Omega 3 Fish Oil As Effective As Drugs For Some Children With ADHD

[Julieanne]

Jane Chang
November 21 2019

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is quite common. It affects about one in 20 children and is three or four times more common in boys than in girls. Children with ADHD, which is characterised by inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity, are more likely to drop out of school. Fortunately, drugs to treat the condition work well for 60-80% of children who take them. But that leaves 20-40% of children who have a poor response to the drugs or who suffer from side effects.

Read more: https://theconversation.com/omega-3-...th-adhd-127311

[Islander]

I thought this was interesting: "Our study is the first to use the concept of personalised medicine (also known as “precision medicine”) applied to nutritional studies. It is also the first study to point out the omega-3 may not provide benefits for all children with ADHD, and in some cases, may even be detrimental. For this reason, children with ADHD should only take a supplement with omega-3 under the supervision of their doctors. And children shouldn’t switch from their medication to fish oil supplements, especially if they are doing well on the medication."

[Mr. Wizard]

Well, the study only used EPA. That's confusing since Omega-3 in nature occurs both as EPA and DHA together. In fact, the literature I've read cites DHA as more critical for brain functioning and mood than EPA, especially in children. Adults tend to need more EPA, while children need more DHA. When I was researching organic baby foods a few years ago for my daughter, almost everything had DHA in it because it's the ingredient credited for brain development and improved communication between synapses. Also, the study mentions "pure" EPA. That sounds synthetic to me, which is always bad news. This might explain why some children got worse after taking it.