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.
Omega 3 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.
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