Study Shows Fish Oils Can Transform the Behavior of Disruptive Teenagers

[Guest guest]

Study Shows Fish Oils Can Transform the Behavior of Disruptive

Teenagers

JoAnn Guest

May 11, 2006 17:29 PDT

===================================================================

 

http://organicconsumers.org/school/fishoil060405.cfm

 

Fish oil 'does help difficult children'

 

Fish oils can transform the behaviour of disruptive teenagers, a

study has revealed. Youngsters were calmer and better able to

concentrate after taking daily supplements for three months.

 

Fish oil 'does help difficult children'

 

By LAURA CLARK, Daily Mail 07:40am 28th March 2006

 

http://www.alliance-natural-health.org/index.cfm?action=news & ID=231

 

Fish oils can transform the behaviour of disruptive teenagers, a

study

has revealed.

 

Youngsters were calmer and better able to concentrate after taking

daily

supplements for three months.

 

They were also less impulsive and kinder towards their parents,

according to the research, which provides the clearest evidence yet

of

the benefit children receive from fish oils.

 

The findings add to the evidence that improving children's

nutritional

intake can calm their behaviour and even boost brainpower.

 

Case study: 'How fish oil unlocked my son'

 

The study involved 20 persistently disruptive 12 to 15 year olds at

Greenfield Community Arts College, County Durham.

 

Nineteen were assessed as having moderate or severe attention

deficit

hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Nineteen were also judged to have

short

attention spans while 18 were highly impulsive.

 

By the end of the 12-week trial, the number showing symptoms of

moderate

or severe ADHD had dropped to six, while only three were severely

inattentive and only six highly impulsive.

 

The supplements were 'eye q smooth', a blend of Omega 3 and Omega 6,

which is supplied by Equazen. Another product cited by the

researchers

is known as Efalex.

 

Dr Madeleine Portwood, Durham County Council's senior educational

psychologist and lead researcher on the trials, described the

results as

" stunning " .

 

She said: " These trials were undertaken with a group of potentially

vulnerable students with persistent behavioural difficulties and who

were at risk of exclusion.

 

" By taking the fatty acid supplement, those aspects of their

behaviour

which put them at risk of exclusion improved dramatically. "

 

An earlier trial led by Dr Portwood studied 65 children aged 18 to

30

months.

 

They were selected for the research from Governmentfunded Sure Start

children's centres due to their " challenging behaviour " and problems

with attention and concentration.

 

At the start of the research, almost half of the children were rated

as

having 'poor' or 'very poor' behaviour.

 

But after receiving supplements, nine out of ten of these youngsters

had

improved to moderate or good ratings.

 

Sixty-six per cent of children at the beginning of the trial

had 'poor'

or 'very poor' con-centration levels but all improved to moderate or

good after five months.

 

The latest findings emerged amid a scientific row over the extent of

the

health-giving properties of oily fish.

 

Mackerel, tuna, herring and other fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids

have

been thought to reduce the risk of heart disease, strokes and some

cancers.

 

But University of East Anglia researchers analysed 89 studies on the

subject and found little evidence to back claims of reduced death

rates.

 

Dr Portwood said last night: " The studies looked at the effect on

the

blood but we are actually looking at how the brain is working. "

 

 

JoAnn Guest

mrsjo-

www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/Diets