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Fish Oil Capsule Vs Liquid For Children

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You can just use a pin and turn the capsule into liquid, but can’t turn the liquid into a capsule

fish-oil

 The fish oil comes in a liquid or a capsule. My child can’t swallow capsules so shouldn’t I buy the liquid?

It depends on the age of the child. Most children prior to seven or eight years old are not swallowing capsules. So most of us pierce the capsule with a pin and squeeze it out.  See serving suggestions here. Because new parents have no idea how many capsules one teaspoon is equal to there are mistakes made. For example one parent emailed that she started her 3 year old on 3 teaspoons a day of fish oil, which is equal to about 12 capsules. Most would never dream of starting their child or even themselves on 12 capsules of fish oil capsules a day. More is not always better. If you have the right formula you will find it will work even at lower dosages.

Fish oils are very unstable in oxygen as you can imagine. While the capsule keeps that same fish oil inside it fresh for up to 4 years and without being refrigerated, the oil in the bottle lasts only around 4 months and needs be be refrigerated once opened.  The only benefit to the liquid vs. the capsule is the liquid is generally cheaper.

If you have the liquid use it quick. Some the liquid because they believe it’s easier to use -but the capsules are better in my opinion for various reasons including:

  1. Longer shelf life
  2. No need for refrigeration
  3. Easy to control dosage
  4. Easy to travel with
  5. Not a big deal if you spill the bottle over
  6. You can just use a pin and turn the capsule into liquid, but can’t turn the liquid into a capsule

Many start with one capsule of NNProEFA 3.6.9. which would be approximately equivalent to a 1/4 a teaspoon of the liquid NNProEFA 3.6.9.. 1/2 teaspoon of NNProEFA 3.6.9. oil is close to the equivalent of about 2 capsules of NNProEFA 3.6.9..

If you are experienced and decide you want to use the liquid knowing all you do now, you can proceed how you see best. But even still, if you travel I suggest you purchase the capsules for during that time.

Summary difference between fish oil in the bottle vs fish oil capsules

1/2 tsp of fish oil is about the same as 2 capsules of NNProEFA 3.6.9.. If you use oil from a bottle the shelf life will be around 4 months once opened vs. up to 4 years as with the capsules. Also the oil needs to be refrigerated, the capsules do not. Even if you typically prefer using the oil from the bottle I highly recommend getting some capsules as well for when you travel.

Warning from Nordic Naturals

The professional line of Nordic Naturals is the preferred line by most.  You can only purchase the professional line at an authorized distributor online such as http://www.speech411.com or https://getiqed.com/collections/nordic-naturals-professional or from a healthcare professional. Very few online sites are authorized to sell the professional line even though you can find it all over, for example on Amazon.  There has been a rise in fraudulent sellers including on Amazon.  Don’t purchase the professional line of Nordic Naturals at Amazon as nobody selling there is authorized to sell there.  The issue with that isn’t just buying a product that wasn’t authorized to be sold on a particular website.  Amazon has a problem with fraudulent sellers mainly from China (see some of the references below) and this problem is not just limited to fish oils, and it’s not just limited to Amazon.   Nordic Naturals has hired a company to help them as they purchased some of the bottles or NN ProEFA 369 sold on Amazon and some were packed with cotton. They do not pack their fish oils with cotton which means you do not know what is in those capsules, or where they were packed.  As you can see from the links below at times the product’s exact description and sometimes reviews all look legitimate.  When a product is counterfeit however and there are side effects or injuries,  the customer and the actual manufacturer are the ones that suffer. Example of how this is not just a fish oil issue

Visit the Main Fish Oil Information Page For More Information

LISA GENG

Author and Executive Director at The Cherab Foundation
Lisa Geng got her start as a designer, patented inventor,and creator in the fashion, toy, and film industries, but after the early diagnosis of her young children she entered the world of nonprofit, pilot studies, and advocacy. As the mother of two “late talkers,” she is the founder and president of the nonprofit CHERAB Foundation,co-author of the acclaimed book, The Late Talker, (St Martin’s Press 2003), and is instrumental in the development of IQed, a whole food nutrition meal replacement. Lisa currently serves as a parent advocate on an AAN board for vaccines, and is a member of CUE through Cochrane US. Lisa is currently working on a second book, The Late Talker Grows Up and serves as a Late Talkers, Silent Voices executive producer. She lives on the Treasure Coast of Florida.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Hi lisa,

    How are you? NNProEFA3.6.9 is the same with NN complete omega?
    my daughter is 20 months old and doesnt speak at all, babbling and screaming only.. she consumed NN children DHA liquid for about 2 weeks now.

    is it okay if i change NNchildren dha liquid to NNcomplete omega? i can find NN complete omega in stores but its difficult to find NNproEFA 3.6.9 in our country. iam in Jakarta, Indonesia.

