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ESSENTIAL
FATTY ACIDS (EFAs) ARE JUST THAT - ESSENTIAL! |
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The
brain consists of lipids - that is, fats - that the body cannot manufacture
and can only obtain through the food we eat. Generally we eat too many
foods containing saturated fats, such as meat and dairy products and
also margarine, which, though made with sunflower and other vegetable
oils is high in saturated fats. EFAs, which are literally essential
to life, are available in nuts, plants and seeds, and fish, especially
oily or "blue" fish. Evening Primrose Oil, Linseed Oil and
Fish Oil are all high in EFAs.
In order for the
body to be able make use of the EFAs, we also have to make sure we obtain
adequate quantities of certain vitamins and minerals from the food we
eat. These vitamins and minerals - Zinc, B&, B3 Magnesium and Vitamin
C - act as co-factors in the metabolism of EFAs. |
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OMEGA
3 (Fish Oil) and OMEGA 6 (Evening Primrose Oil) for ADHD |
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Active
or hyperactive? |
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Recognising
hyperactivity |
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Research
carried out in the UK and USA in the early eighties showed that fish oil
(containing EFAs EPA and DHA ) and EPO (containing Omega 6 fatty acids)
are of vital importance to the functioning of the brain. The HACSG, as
early as 1980, undertook its own research into the links between hyperactivity
and EFA deficiency based on a detailed survey of the characteristics of
many of the hyperactive children and their families with which it was
working. The HACSG came to the conclusion that many ADHD children have
a deficiency of EFAs, either because they cannot metabolise linoleic acid
correctly, or because they cannot absorb EFAs from the gut, or their EFA
requirements are higher than would normally be the case. The HACSG was
the first to propose that fatty acid deficiency could be a factor in ADHD.
The findings of this research were published in 1981, A Lack of EFAs
as a possible cause of hyperactivity in children (Medical Hypotheses,
7(5), 1981, Irene Colquhoun & Sally Bunday). The Colquhoun/Bunday
hypotheses stimulated further experimental studies and treatment trials
which have generally supported the theory. Further information on the
role of EFAs and co-factors is available in our special booklet ESSENTIAL
FATTY ACIDS, VITAMINS & MINERALS and their role in ADHD/Hyperactivity,
available separately or as part of a special book offer on this site. (EFAs
book) |
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The
Feingold programme |
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Essential
Fatty Acids (EFAs) |
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Better
children |
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Our
work with schools |
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HACSG
publications |
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Special
book offer |
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Become
a member |
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Your
order |
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HACSG
Awards |
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Research
is ongoing throughout the world into the links between essential fatty
acids, nutrition and behavioural disorder. Research carried out, for example,
with British and US offenders suggests nutritional deficiencies play a
strong role in aggressive behaviour. A prison trial at Aylesbury in the
UK showed that when men were fed multivitamins, minerals and EFAs, the
level of violent offences committed in prison fell by some 37%. While
no one suggests that an improvement in nutrition is the cure-all for complex
social ills, evidence strongly suggests a link between diet and behaviour.
One US researcher into the effects of Omega-3 on the brain believes that
modern industrialised diets may be changing "the architecture and
functioning of the brain". Deficiency in the essential fats the brain |
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needs
and the nutrients needed to metabolise these fats, is leading to increases
in mental problems from depression to aggression. In the past 100 years
western diets have undergone a shift in which the omega-3 fatty acids,
essential to brain function, have been overwhelmed by competing omega-6
fatty acids. These come mainly from the industrial preparation of takeaways,
ready meals and snack foods which have become staple parts of the diet
for many families. |
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For
information on symptoms of Essential Fatty Acid deficiency contact Sally
Bunday. |
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