They Say: Fish Oil Cuts ADHD Symptoms by Almost Half
Posted by Amber Robinson at 12:17 PM on May 21, 2009
Treating childhood behavioural problems with fish oil is not new – but new research backs up its effectiveness. it can cut ADHD symptoms in children by almost half.
Dr Sven Ostlund, from Goteborg University in Sweden, followed children aged between 8 and 18 years, who took daily fish oil.
Within six months, a least a quarter recorded a reduction in symptoms.
Dr Ostlund presented his findings in Sydney this week.
“It was very surprising. We decided to research it because a lot of parents will say they have tried natural products instead of medication and we wanted to see if it would work,” he said.
“In Sweden, we don’t put children on medication first. We think doctors (here) can now try Omega-3 first and then medication later.”
It is thought that the fatty acids in fish oil are vital for brain function and can help kids concentrate.
I give my toddler daily fish oil supplements and have seen a reduction in the frequency, length and severity of his tantrums.
Do you dish out the good oil?
Reducing symptoms is only part of the problem. ADHD kids are very weak in finishing tasks, filtering out distractions, using memory, etc. Fish oil won’t teach these skills.
My wife and I hired an ADHD coach. My son, Alex, is not medicated. Our coach advocated us restructuring our parenting approaches and use supplements. She also had us use two different programs. We used Play Attention (www.playattention.com). It’s a neat program that allows Alex to control their games like Harry Potter. He uses his mind to finish tasks and improve memory. We also used http://www.adhdnanny.com to help us schedule routines and to provide consequences when the routine wasn’t met. It’s definitely for younger kids, but it really helped us manage. It’s a long road, but we’re doing well. It’s good to have someone sort through the clutter to get help.