Psychiatric community changes its tune on essential fatty acids.
Nutritionist and Purdue researcher Laura Stevens, MS author of “12 Effective Ways to Help Your ADD/ADHD Child”, writes in her latest issue of The ADD/ADHD Online Newsletter, an excellent summary of recent research pertaining to ADHD and essential fatty acids:
Two interesting articles about essential fatty acids (EFA) and psychiatry have been published recently.1,2 As you may recall, EFA are special oils that must be consumed in the diet because our bodies can’t make them. They are essential for normal health and behavior because they are a major component of all cell membranes and are precursors to molecules (eiscosanoids) that help cells communicate with each other. There are 2 different EFA families: the omega-6 fatty acids are found plentifully in our foods while omega-3 fatty acids are not. Omega-6 fatty acids are found in corn, soy, safflower, and peanut oil and other common nuts. Omega-3 fatty acids are found in walnuts, walnut oil, flax, flaxseed oil, dark green leafy vegetables, and cold water fish such as salmon and fresh tuna. Most Americans do not get enough omega-3s in their diet with serious consequences. Omega-3 fatty acids are especially important in the brain and nervous system.
In 2000 the American Heart Association published guidelines for omega-3 consumption to prevent heart disease and to help those who already had heart disease. They recommended that patients with coronary heart disease consume about a gram each day of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA). This was the result of population studies, tissue fatty acid composition (plasma and red blood cells), double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials with EPA and DHA, and clinical data that showed the beneficial effects of EPA and DHA on heart physiology and function.
The psychiatric community has been slower to recommend EFA for normal brain function despite evidence that population studies show that those who consume lower levels of omega-3 fatty acids are at greater risk for psychiatric problems.1 Also, analyses of plasma, RBC, and fat tissue have found that psychiatric patients have lower levels of omega-3 fatty acids than controls without psychiatric symptoms. Further, supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids reduces the severity of psychiatric symptoms in carefully controlled studies. Finally, analyses of omega-3 fatty acids in pregnancy reveal that a deficiency of omega-3 fatty acids in pregnancy affects nerve transmission and behavior processes such as mood and learning in the children. The authors of this article, “The Emerging Role of Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Psychiatry” also concluded that omega-3 fatty acids deficiencies may contribute to ADHD, depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia.1
Recently, things have changed dramatically at the American Psychiatric Association. Their Committee on Research on Psychiatric Treatments convened an Omega-3 Subcommittee of experts on fatty acids and behavior. They report their recommendations in an article published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, “Omega-3 Fatty Acids: Evidence Basis for Treatment and Future Research in Psychiatry.”
They reviewed all the evidence of the link between omega-3 fatty acids and psychiatric disorders such as Major Depressive Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, and Perinatal Depression. They also reviewed the data on Alzheimer’s disease, Borderline Personality Disorder, Impulsivity, and ADHD. They concluded that the side effects of giving fish oil supplements are generally mild. They came up with these recommendations:
-All adults should eat fish [especially cold water fish] at least twice a week
-Patients with mood, impulse-control, or psychiatric disorders should consume 1 g of EPA each day.
-A supplement may be useful in patients with mood disorders (1-9) g per day.
-Use of a more than 3 grams a day should be monitored by a physician.
The subcommittee also concluded that patients with psychiatric disorders should not take omega-3 fatty acids instead of established psychiatric treatment option.
This recognition is exciting for scientists who have been researching the link between omega-3 fatty acids and mental disorders, including those of us who have been studying Omega-3 fatty acids and ADHD since the early 1990s. This is great news for you and your child because more research on psychiatric disorders and omega-3 fatty acids, including ADHD, will be forthcoming.
References: McNamera, R.K. 2006. The emerging role of omega-3 fatty acids in psychiatry. Prostaglandins Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids. Vol.75, pp. 223-225. Freeman et al. 2006. Omega-3 fatty acids: Evidence Basis for Treatment and Future Research in Psychiatry. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. Vol. 67(12), pp. 1954-1967.
SOURCE: The ADD/ADHD Online Newsletter
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