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

Is Omega 3 a natural remedy for ADHD? Thereduced teacher ratings on the Conners DSM
simple answer is no. Omega 3 is an essential fattyADHD global scale after 3 months, compared with
acid that is absolutely vital for adults, hence thethe placebo group. The placebo group saw similar
word essential - for children of birth age until ageimprovements on this scale after crossing over to
two, it is even more important that they receivethe active fish oils for the 3-6 month period of
enough of the Omega 3 fatty acid DHA for thethe trial.
healthy construction of the brain. Beyond twoWithin 3 months children on the active supplement
years, they need EPA for the healthy function ofsaw a significant reduction on the rating scale of
the brain.Hyperactive-Impulsive behaviour, compared to
So why is it not a remedy? It is not a remedythose on placebo. Further reductions were seen in
for the simple reason that it should already bethe 3-6 month period of the study.
included in the diet, and not simply as anDramatic results were also seen within just 3
afterthought to add it to the diet because themonths of the dyspraxia trial. The active group
child or adult has ADHD.supplementing with Omega 3 fish oil saw
Does this mean that if you give a person withsignificant improvements in reading (9.5 months),
ADHD high-strength pharmaceutical grade fish oil inspelling (6.5 months) and behaviour, compared to
addition to a poor diet, they will not feel anythe placebo group where no overall improvement
effects? The answer has to be yes, of coursewas made.
they will feel the effects. If you starve anyoneDuring the 3-6 month period when the placebo
for long enough of vital nutrients then the bodygroup crossed over to Omega 3 fish oil
will react in certain ways if you then replace thosesupplementation, considerable improvements were
nutrients, the body will return in time to itsshown in the same areas, with an average
correct balance.reading gain of 13.5 months and an average
What is ADHD? A good definition is as follows:spelling gain at over 6 months. The active group
A common developmental and behaviouralcontinuing supplementation displayed further signs
disorder, it is characterised by poor concentration,of progress or maintained their improvement.
distractibility, hyperactivity, and impulsiveness thatAt the start of the trial, children were a year
are inappropriate for the child's age. Children andbehind their chronological age for reading and
adults with ADHD are easily distracted by sightsspelling, but after the trial, the active group who
and sounds in their environment, cannothad been on Omega 3 fish oil throughout the trial
concentrate for long periods of time, are restlessmade spelling and reading gains over and above
and impulsive, or have a tendency to daydreamtheir age.
and be slow to complete tasks.An alternative view
Fish oil supplementationOn the face of things these results look fairly
With current research revealing that Omega 3conclusive. However, when you take into account
fatty acid deficiencies may be a factor affectingthat by their own admission they had a real battle
learning difficulties, authorities in Durham, England,with the children (and in some cases parents) to
initiated a programme to see if it was possiblechange their eating habits then the results - to a
that an improved diet would lead toqualified dietician and anyone who knows what a
improvements in the classroom. But overturningbalanced diet is swing. Far from seeming to show
the high-carbohydrate, heavily-processed dietsthat fish oil cures ADHD and dyspraxia, it rather
that children typically consume was going to be aappears to demonstrate the need for a very
momentous task. So they decided to see if fattybalanced diet, with all these nutritional components
acids in the form of a fish oil supplement could beincluded in the first place.
of any use.What would be far more interesting than turning a
This was the largest and most extensive triallot of unruly childrens diets into the correct
looking at Omega 3 fatty acids and learningbalance and then claiming that fish oil helps with
conditions to be carried out within the UnitedADHD, would be to take a lot of children who eat
Kingdom.a very balanced Mediterranean style diet, which is
This trial involved more than 100 children at 12already very balanced, and perform a trial with
primary schools in the Durham area. The trialthose children to see if it actually improves their
looked at dyspraxia and motor skills, but alsoreading or spelling ability.
assessed for dyslexia and ADHD.Conclusion
Trial resultsNot all the children involved in the trial showed
At the start of the trial, the percentage ofgreat gains in behaviour, spelling and reading, and
children within the clinical range of an ADHDthose children that did show great gains were in
diagnosis was set at 32% for the fish oil groupmy opinion children who were very badly deficient
and 31% for the placebo group.in Omega 3 already through a very poor diet.
After 3 months of omega 3 fish oilThe correct approach is not to supplement
supplementation, the percentage of children withinchildren with fish oil, but to drastically improve the
the clinical range of an ADHD diagnosis reduced tochilds eating habits, following the example of a
18% for the fatty acid group, whereas this onlyMediterranean diet which includes oily fish, and
dropped 1 % for the placebo group.trying to cut out all additives and preservatives
A raw score was calculated from the teacherand the wrong kinds of bad fats.
rating form that assessed each child's behaviour.As most parents will know this is almost an
After 3 months there was a highly significantimpossibility, but changing a few little things about
reduction seen in the fish oil supplement group,the diet will make a difference. As for the fish oil
compared to those on placebo, in this behaviouralcapsules, if you really cant get your child to eat
score. The fatty acid group reduced from anoily fish then as this trial proves, supplementing
average score of 74.7 to 58.1., whereas thewith a high quality fish oil supplement is highly
before and after treatment scores for theadvisable so that your child can get the correct
placebo group were 69.5 and 67.9.amount of Omega 3 in their diet.
The active fish oil group also saw significantly