Wednesday, September 23, 2009

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

By Peter Bertonach

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 otherwise known as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, affects about 7 percent of children in the US. Most of these are boys and somewhere around 70 percent continue to adulthood suffering from ADHD. Omega 3 fatty acids have in many studies been shown to be important for the development of the fetal brain and also as a partial treatment for the symptoms of depression and there is now evidence emerging that using fish oil for ADHD treatment may be useful.

Recent studies on sufferers of ADHD have shown low levels of Omega 3 fatty acids (essential fatty acids) in their bodies. The 2 most important Omega 3 essential fatty acids are DHA and EPA. These are found in fish and also be taken as fish oil supplements.

A study done recently by the Inflammation Research Foundation study 3 boys and 6 girls who were all diagnosed with the symptoms of ADHD. These include in ability to concentrate on the task for an extended period of time, hyperactivity and other disruptive behavior.

High levels of fish oil supplements were given to each of the children over 8 weeks. During that time levels of Omega 3 fatty acids in their bodies were monitored and a study also monitored various factors indicating the degree to which their ADHD had changed.

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.

It's too early to say that using fish oil to treat ADHD is an adequate treatment regime, certainly as a stand-alone treatment. However it does seem that there is now clear evidence that using fish oil ADHD relief is well worth considering. There seems to be clearly between levels of Omega 3 and ADHD hyperactivity levels.

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 clearly a massive body of evidence that almost everyone in the US should be taking fish oil supplements containing Omega 3 fatty acids for general health, not just sufferers of ADHD. Omega 3 supplements offer a wide range of health benefits including but not limited to improving our mental state. It seems that adequate levels of DHA and EPA to 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.

Visit my website to find out how you can compare the different Omega 3 fish oil capsules available on the market.

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