New research is showing a link between ADHD, Omega 3 fatty acids and improvements in learning outcomes

Over the last few years there has been a number of studies about the link between Omega 3 and ADHD, as well as other learning and cognitive disorders and other mental disorders such as depression and postpartum depression.

Omega 3 fatty acids are good fats found primarily in fish oil, and most of us don’t get enough of the Omega 3 fats in our diet. This includes children.

There’s a new ADHD Omega 3 study out

A new study has now supported the conclusion that an adequate supply of Omega 3 essential fatty acids can help ameliorate the effects of ADHD.

One of the most well-known studies linking increased intake of Omega 3, and in particular DHA, is what is generally called the “Durham study”.

This was a trial undertaken in Durham in the UK where a group of students that were generally considered to be slower at learning were given Omega 3 supplements, and the conclusion was drawn that the children receiving the omega 3 supplements did better at school than those who did not.

Along with this study there have been others, not just in relation to ADHD, and find out more about the study you can read our article about ADHD, fish oil and learning.

The conclusions of the study, namely that more Omega 3 fatty acids, found primarily in fish oil, can help children with ADHD, have now been supported by a new Australian study published this month. 

The study concluded that low, or sub optimal levels of the Omega 3 fats may contribute to ADHD, as well as to other developmental problems.

75 children between the ages of 7 and 12, all with ADHD, were studied, and in particular blood levels were taken to ascertain their Omega 3 levels, and cognitive assessments were provided for the children to do. Other conclusions were that higher Omega 3 levels predicted lower levels of anxiety or shyness and that higher levels of DHA predicted “better word reading”, and that higher levels of Omega 6 contributed to poorer reading, vocabulary and spelling as well as attention.

It seems that there is strong emerging evidence of the link between Omega 3 and ADHD, and that children with ADHD will do better with optimal levels of omega 3 intake compared to children with ADHD with sub optimal levels of Omega 3 intake.

Source - the Australian study:

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There is a link between Omega 3 and ADHD reduction.

We have already talked about the link between Omega 3 fish oil and a reduction in depression levels. And we have also talked about the importance of adequate levels of Omega 3 for brain development in the fetus and infants.

So it’s no surprise that there is also a link between Omega 3 and ADHD. It now appears that it is possible to use fish oil to at least partially treat ADHD. Omega 3 fatty acids are an important part of an ADHD strategy.

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, or what is known as ADHD, is the inability of a person to concentrate for extended periods of time and to focus on one particular task. Symptoms can include hyperactivity and other impulsive and disruptive behaviour. It is estimated that around 7 percent of children in the US have some form of ADHD. Most of these are boys.

And somewhere around 70 percent of children with ADHD carry those problems through to adulthood.

There have been studies conducted on ADHD sufferers which have found that they have very low levels of the 2 main Omega 3 fatty acids, DHA and EPA. These are 2 essential fatty acids that are very important to the general health of the body. DHA is also one of the major fats found in the brain.

Does your child have ADHD? Fish oil contains the most DHA and EPA of any food that we can take. Fish eat micro algae with DHA and store this in their body. Oil sourced from the fish therefore contains good levels of DHA and EPA.

There are studies about using fish oil for ADHD relief. One at the Inflammation Research Foundation focused on the possibility of reducing the symptoms of ADHD by using fish oil supplementation. This study involved 3 boys and 6 girls, all of which had been diagnosed with ADHD. Omega 3 fatty acids were given to the boys and girls as liquids and measurements were taken of the level of DHA and EPA in their bodies together with the ratio between EPA and AA “arachidonic acid” which was considered to be one of the major causes of the ADHD.

The results of using fish oil for ADHD treatment were impressive. At the end of a trial lasting 8 weeks the levels of EPA and DHA found in the children have increased significantly and there were significant reductions symptoms of ADHD in all of the children.

The inattention score fell from 18 to 10, almost half, and a hyperactivity score fell from 11 to 5, a fall to less than half.

It is still in the early stages of research about the effects of fish oil and ADHD relief. However there are very encouraging results which fall in line with the results of using fish oil for depression. It is clearly worth considering that for anyone with ADHD, Omega 3 fatty acids are an important part of the equation in tackling the problem. Read the rest of this entry

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