Originally published August 30 2005
Psychology student finds fish oil calms kids with ADD
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Ritalin may take a back seat as the first thing thrown at kids with ADD since, according to The Australian, PhD psychology student Natalie Sinn of the University of South Australia and CSIRO Nutrition, found that children were more focused after eating fish high in omega-3 fatty acids.
A DAILY dose of fish oil helps calm children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, an Australian study suggests.
PhD psychology student Natalie Sinn, of the University of South Australia and CSIRO Nutrition, studied 145 children aged seven to 12 with ADHD over 15 weeks.
Half were given a commercially available dietary supplement containing a combination of fish oil and evening primrose oil, in a ratio of four to one.
In what's known as a double-blind study, parents, children and researchers did not know whether children were taking the daily fish oil capsules or the placebo.
MS Sinn said when parents were later questioned, children on the active fish oil capsules, rich in omega-3 fatty acids, showed improvements in attention, behaviour and vocabulary.
"They were able to concentrate better, they were calmer, less impulsive, that sort of thing," Ms Sinn said in an interview.
Ms Sinn said 60 per cent of the brain was composed of fats, the most important being omega-3 fatty acids, such as those found in fish oil, and omega-6, like those in evening primrose oil.
"There's a growing body of research that's finding evidence of links between omega-3 deficiency and mental health problems like depression and schizophrenia," Ms Sinn said.
Ms Sinn said no adverse effects had been reported to date.
By comparison, Ritalin -- a drug commonly used to treat ADHD -- has been linked to suicidal thoughts, hallucinations, aggressive and violent behaviour and heart problems.
Ms Sinn said the fish oil in her study had higher concentrations of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) to docosahexaenoic acid (DPA).
The Adelaide-based researcher urged general practitioners, psychologists and psychiatrists to take the research on board as evidence about the benefits of fish oil accumulates.
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