ADD and ADHD both in adulthood and childhood have made it into medical headlines over recent years.

There has been different types of studies on how nutrition, specifically omega 3 fatty acids and fish oils relate to the condition and symptoms of ADHD.

And the health benefits of omega 3s and fish oils have been impressive.

These types of trials and medical research include these:

• 1. Medical studies on how blood levels of omega 3 oils differ in children with and without ADHD.
• 2. Randomised, double blind, placebo controlled trials where fish oil (omega 3) is compared to placebo as a remedy for ADHD.

Generally these kinds of trials are considered a superior type of study as they look at the effect or giving omega 3 fish oils to treat ADD or ADHD.

So what do the results show?

One study in the UK, a randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled study, looked at children aged between 8-12 years with both ADHD and specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia.

Treatment was either omega 3 or placebo for a period of 12 weeks.

Both "cognitive problems and general behavior problems" were significantly lower for the treatment group compared to the placebo group.

The study concluded that omega 3 benefited children with both learning difficulties and ADHD.

Maybe for ADHD, it will offer hope for those who are either not able to or cannot tolerate conventional drugs such as Ritalin or dexamphetamine.

No doubt, more medical research on omega 3s will come out very soon.

So watch out for more on the continuing story of omega 3 fats and fish oils.

The old saying that fish is good for the brain may apply in so many more areas than we previously thought.

Also, on a side note, omega 3 has helped many other conditions including depression.

This has been the case in people with diagnosed depression and on antidepressants, as well as in population studies showing a lower incidence of depression related to highest consumption of fish oils.

So keep an eye out on more research in this area of omega 3 fats.

More research means more information and more certainty of the relationships between fish oils and problems such as ADD.

So until next time, keep in good health, and let a friend know about these studies in ADHD, especially if they have children with the condition.