Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Is It Possible That There Is An ADHD Fish Oil Link?

Does someone in your family have ADHD? Fish oil may provide the answer. Whilst it is still not conclusively proven, it is clear that using fish oil for ADHD relief may well be worthwhile.

ADHD, or what is known as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, affects around 7 percent of our children, mostly boys. Somewhere around 70 percent of these continue, in their adulthood, to suffer from ADHD. Omega 3 fatty acids have been shown in recent studies to be important in the treatment of various mental conditions including depression and also important for the development of the fetal brain. There is now evidence that using Omega 3 for ADHD treatment may be useful.

There are studies on ADHD sufferers that show that they have very low levels of the essential fatty acids known as Omega 3 fatty acids. The 2 most important of these are the Omega 3 fats called DHA and EPA. These are mainly found in fish and fish oil and can also be taken as fish oil supplements.

The Inflammation Research Foundation has recently concluded a study of 3 boys and 6 girls who were all previously diagnosed with ADHD symptoms. The symptoms include an inability to concentrate well on any individual past over a longer period of time and disruptive behaviour such as hyperactivity.

Over 8 weeks these children were given high doses of fish oil supplements containing Omega 3 fatty acids. Over that time the levels of the Omega 3 fatty acids DHA and EPA were monitored and other factors were also monitors which indicate the degree of their ADHD.

It was observed that their levels of EPA and DHA increased dramatically and the indicators of their degree of ADHD fell. Their inattention school almost halved from 18 to 10 and their hyperactivity score fell from 11 to 5. Both of these results are impressive for sufferers of ADHD. Omega 3 supplementation seems to have had a very noticeable affect.

Of course it's still too early to state that using fish oil for ADHD treatment can be used as a treatment on its own. But it does seem that there is clear evidence that using fish oil for ADHD relief is well worth investigating. It seems there is clear signs of an ADHD fish oil link.

It is also not clear what is the appropriate dosage of fish oil supplements for ADHD sufferers. Dosage levels in the trial were quite high, higher than that recommended for the general population.

But there is now little doubt that just about everyone in the US should be taking the best Omega 3 fish oil supplements, not just sufferers of ADHD. Omega 3 supplements benefit our health in a wide range of ways, including, it seems, in improving our mental state. It seems that adequate levels of essential fatty acids in our body to have an impact on conditions such as depression and ADHD.

There's a wide range of reasons, both the general health and to improve their mental state, why children with ADHD should be taking daily Omega 3 fish oil supplements.

Note that not all Omega 3 fish oil supplements are created equal. Many supplements have low levels of 2 essential fatty acids DHA and EPA, and do not represent good value for that reason.

No comments:

Post a Comment