Are children what they don't eat?

MADELAINE Portwood has an extraordinary dream which looks as if it may be about to come true - that, one day, children will be able to take a pill and do well at school.

An educational psychologist with Durham County Council, Dr Portwood has spent years working with youngsters with various forms of learning and behavioural difficulties. Now, she is in charge of a unique experiment which has attracted national attention - giving 120 County Durham primary school children daily food supplements to overcome learning difficulties and boost school performance.

The early signs are that the daily pills are working, and the children aged between six and 11 appear brighter, more out-going and find it easier to concentrate, but the question is: Could this help children with their school work generally?

Tests have shown that, within three months of starting on the supplements - capsules containing a special mixture of fish oil and vegetable extract oil - the average reading age of the County Durham pupils has improved by two or three years. The experiment, which involves 13 primary schools, is the culmination of two years of research into the possibility of using food supplements to counteract problems such as dyspraxia, dyslexia, hyperactivity and autism.

So how is it that County Durham is at the centre of such an important national, or even international, trial, which could have huge implications for the treatment of schoolchildren with learning difficulties?

Dr Portwood's main area of expertise is dyspraxia, the so-called clumsy child syndrome, and she has written three books on this complex subject.

A few years ago she attended a conference at Oxford University where eminent scientists delivered papers which suggested medical problems such as schizophrenia and maternal depression might be caused by what we eat, or in this case, what we don't eat.

Some researchers had suggested that so-called long chain fatty acids, found in substances such as marine fish oil and oil of evening primrose, could help treat a range of conditions. Her own research in County Durham suggested there might be a link between children with a range of behavioural and learning problems. "The suggestion was that some conditions could have a metabolic cause. I was very interested so I decided to look around and see what supplements were available," she recalls.

Shortly afterwards, she had met Adam Kelliher, a former BBC journalist who arrived at similar conclusions about the importance of food supplements. But, instead of just writing about using food supplements, Kelliher and his wife set up their own company, Equazen, to produce food supplements rich in long chain fatty acids.

Adam showed Dr Portwood convincing research and offered to help her run a major trial by providing free supplements and free placebo, or dummy, capsules. A smaller trial in Oxford two years ago saw dramatic improvements in the concentration and behaviour of children given supplements containing evening primrose oil and marine fish oil. Adam convinced Dr Portwood that his firm's food supplements, sold under the brand name of Eye.q could do even better. "I have given Eye.q to individual children in Durham and the response convinced me that it was important to mount a large public trial," says Dr Portwood.

Since founding Equazen more than two years ago, Adam says he has had masses of positive feedback. "Lots of research is pointing to the importance of long chain fatty acids in our diet," he says. "Throughout the first few million years of human evolution we have always had a high input of long chain fatty acids."

But with the growing industrialisation of food, many families' diets do not include the key elements of long chain fatty acids, substances called omega six and omega three. Scientists increasingly believe these substances play a vital part in how the brain works.

"I formed the company to come up with a range of oils that would answer some of these problems, but I didn't in my wildest dreams imagine it would have the impact that we are seeing because it has been incredible," says Adam.

A typical case is four-year-old Alfie Morris from East Sussex. His mother, Zoe, says what has happened to her autistic son since giving him daily Eye-q supplements is "a miracle".

From being a child who had terrible screaming fits, refused to make eye contact, was frightened of everybody and everything and could hardly speak, Alfie has been transformed.

"The little boy that I lost has come back to me. Instead of existing, we now have a family life," says Zoe, 36. Alfie can now talk in sentences, understands his mother and happily plays with his brother Jack and other children. "I can't believe it, I just thank God for what has happened," she says.

Adam says we all need to "sit down and re-assess what we are putting in our children's mouths", and simply moving away from processed food and cooking fresh food can help, he says.

But food supplements are not just for children, says Adam, who, along with the rest of his family, has been taking Eqe-q for years. "We are also hearing from parents who are taking it and becoming more productive at work," he adds.

Headteacher Andrew Westerman, who is running the food supplement scheme at Timothy Hackworth Primary School in Shildon, County Durham, can hardly contain his excitement. Halfway through the six-month trial, the feedback from teachers and parents is that a significant number of children are responding positively to the food supplements.

"The reading scores are going up quite significantly. The average increase is between two and three years in three months. In one case we have seen an increase of four years. This is simply stunning," he says. "When the results are out - and if they do prove what we believe they will prove - the effect on so many lives is going to be huge." Mr Westerman, like all the teachers taking part in the scheme, does not know which children are taking the real supplements and which the dummy capsules.

"We have seem improvements in attentiveness, ability to take part in lessons, self-esteem and so on," the headmaster adds. "There is a huge need out there and people are desperate for something. Time and again, I have people coming up and phoning and asking me for more information about the trial. We really want to do something to help them."

Dr Portwood is delighted at the way the trial is proceeding but is already looking beyond the use of food supplements to "treat" behavioural and learning difficulties. "If we can address the concentration issue, then the attainment of children will be improved, their self-esteem will improve, they will be less disaffected and, hopefully, we will see the spin-off in education, less truancy and less juvenile offending. The outcome could be quite fantastic," she says

However, the food supplements are not a universal cure. Some children who have not responded to the capsules may have developmental problems which are not caused by metabolism, she adds.

One other important development which has helped the County Durham authorities identify children who are likely to respond to the capsules is the invention of a breathalyser-like device which can analyse exhalations and indicate whether a child or adult has problems with their metabolism.

"A breath analysis at pre-school level could be introduced quite easily so we could address the metabolic problem early," says Dr Portwood.

Shildon mum, Alison Kitching, 33, whose nine-year-old daughter Kayleigh is part of the trial, says: "Kayleigh has always been a very active child, the only thing that she lacked was concentration. Since she has taken the supplements I have seen a change in her. She is more determined."

One thing is certain, when the results of the Dyspraxia Research Trust study are published in September, the educational world will be holding its breath.

* Eye-q is available at Boots, Tescos, Superdrug and Morrisons, as well as leading pharmacies and healthfood stores. It can also be purchased directly by calling 0870 241 5621, or online through www.equazen.com

The website also contains extensive product information.