ADHD and acne are both prevalent in teenagers and fish oil is shown to improve both conditions. At least one study has demonstrated that using fish oil to treat acne improved mental well-being as well as helped clear up skin pustules. Benefits in both disorders are documented from dietary as well as fish oil supplement intake.
Dietary Fish Oil for ADHD
Diets high in fish oil produced welcome effects on adolescents with ADHD. Researchers reporting in the February 2008 edition of "Nutrition Journal" compared the dietary intake of 11 ADHD adolescent teenagers with 12 age-matched controls. One of the aims of the study was to determine the relationship between blood levels of fish oil fatty acids and specific ADHD behaviors. The researchers found that children with the lowest levels of fish oil fatty acids manifested the most pronounced ADHD symptoms. The scale included measures for cognitive problems and inattention, restlessness and impulsivity, hyperactivity, emotional liability and overall problematic behavior.
Supplements for ADHD
A March 28, 2006, article published by "Nutra Ingredients" reported on a trial run by British researchers testing fish oil benefits on 20 teenagers diagnosed with moderate-to-severe ADHD. Boys and girls between the ages of 12 and 15 supplemented 500 mg fish oil fatty acids for three months. The results were dramatic. The teenagers' inattentiveness fell from an average of 94 percent at the start of the trial to 17 percent by the end. Equally impressive results were recorded for impulsivity control, with an initial rating of 89 percent that dropped to 28 percent following supplementation.
Dietary Fish Oil for Acne
Dietary fish oil's benefit for acne was first reported in a 1961 research article published in the "Archives of Dermatology." The authors were studying the relationship of dietary iodine to the development of acne in adolescents. They noted that it was commonplace for dermatologists to recommend their adolescent patients restrict iodized salt and/or seafood. In the authors' subsequent study of the diets of 1,000 teenagers, they effectively turned the conventional wisdom of the day on its head: It turned out that the teenagers who ate the most fish had the least number of acne comedones and pustules.
Supplements for Acne
Researchers reporting in the 2008 issue of "Lipids in Health and Disease" followed medical cases in which doctors used fish oil supplements to treat acne. They followed five patients who supplemented 250 mg of sardine and anchovy fish oil four times a day for eight weeks. At the end of the intervention period, the average total pustule count in the group dropped from 62.8 to 40.4. As an added benefit, the researchers reported that the fish oil users showed a 24-percent improvement in mental, emotional and social well-being. These results help confirm the ADHD benefits cited earlier.
References
- "Nutrition Journal"; Fatty Acid Status and Behavioural Symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Adolescents: a Case-control Study; Ashley Colter et al.; February 2008
- "Nutra Ingredients"; ADHD Teens Calmed by Omega Oil; Stephen Dainells; March 28, 2006
- "Archives of Dermatology"; Adolescent Acne and Dietary Iodine; Joseph Hitch and Bernard Greenburg; December 1961
- "Lipids in Health and Disease"; Acne Vulgaris, Mental Health and Omega-3 Fatty Acids: a Report of Cases; Mark Rubin et al.; October 2008
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