Healthy Andy

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is a condition affecting huge numbers of kids in the US, characterized by the inability to focus on a given task or situation.  Classically, it’s treated with Ritalin, a stimulant, but there’s some evidence that Omega-3 fatty acids could be a better solution.

So why are researchers leaning in that direction?  I mean, it’s not exactly intuitive: ADHD kids are responding to a stimulant, and Omega-3s are certainly NOT a stimulant, so what gives?

The first clue started cropping up a couple of decades ago, as ADHD started becoming a more and more popular diagnosis.  After a while, some big-brained folks started realizing that some symptoms exhibited by kids with ADHD were also shared by kids who had severe Omega-3 deficiency… stuff like increased thirst and urination, dry hair, and dry skin.

Plus, animal studies showed things like rats low in Omega-3s had a hard time learning in new environments.  Specifically, they were easily distractable- sound like ADHD to you?  This evidence was followed up with blood tests showing ADHD kids had lower levels of both the Omega-3 and Omega-6 Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs).

Why would this happen?  Well, it’s possible that the reason why ADHD kids have trouble focusing is an inability to block out inappropriate responses to anything and everything in the environment.  You see, learning isn’t just about what TO do, it’s also about learning what NOT to do.  This is true on a behavioral level as well as a physical level.

Think about it.  When you do something as simple as take a step, you need to coordinate the efforts of a number of different muscles, in just the right amounts, at just the right time.  But you also have to know which muscles to NOT contract…otherwise, you’d throw your own balance off if, while in mid-step, you suddenly kicked like you were going for a soccer goal.  Inhibiting inappropriate action is just as important to function as enabling proper action.

In fact, loads of neuroscience is suggesting that this inhibition of inappropriate response is far more important than anything else when it comes to learning!  That’s a pretty strong statement, so let’s just leave it at this: inhibition is important.  That inhibition is governed by neurotransmitters, which are chemical messengers in the brain.

Stimulants like Ritalin seem to work by affecting neurotransmitters in the brain called dopamine and serotonin.  So it’s not that these kids need stimulants, it’s that these kids need neurotransmitters, and the stimulants help with the neurotransmitters.

Guess what?  Omega-3 deficiency is linked with deficiency issues in dopamine and serotonin, those very same neurotransmitters involved in ADHD.  So it stands to reason, you might be able to help out kids with ADHD through using Omega-3 supplements like fish oil.

Okay, theories are nice, but what’s the evidence?  Well, one study out of Australia shows that kids given an EFA supplement (one that had both Omega-3 and Omega-6 in it) showed significant improvement after 15 weeks.  One group that then was switched to placebo stayed stagnant, while the other group which took the supplements for another 15 weeks showed even more improvement. 

How much improvement?  The 30 weeks group actually improved more than on Ritalin!

That’s a pretty powerful finding, and I think it speaks for itself.

Do you think kids should take an Omega-3 supplement like fish oils?  Let me know below in the comment section!  And if you know some crazy, out of control kids, send this article to their parents and save yourself (and them) some aggravation!

Stay healthy!

So I came across this article on fish oils posted on msnbc.com and got so angry that my shaved head began to emit steam (it happens, sometimes).  If there’s one thing I hate, it’s a poorly designed scientific study.  If there’s one thing I hate more, it’s when people misinterpret that study’s results, and even worse, plant a deceptive headline that’s totally incorrect and misleading.  That’s bad science AND bad journalism.

“Fish oils doesn’t benefit the brain, study shows” goes the headline.  WRONG.  First off, they contradict themselves within a few sentences, by stating that multiple studies HAVE shown a cognitive benefit to fish oils.  But really, it only gets better, when you actually read the details of the study in question.

Basically, they took a bunch of 70-somethings and gave them about 500 mg of fish oils a day for two years.  Then they tested cognition and found no difference.

Let me put this in technical terms first.  NO DUH.

Where do I begin?  Okay, let’s start with the fact that we are using 70-somethings as our test subjects.  Do you think maybe, just maybe, the fact that there was no difference in cognition MIGHT just be because we’re using an elderly population?  I know it may not be PC to say that the older brain just don’t adapt as quickly as young ones, but sorry, it’s true.  So any decline in mental function has already occurred, and could be permanent no matter what you give them.  This is like putting on your seat belt AFTER an accident and declaring that seat belts don’t do squat.  If you really want to test if fish oils will prevent cognitive decline, then you must PREVENT cognitive decline, as in, pick much younger test subjects, and give them fish oils, and see how they do.

Then there’s the issue of dosage.  500 mg?  Really?  That’s nothing!  A typical recommended dosage for a healthy, young person is 1000 mg of fish oil, just as a health maintenance sort of issue.  I take 3000 mg a day.  Why?  Because I’m Healthy Andy, that’s why!  And because fish oils are super-fantastically healthy for you!

The point is, they gave these people a miniscule dose, and were shocked when it didn’t perform miracles on a 75-year old brain.  REALLY.  This just in, folks.  In a related story, fish oils are not magic beans, that will grow into an enormous beanstalk leading you to a land of adventure and excitement.  In case you were wondering.

How about we actually design a study that makes sense?  Say, use a realistically sufficient dose of fish oils, on a population that might actually be able to PREVENT decline… you know, BEFORE it occurs?

Guess what?  If you never change the oil in your car, and let all that engine wear and tear accumulate, and then at 100,000 miles start changing the oil, don’t expect a dramatic increase in engine performance. All this study proves, is that a very low dose of fish oils doesn’t dramatically reverse the consequences of aging in the 75 year brain.  Shocking.

Of course, that finding is accurately depicted in the headline oh WAIT.  No, it isn’t.  The headline suggests that fish oils have been definitively proven to be useless for issues of cognition, which, of course, is crap.  Way to go, Journalist Guy.  Because nobody just reads a headline, skims past the article, and assumes the headline is accurate.  Yeah.  Nobody.

Okay, now I’ve vented and the steam is starting to dissipate from my head.  The real truth is, fish oils have been proven over and over again to be an essential part of a healthy lifestyle.  It’s pretty staggering, actually, how many studies have been done showing all kinds of health benefits from fish oils.  So don’t let headlines fool you, or poorly designed studies steer you astray.

Of course, that’s why I’m here- to help sift through the nonsense and bring you the real deal.  Stay healthy!

Oh, I saw the article here-

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36832338/ns/health-aging