is a little overwhelming.

I first tried the Nutrasea adult supplement myself and I was pleasantly surprised by the distinct apple flavor that remained on my taste buds, so I decided to see how Pudding Pie would react to a dose of the kids supplement.

Nutrasea Kids' liquid format makes it easier to 'hide' in food favorites like milkshakes, smoothies, fruit juice and apple sauce. Still, on the day of Pudding Pie's first dose, I decided to forsake disguising the supplement and I administered the daily teaspoon directly into the mouth, thinking that the Very Berry taste would be enough to get the fish oil succesfully down Pudding Pie's throat. (It really is a nice taste for fish oil!)

This was a mistake. The fish oil was swiftly ejected, and I was roundly criticised for my audacious attempt to make Pudding Pie ingest something so vile. On Day 2, I wised up a little and I served the supplement in her morning orange juice and she drank a little of it, but then complained that her juice tasted "funky". By Day 3, I was smarter, I greatly increased the ratio of juice to fish oil, and my slightly wary guinea pig actually downed the lot - victory!

I also found that it really helped that by Day 2 and Day 3, the now-opened fish oil was being stored in our refrigerator and, for some reason, cold fish oil is more palatable than room temperature fish oil.

To learn more about the quality guarantee of Ascenta products, and the benefits of EFAs, visit their site: http://www.ascentahealth.com/.

*Nutrasea is recommended for children two to thirteen years old. Any children with fish allergies should consult a doctor before using Nutrasea.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Nutrasea Kids campaign and received Nutrasea samples to facilitate my candid review. Mom Central sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.

1 comment:

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