From Mecola.com  7/4/06

Fish Oil Treats ADHD Better Than Ritalin

 

Fish oil improves the symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) without any of the side effects of drugs like Ritalin and Concerta -- and more effectively, a study by the University of Adelaide in Australia found.

When 130 children between the ages of 7 and 12 with ADHD were given fish oil capsules daily, behavior dramatically improved within three months. Further:

  • After seven months, the children were not as restless and showed improvements at school
  • Improvements in concentration and attention improved by one-third
  • After 15 weeks, 30-40 percent of the children taking fish oil had improvements
  • After 30 weeks, 40-50 percent improved
  • Children taking placebo capsules were later switched to fish oil and subsequently also experienced improved behavior

Improvements were still being seen after the study ended, which suggests the fish oils may have long-term effects. When the researchers compared their results to studies of Ritalin and Concerta for ADHD, they found that fish oils were more effective.

ADHD drugs are known to carry serious side effects, including insomnia, changes in personality, cardiotoxicity, heart attack, stroke and even sudden death. In the UK, nine children have died after taking the drugs.

 

The Daily Mail June 20, 2006

ABC News Online June 21, 2006


Dr. Mercola's Comment:

If you clicked to this article because you wanted to know the answer to:

"Why treat millions of ADHD kids with drugs more powerful than cocaine when a simple food change is far more effective?"

 ... the answer is simply one word -- money.

Somewhere between 5 percent and 10 percent of U.S. school children are diagnosed with ADHD. If the multinational drug corporations would have their way, every one of these children would be on their drugs so they could reap in billions more in profits.

If this were a safe drug this could possibly be justified, but Ritalin is more potent than another stimulant, cocaine. Using brain imaging, scientists have found that, in pill form, Ritalin occupies more of the neural transporters responsible for the 'high' experienced by addicts than smoked or injected cocaine.

Although the study that is reviewed above is not yet published, it confirms earlier observations listed in the Related Links below. The bottom line is that we know the food choices of most children are beyond poor.

How could you possibly expect a child to have normal behavior if he is fed refined grains, sugars, processed foods loaded with chemicals, juices and sodas instead of pure water? Then add to that 90 percent fewer vegetables than required along with an overabundance of omega-6 fats and a virtual lack of omega-3 fats.

If you are a cook you will immediately recognize that this is a recipe for disaster. You simply cannot have a healthy functioning brain in a child that is not given the proper ingredients to develop optimal brain function.

This is not rocket science, folks.

But it is easy to understand why there is so much confusion regarding this issue when the drug companies spend BILLIONS and direct their evil marketing geniuses to confuse you with direct-to-consumer ads on TV. Meanwhile, they work to mind-control physicians in the belief system that drugs, not foods, are the answer for children with behavior problems.

Fortunately, the solution is simple. Just follow the guidelines below. You can also review the interview with the late Dr. Lendon Smith, which is in the first Related Links article below.

  • Eliminate grains and sugars from your diet
  • Replace soft drinks, fruit juices and pasteurized milk with clean water
  • Increase your omega-3 fats by taking an effective form of omega-3 oil like krill oil
  • It will also be important to minimize the use of nearly all vegetable oils -- they are loaded with omega-6 fats, which distort the powerful omega-6:3 ratio
  • Eliminate all juices and sodas and replace with pure water

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