How to nourish the brains of school-age children?

The brain of school-age children faces a double daily challenge: to develop and learn useful knowledge for school and social life. To do this optimally, it must be equally well supported. Even in this case, the contribution of nutrition and dietary supplements is anything but negligible. Let’s discover how to nourish the brain during this particular phase of life.

For children and adolescents, the abilities to reason, think, remember, and plan are fundamental to facing everyday life. At stake are not only school performance but also social interactions.

All these abilities develop precisely during childhood and adolescence. In parallel, the brain changes both in its structure and function; how can we help it?

Nutrition also offers important support. For example, foods rich in B vitamins (biotin, niacin, riboflavin, thiamine, and vitamins B6 and B12) support the functioning of the nervous system and help optimize mental performance, while also reducing fatigue and promoting psychological well-being. Vitamin C and several minerals (copper, iodine, magnesium, and potassium) also have properties useful for the proper functioning of the nervous system. To support cognitive abilities more specifically, zinc, iron, the aforementioned iodine, and certain plant extracts such as Bacopa monnieri are helpful.

Bacopa monnieri: the mind’s ally plant 

Bacopa monnieri is a plant with a millennia-long tradition of use. Also known as Brahmi, it is classified in Ayurvedic medicine as a Medhya Rasayana; in Western terms, it is a “nootropic,” meaning a remedy that enhances memory and cognitive abilities. Its most important active ingredients are bacosides A and B, which act on the central nervous system by regulating, at multiple levels, messages dependent on the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, exerting anxiolytic effects and also providing protection from phenomena associated with the development of Alzheimer’s disease.

Much of the evidence for its benefits comes from studies conducted on adults, where it has been shown to improve memory, attention, cognitive skills, and mood. However, there is no shortage of research analyzing its potential advantages for children. As early as 1987, Sharma and colleagues observed increased reasoning ability, exploratory motivation (the drive to examine our surroundings, fundamental for learning), and improved perceptual organization (the process that allows the brain to interpret and structure sensory information) in school-age children (6–8 years) who took 350 mg of Bacopa syrup three times a day for three months.

In 2000, Negi and colleagues analyzed the effects of two daily doses of 50 mg Bacopa, taken for 12 weeks, in children diagnosed with ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder). Compared to those who did not take it, the children who received Bacopa showed significant improvements in their ability to repeat phrases, logical memory, and performance in tests similar to the well-known “memory” game. Furthermore, these improvements were persistent and evident even four weeks after stopping Bacopa intake.

A few years later, in 2008, Usha and colleagues focused on the effects of Bacopa on the cognitive abilities of children and adolescents with Borderline Cognitive Functioning, meaning an IQ between 70 and 85–90 points. These children do not have a cognitive deficit, but their IQ falls below scores typical of what is considered normal intelligence. The study involved 28 children aged 4 to 18 (13 boys and 15 girls) who took 225 mg per day for four months of BacoMind®, a patented Bacopa monnieri extract. Testing revealed significant improvements in several memory components:

• working memory, which allows information to be retained and processed while performing tasks;
• short-term verbal memory, i.e., the ability to temporarily store and recall read or heard information for a short time;
• logical memory, the ability to understand, retain, and recall information based on logical connections and meanings;
• memory related to personal life;
• visual and auditory memory, i.e., the ability to remember what has been seen or heard, respectively.

In 2016, a group of researchers from Swinburne University in Melbourne, Australia, reviewed the studies on the effects of Bacopa in children and adolescents. “The results,” the authors explained, “demonstrate significant and consistent improvements (…) in various memory subdomains.” Only 2.3% of the children experienced mild side effects, leading researchers to emphasize the possibility of “safe use of Bacopa monnieri to improve aspects of cognition, behavior, and attention deficit in children and adolescents.”

Help from the right fats

Turning attention to macronutrients, Omega 3s can also support school-age children and adolescents. Specifically, DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), a fat rich in fish and marine-derived oils (from fish, krill, and microalgae), “contributes to the maintenance of normal brain function.”

This Omega 3 accounts for about 15–20% of the fats in the frontal part of the adult brain, where it participates in controlling executive functions, influencing working memory, planning and problem-solving abilities, critical thinking, and brain plasticity, all of which are associated with frontal lobe development.

