A natural remedy for ADHD is omega 3 - or is it?

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Title: A natural remedy for ADHD is omega 3 - or is it?

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Author: McEvoy

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A natural remedy for ADHD is omega 3 - or is it?

Copyright 2005 McEvoy

Is Omega 3 a natural remedy for ADHD? The simple answer is

no. Omega 3 is an essential fatty acid that is absolutely

vital for adults, hence the word ‘essential’ - for children

of birth age until age two, it is even more important that

they receive enough of the Omega 3 fatty acid DHA for the

healthy construction of the brain. Beyond two years, they

need EPA for the healthy function of the brain.

So why is it not a remedy? It is not a remedy for the

simple reason that it should already be included in the

diet, and not simply as an afterthought to add it to the

diet because the child or adult has ADHD.

Does this mean that if you give a person with ADHD

high-strength pharmaceutical grade fish oil in addition to

a poor diet, they will not feel any effects? The answer has

to be yes, of course they will feel the effects. If you

starve anyone for long enough of vital nutrients then the

body will react in certain ways – if you then replace those

nutrients, the body will return in time to its correct

balance.

What is ADHD? A good definition is as follows:

A common developmental and behavioural disorder, it is

characterised by poor concentration, distractibility,

hyperactivity, and impulsiveness that are inappropriate for

the child's age. Children and adults with ADHD are easily

distracted by sights and sounds in their environment,

cannot concentrate for long periods of time, are restless

and impulsive, or have a tendency to daydream and be slow

to complete tasks.

Fish oil supplementation

With current research revealing that Omega 3 fatty acid

deficiencies may be a factor affecting learning

difficulties, authorities in Durham, England, initiated a

programme to see if it was possible that an improved diet

would lead to improvements in the classroom. But

overturning the high-carbohydrate, heavily-processed diets

that children typically consume was going to be a momentous

task. So they decided to see if fatty acids in the form of

a fish oil supplement could be of any use.

This was the largest and most extensive trial looking at

Omega 3 fatty acids and learning conditions to be carried

out within the United Kingdom.

This trial involved more than 100 children at 12 primary

schools in the Durham area. The trial looked at dyspraxia

and motor skills, but also assessed for dyslexia and ADHD.

Trial results

At the start of the trial, the percentage of children

within the clinical range of an ADHD diagnosis was set at

32% for the fish oil group and 31% for the placebo group.

After 3 months of omega 3 fish oil supplementation, the

percentage of children within the clinical range of an ADHD

diagnosis reduced to 18% for the fatty acid group, whereas

this only dropped 1 % for the placebo group.

A raw score was calculated from the teacher rating form

that assessed each child's behaviour. After 3 months there

was a highly significant reduction seen in the fish oil

supplement group, compared to those on placebo, in this

behavioural score. The fatty acid group reduced from an

average score of 74.7 to 58.1., whereas the before and

after treatment scores for the placebo group were 69.5 and

67.9.

The active fish oil group also saw significantly reduced

teacher ratings on the Conners’ DSM ADHD global scale after

3 months, compared with the placebo group. The placebo

group saw similar improvements on this scale after crossing

over to the active fish oils for the 3-6 month period of

the trial.

Within 3 months children on the active supplement saw a

significant reduction on the rating scale of

Hyperactive-Impulsive behaviour, compared to those on

placebo. Further reductions were seen in the 3-6 month

period of the study.

Dramatic results were also seen within just 3 months of the

dyspraxia trial. The active group supplementing with Omega

3 fish oil saw significant improvements in reading (9.5

months), spelling (6.5 months) and behaviour, compared to

the placebo group where no overall improvement was made.

During the 3-6 month period when the placebo group crossed

over to Omega 3 fish oil supplementation, considerable

improvements were shown in the same areas, with an average

reading gain of 13.5 months and an average spelling gain at

over 6 months. The active group continuing supplementation

displayed further signs of progress or maintained their

improvement.

At the start of the trial, children were a year behind

their chronological age for reading and spelling, but after

the trial, the active group who had been on Omega 3 fish

oil throughout the trial made spelling and reading gains

over and above their age.

An alternative view

On the face of things these results look fairly conclusive.

However, when you take into account that by their own

admission they had a real battle with the children (and in

some cases parents) to change their eating habits then the

results - to a qualified dietician and anyone who knows

what a balanced diet is – swing. Far from seeming to show

that fish oil cures ADHD and dyspraxia, it rather appears

to demonstrate the need for a very balanced diet, with all

these nutritional components included in the first place.

What would be far more interesting than turning a lot of

unruly children’s diets into the correct balance and then

claiming that fish oil helps with ADHD, would be to take a

lot of children who eat a very balanced Mediterranean style

diet, which is already very balanced, and perform a trial

with those children to see if it actually improves their

reading or spelling ability.

Conclusion

Not all the children involved in the trial showed great

gains in behaviour, spelling and reading, and those

children that did show great gains were in my opinion

children who were very badly deficient in Omega 3 already

through a very poor diet.

The correct approach is not to supplement children with

fish oil, but to drastically improve the child’s eating

habits, following the example of a Mediterranean diet which

includes oily fish, and trying to cut out all additives and

preservatives and the wrong kinds of “bad fats”.

As most parents will know this is almost an impossibility,

but changing a few little things about the diet will make a

difference. As for the fish oil capsules, if you really

can’t get your child to eat oily fish then as this trial

proves, supplementing with a high quality fish oil

supplement is highly advisable so that your child can get

the correct amount of Omega 3 in their diet.

About the Author:

Dave mcevoy is an award winning personal trainer with over

20 years experience; he also runs a high quality health

supplement website. http://www.mind1st.co.uk