The brain and Omega 3 - fishy or fact?The brain and Omega 3 - fishy or fact?
All In The Mind
It's now recognised that Omega 3, essential fatty acids mainly found in fish, can help to prevent conditions like cardiovascular disease and rheumatoid arthritis but the evidence is accumulating for just how important fish oil is for mental health and wellbeing. We hear some remarkable findings from a British study looking at the effect of giving fish oil supplements to children with ADHD and learning difficulties. And the figures showing significantly lower depression rates in countries which eat lots of seafood may give you an idea for tonight's dinner!
30:10•18 Mar 2006
Fish Oil and the Mind: How Omega-3 Shapes Mood, Behaviour and Learning
Episode Overview
- Omega-3 fatty acids are a key component of brain tissue and must come from diet, mainly from seafood.
- Large differences in national seafood consumption are associated with equally large differences in depression, bipolar disorder, aggression and homicide rates.
- In a British trial of underachieving children, those given omega-3 supplements showed markedly greater gains in reading, spelling and classroom behaviour than those on placebo.
- Parents report that fish oil can calm some children with ADHD and improve mood, but responses vary and dosage appears to matter.
- Experts stress diet as a basic foundation, while also raising concerns about polluted oceans, supplement quality and the need for better regulation and more research.
“It's really remarkable that a substance that's so importantly concentrated in the brain and so vitally affecting brain function should be available only from our diet.”
In this eye-opening episode, you'll learn about why a simple salmon fillet or a few fish oil capsules might matter more to your mood and behaviour than you’d expect. All in the Mind, hosted by Lynne Malcolm, turns its attention to omega-3 fats and what current science says about their role in the brain.
Psychiatrist and lipid biochemist Dr Joseph Hibberlin explains that omega-3 fatty acids "make up the substance of the brain" and are "vitally important" because our bodies can't make them. He outlines research linking low seafood intake with far higher rates of depression, bipolar disorder, aggression and even homicide, and describes trials where adding omega-3 cut depressive symptoms and violent outbursts by around half. The episode also follows families trying fish oil for children with ADHD and learning difficulties.
Sonia Roberts describes her son Liam begging for his "capsules" and noticing, "now that I'm taking my capsules, my arm goes up and I go to touch someone and it stops." She reports calmer behaviour and big jumps in reading and writing, backed up by his teachers. Dr Alex Richardson, from Oxford University and FAB Research, talks through a rigorous trial of almost 120 underachieving children.
Those given omega-3 supplements made about three times the expected progress in reading and significant gains in spelling, along with better attention and less disruptive behaviour. At the same time, special education teacher and parent Dora Edge shares a more mixed story: early higher doses seemed to worsen her son’s hyperactivity before things settled, but she credits fish oil with smoothing his mood swings.
You’ll also hear honest discussion of safety, polluted oceans, supplement quality and why diet is a "basic" foundation alongside any other therapy. If food can shift mood, behaviour and learning this much, what might a change on your plate mean for your own mental health?
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