ADD News: Studies Reveal Fish Oil Alleviates ADD Symptoms, Improves Focus, & Helps with Bi-Polar Disorder, too!!
This is exciting news! Dr. Edward Hallowell (Ned) who is the author of 2 of my favorite books on ADD / ADHD and the ADD -like lifestyle (See Crazy Busy, and Delivered from Distraction:Getting the Most out of Life with Attention Deficit Disorder ) has a blog!! http://www.drhallowellsblog.com/
And on his blog is a post with extremely good news for people with ADD & BiPolar Disorder.
"A new study from Mass General Hospital and Harvard Medical School has found that omega-3 fatty acid supplements to the diet in the form of fish oil are an effective first-line intervention for ADHD and bi-polar disorder."
If you or anyone you know has ADD / ADHD & BiPolar Disorder, read this article and the comments too. I've never been diagnosed as ADD but like a lot of people I sometimes wonder if I have it or it's just my Crazy Busy lifestyle : )
Regardless, I already take fish oil supplements. Dr. Ned recommends omegabrite or Barry Sears's Omega RX brand which I'm going to switch to. The recommended dose is not abnormal. Just 2000 mg a day.
The primary reason for taking fish oil supplements is to get omega-3 EPA and DHA fatty acids in your diet because your body can't produce them on it's own. The benefits are stated as:
- improve mood
- reduce inflammation
- reduce hunger and burn fat faster
- good for your heart
I've also heard it's good for your skin and reduces aging symptoms. And now it may improve ADD / ADHD and Bipolar symptoms. What really neat about this is that it's a nutritional approach. I truly believe that as much as 75% of our chronic health disorders have roots in nutrition. Someday genetic studies will find that diets customized to our genetics will replace traditional medication approachs for chronic conditions. And there are precedents. For example, the standard treatment for Bi-Polar disorder is Lithium. Lithium is just a naturally occuring salt!
If you haven't already, check out Dr. Ned's Post. : )
What great information! Thank you so much for putting this out. We have tried and tried to find something to help with our son's ADD and we will definatley have to try some omega-3 in his diet.
Posted by:Dot | June 05, 2007 at 02:41 PM
Dot, I'm so glad to be able to help! I hope it works for you. My husband is going to try upping his dosage from 1000 - 2000 too. We have both noticed our allergies have been better since taking Omega-3's. WE are doing fine without Claritin! Let us know how it goes for you!
Posted by:Ariane Benefit | June 06, 2007 at 01:23 AM
Thank you for bringing such nice posts. Your blog is always fascinating to read.
Posted by:Ann | June 07, 2007 at 02:51 AM
I am working on some ADD posts too:
http://hdbizblog.com/blog/category/gtd-with-add/
I use Omega-3 and Grapeseed extract and it works like magic!
Posted by:Stephen | June 11, 2007 at 08:21 AM
@ Ann, Thanks for your comment!
@ Stephen, thanks for the tip on the Grapeseed Extract!
Posted by:Ariane Benefit | June 16, 2007 at 07:48 PM