    Thanks,
    Nadia

    • Hi Nadia! It sounds like your daughter may be showing signs of frustration. Does she appear to be frustrated when she’s screaming? Has she been taken yet for a speech and hearing evaluation? If not I’d highly recommend that. You can also introduce some alternative ways of communication such as simple sign or picture exchange to help relieve frustration. I have information on this here https://pursuitofresearch.org/2012/07/10/sign-language-pecs-as-communication-and-a-way-to-reduce-frustration-for-speech-impaired/

      The children’s DHA is strawberry flavored cod liver oil. If you use a fish oil from the liver of the fish you’ll also be serving your child vitamin A and D which you may or may not want to do. You certainly have to be aware of higher dosages with cod liver oil as fat soluble vitamins add up in the body. A fish oil not made from the liver of the fish doesn’t contain vitamins A and D (you’ll know if the fish oil does as it will be on the nutritional label) Also as I have on this page https://pursuitofresearch.org/2016/09/13/dosage-of-fish-oil-for-children/ we found formulas higher in EPA to DHA (Omega 3s) with a bit of the Omega 6 GLA to be better.

      About fish oils from Nordic Naturals they have 2 lines, commercial and professional. While most of us choose the professional line as it’s typically cheaper (you’ll get more capsules for around the same cost) you can only purchase them from health care professionals or online at sites like http://www.speech411.com The commercial line is great for instant gratification or when you run out.

      For fish oils it’s not about name brand but I found most important is formula and quality of the oil, and then dosage. There are some that live in parts of the world where they don’t have Nordic Naturals or any other formula used frequently and the parents then are able to use the formula on this page https://pursuitofresearch.org/2016/09/13/dosage-of-fish-oil-for-children/ and create the formula themselves.

      Hope that helps and please update!

      Lisa Geng
      President CHERAB Foundation
      Communication Help, Education, Research, Apraxia Base
      Conceptualist for IQed “Approved for the Feingold Diet”
      772-335-5135
      “Help give our cherubs a smile and a voice”

  2. Hi Lisa,

    My son is 4 years old , diagnosed with autism; mixed receptive and expressive language disorder, apraxia/hyperlexia. He is currently taking 2.5ml of NN Children’s DHA everyday. We’ve noticed a different in his speech so I will be purchasing more for him but was wondering if I should be giving him something else. I follow your Facebook page and I see posts on NN ProEFA and NN ProEFA 369. Should I continue with NN Children’s DHA and up the dosage? Continue with DHA and add ProEFA? Please help…

    • Adriene that’s awesome that your child is seeing benefits with cod liver oil or CLO(which is what “children’s DHA” from Nordic Naturals is) While cod liver oil is healthy, in our group’s feedback most see little to no results with CLO. And in particular with such a low dosage as what you are using (which would be the same as around 2 capsules)

      I recommend starting with switching to the NN ProEFA 369 -just use that alone to start with the same dosage you are using now (2 capsules a day -again recommend the capsules over the liquid) Here is the formula I recommend https://pursuitofresearch.org/2016/09/13/dosage-of-fish-oil-for-children/ and here are suggestions on how to serve it https://pursuitofresearch.org/2016/07/13/easy-tips-teach-your-child-to-swallow-pills/

      Lisa Geng
      President CHERAB Foundation
      Communication Help, Education, Research, Apraxia Base
      Conceptualist for IQed “Approved for the Feingold Diet”
      772-335-5135
      “Help give our cherubs a smile and a voice”

  3. Hi!

    I’ve been giving my son (3) NN 369 since Feb. with AMAZING results! Thank you! I ordered them after reading your site. My question is, should I be adding additional DHA or anything else to his daily dose? I purchased the iq’d powder but can’t get him to take it no matter the recipe I presented it in. We have had such great results I wanted to see if there are any additional components you recommend for optimal results. Thanks for your time.