Dietary intake of DHA has been linked to neurocognitive development and, more specifically, to attention and memory. Supplementation has also shown positive effects on cognitive functions; for example, fish oil has been associated with modulation of brain activity underlying memory, interpreted by researchers as improvements in cognitive and attentional abilities.

The benefits of DHA are thought to stem from its important structural role in the brain. Having sufficient amounts available allows neurons to grow and form connections with other nerve cells. DHA supplements could therefore support the formation of neural networks and, in turn, brain development and cognitive function.

Much of the evidence for the potential benefits of Omega 3s for children's brains also comes from ADHD studies. One theory about the origin of this condition points directly to a deficiency of DHA and the other marine Omega 3, EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid). The greater the Omega 3 deficiency, the more pronounced the ADHD symptoms, and clinical studies suggest that these fats may help treat these symptoms, with a better safety profile than that of the most common pharmacological remedies.

In the case of ADHD, the benefits of Omega 3s may be due to their anti-inflammatory properties, their ability to regulate the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and the autonomic nervous system, and their positive effect on the gut microbiota.

Finally, the benefits of Omega 3s for the brain seem to be enhanced by combining them with another fat with anti-inflammatory properties, gamma-linolenic acid (GLA). Particularly abundant in oil extracted from borage seeds (Borago officinalis), GLA is an Omega 6 important for the integrity of nerve cell membranes and for adequate blood flow to the nerves.

Dietary supplements that combine EPA, DHA, and GLA are increasingly common; this combination appears particularly effective in inhibiting the formation of pro-inflammatory molecules, whose excesses – especially if sustained over time – are dangerous to health. Moreover, the interaction between EPA and GLA also seems useful against attention deficit and behavioral disorders typical of ADHD.

Omegor® Mind: a formula supported by scientific evidence

In short, research seems to clearly point to one conclusion: with the right foods and supplements, we can provide children’s brains with substances that help them perform at their best during the challenging school years.

To best support them, Omegor has brought these substances together in a single product: Omegor® Mind. Thanks to the synergy of B vitamins, zinc, BacoMind®, EPA, DHA, and GLA, this supplement is designed to support cognitive functions during the learning years.

You can discover all its features by clicking this link.

References: 

European Commission. Food and Feed Information Portal Database. Last viewed: 15/04/25

D'Helft J, Caccialanza R, Derbyshire E, Maes M. Relevance of ω-6 GLA Added to ω-3 PUFAs Supplements for ADHD: A Narrative Review. Nutrients. 2022 Aug 10;14(16):3273. doi: 10.3390/nu14163273

Kean JD, Downey LA, Stough C. A systematic review of the Ayurvedic medicinal herb Bacopa monnieri in child and adolescent populations. Complement Ther Med. 2016 Dec;29:56-62. doi: 10.1016/j.ctim.2016.09.002

Mitra-Ganguli T, Kalita S, Bhushan S, Stough C, Kean J, Wang N, Sethi V, Khadilkar A. A Randomized, Double-Blind Study Assessing Changes in Cognitive Function in Indian School Children Receiving a Combination of Bacopa monnieri and Micronutrient Supplementation vs. Placebo. Front Pharmacol. 2017 Nov 17;8:678. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2017.00678

Pei-Chen Chang J. Personalised medicine in child and Adolescent Psychiatry: Focus on omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and ADHD. Brain Behav Immun Health. 2021 Jul 29;16:100310. doi: 10.1016/j.bbih.2021.100310

Science Alert. Gamma Linolenic Acid. Last viewed: 17/04/25

Sittiprapaporn P, Bumrungpert A, Suyajai P, Stough C. Effectiveness of Fish Oil-DHA Supplementation for Cognitive Function in Thai Children: A Randomized, Doubled-Blind, Two-Dose, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial. Foods. 2022 Aug 26;11(17):2595. doi: 10.3390/foods11172595

Usha, P.D. & Wasim, P. & Joshua, J.A. & Geetharani, P. & Balasubramianan, Murali & Mayachari, Anand & Venkateshwarlu, K. & Saxena, V.S. & Mundkinajeddu, Deepak & Agarwal, Amit. (2008). BacoMind®: A Cognitive Enhancer in Children Requiring Individual Education Programme. Journal of Pharmacology and Toxicology. 3. 302-310. doi: 10.3923/jpt.2008.302.310