Fish oil calms the brats and makes them more intelligent

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habshi - 10 May 2005 23:17 GMT

Fish eating is far superior to vegeism and leads to higher IQs
guardian.co.uk

Once their IQs, behavior, reading, spelling and motor skills had been
tested the children were divided into two groups. Over the course of
three months, one group was administered doses of fish oil, high in
omega-3 fatty acids. The other group received placebo doses of olive
oil. In 12 weeks, the reading progress of those on the essential fat
supplements increased by nine to 10 months, while the placebo group
continued at normal progress levels. As soon as the placebo group's
doses of olive oil were replaced by omega-3 additives at the end of
the 3-month trial, its members' reading ability also surged. Behavior
and concentration improved by a degree usually derived from the
administration of Ritalin, a stimulant commonly prescribed for ADHD.

- A study in this month's issue of the journal "Pediatrics" has come
up with a provocative study of the improvement in children's
concentration when they are fed supplements of fish oil.
A group of young under-achieving 5- to 12 year-olds from the northeast
of England, some of whom were also disruptive, took part in a survey
to discover whether their diets were affecting their behavior and
their learning ability. A total of 117 children from 12 public schools
in County Durham were picked for observation. While they were assessed
to be of normal ability, they were suspected of suffering from
dyspraxia, a condition that provokes problems with coordination or
motor skills and affects some 5 percent of children in Britain.

It seems a relatively recent phenomenon and maybe the answer lies in
the end of free fish oil.

For more than a decade after the second world war, while the rationing
that had begun in January 1940 was still in effect, British children
were issued a weekly supply of orange juice concentrate, extract of
malt and bottles of cod-liver oil, to compensate for the lack of fresh
produce, meat and dairy products. Mothers would attempt to disguise
the horrors of the daily dose of cod's liver oil in a generous
spoonful of the malt, rendering both elements equally disgusting. When
supplies ceased with the end of rationing in July 1954, so did the
daily-dose habit.

In the last 20 years, conditions like dyspraxia, dyslexia and
attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder have increased fourfold in
Britain. In 2002, researchers launched a study to discover why. It
seems the revolting fish oil was a crucial addition to the daily
wartime diet of deprivation. And today's diet is not much better.

Once their IQs, behavior, reading, spelling and motor skills had been
tested the children were divided into two groups. Over the course of
three months, one group was administered doses of fish oil, high in
omega-3 fatty acids. The other group received placebo doses of olive
oil. In 12 weeks, the reading progress of those on the essential fat
supplements increased by nine to 10 months, while the placebo group
continued at normal progress levels. As soon as the placebo group's
doses of olive oil were replaced by omega-3 additives at the end of
the 3-month trial, its members' reading ability also surged. Behavior
and concentration improved by a degree usually derived from the
administration of Ritalin, a stimulant commonly prescribed for ADHD.

While none of the children had been directly assessed as having ADHD,
a third of the group, The Guardian newspaper reported, were found to
have sufficient problems to include them in the category. Once they
had completed the three months on fish oils, none of the children fell
into the category and dramatic improvements in reading and spelling
were made by 40 percent of those on the high fatty acid supplements.

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DZ - 10 May 2005 23:54 GMT

> Fish eating is far superior to vegeism and leads to higher IQs

Actually, this study only reported IQ before the treatment with fish
oil. The study sample had the average IQ of 90.3 (88.4 non-verbal) --
markedly below average. If it had improved they would surely say so.
What improved are scores measuring attention.

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/115/5/1360

DZ

> guardian.co.uk
>
[quoted text clipped - 59 lines]
> into the category and dramatic improvements in reading and spelling
> were made by 40 percent of those on the high fatty acid supplements.

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habshi - 11 May 2005 10:08 GMT

The cleverness capsule
by TANIA ALEXANDER, Daily Mail

14:51pm 10th May 2005

Clever: Fish oils for good behaviour

Jamie Oliver may be responsible for revolutionising school dinners,
but now it seems one simple change to children's diet could not only
boost their brain power but also make them better behaved.
A major new study found that a daily dose of fish oil supplements had
a dramatic effect on the abilities of underachieving children in
Durham

Now in an exclusive Daily Mail study, conducted in conjunction with
eminent specialists, fish oil supplements have been found to have a
dramatic, and at times almost immediate, effect - even on children who
have not been diagnosed with learning or behavioural problems.

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Children on both trials were given similar doses of a fish oil
supplement called Eye Q, containing Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids.
The main difference was that in the Mail's study, the supplement
(available as capsules or a fruit-flavoured solution) was offered to
pupils regardless of whether they exhibited behavioural or learning
difficulties.

The results, according to parents and Dr Madeleine Portwood, a Senior
Educational Psychologist at Durham LEA and principle investigator of
both trials, were impressive.

At the start of the experiment Dr Portwood's tests revealed that the
Mail's children - seven and eight-year-old pupils from Little Heath
Primary School in Potters Bar, Herts - already had an average reading
age nine months above their actual age.

But after just three months on the fish oils, they were reading at 18
months above their age.

Improvement in memory

In addition, more than half showed a 10 per cent improvement in
memory, while eight pupils improved by 20 per cent and one by 30 per
cent.

Among the parents, about 35 per cent say their children showed
significant improvements in reading, concentration, focus or
behaviour. Many also reported that the children were much 'calmer',
more 'confident' and 'grown up'.

Marina Breeze, headteacher at Little Heath, says some of the
improvement in reading age could be put down to the intensive reading
practice children do in the spring term.

But she adds: "The fact that the children have inreased their reading
age by a year in just three months is more than we would have
expected, so there must be something in these supplements that helps."

The improvements, says Dr Portwood, demonstrate that fish oils - or
essential fatty acids - can make a huge difference to children's
performance regardless of current ability.

"The results from the Daily Mail trial are particularly exciting as
they show significant changes in children who were not identified as
having specific problems and so suggest that dietary supplementation
can help children of all abilities," she says.

Significant changes

In contrast, the Durham Schools Trial, conducted by the local
education authority and Oxford University, tested 110 children aged
six to 12, who were selected from schools in County Durham on the
basis of co-ordination problems (dyspraxia).

Many also had accompanying conditions such as ADHD (Attention Deficit
Hyperactivity Disorder) and dyslexia.

Results at the end of the double-blind placebo-controlled trial were
just as impressive as the Daily Mail's study.

They revealed that 40 per cent of the children who took the fish oil
supplements for a minimum of three months showed a significant
improvement in reading and spelling skills.

Those suffering from ADHD showed improvement in symptoms similar to
that seen after treatment with the controversial drug Ritalin.

"Children who had specific difficulties in the classroom have seen a
tremendous increase in performance," says Andrew Westerman, former
head of Timothy Hackworth Primary School, Shildon, County Durham, one
of the schools participating in the trial.

This story first appeared in the . For more great stories like this,
buy the Daily Mail every day.

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