Fish Oil And ADHD - 2 Key Things You Must Know

Many young children have been diagnosed with ADHD. Being hyperactive and not being able to concentrate in school are becoming more and more common. But it is an actual "disease" or does it have underlying causes, and, by removing these causes can we see improvement in our children's health?

I believe that this condition is related to two underlying factors:

1. Diet. Plenty of research has shown that a diet high in junk foods, sugar, candies and so on, can actually cause children to become hyperactive by affecting the stability of their blood sugar. As a matter of fact, certain artificial sweeteners and preservatives present in things such as soft drinks and other junk foods, can actually directly cause chemical changes in a child's brain. Both sugar, by causing a rapid increase in blood sugar and insulin levels, and a consequent hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) and artificial sweeteners, by directly affecting the child's brain, have been implicated in ADHD.

One Canadian naturopath I personally know specializes in treating children with ADHD and has had great success doing it. What I learned from him is that it is absolutely essential to eliminate the aforementioned culprits, especially artificial sweeteners and chemical additives. Children should be eating a healthy, natural diet, high in fruits, vegetables, fish, eggs and whole grains.

2. Fish oil deficiency. Fish oil capsules are high in DHA, an omega-3 fatty acid which is an integral part of the brain, and is especially important in the developmental years of childhood and adolescence. Throughout these years, the child's brain is actually being built with DHA. This substance is normally found in fatty fish and nowadays can be taken in capsules, in controlled doses and with no heavy metal contamination. Heavy metals are a serious problem in today's fish supply, actually making eating fatty fish dangerous.

The importance of DHA for the mental health of children and teenagers, was clearly shown in a study done by Guelph university in Canada. The study compared the DHA status of ADHD teenagers with a control group. The researchers concluded that the ADHD teens had much lower levels of DHA in their bloodstreams, indicating that a deficiency in DHA can actually be an underlying factor in both deficit of attention and hyperactivity.

Raising the DHA to the level required to alleviate the symptoms of ADHD can be done with molecularly distilled fish oil capsules.

As I have quite a bit of experience with this issue, I must tell you that I am adamant that the dietary changes must go into place as quickly as possible, even before fish oil supplementation. The best chance of success in dealing with this problem is to do both: eliminate the offending foods and supplement with at least 3, perhaps 6 or 7 high-grade, pharmaceutically pure fish oil capsules daily.