Omega fish oils don't improve children's reading skills or memory, study finds

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New research has found no evidence Omega-3 fish oil supplements help aid or improve the reading ability or memory function of underperforming school-children.

These findings are in contradiction to an earlier study run by the same team using the same supplement.

In the second high-quality trial of its kind, published in PLOS ONE, the researchers found an entirely different result to an earlier study carried out in 2012, where omega-3 supplements were found to have a beneficial effect on the reading ability and working memory of school children with learning needs such as ADHD.

In this second study, the researchers tested children who were in the bottom quarter of ability in reading, and found that fish oil supplements did not have any or very little effect on the children's reading ability or working memory and behaviours.

The team from the Universities of Birmingham and Oxford tested 376 children aged 7-9 years old, learning to read, but in the bottom quarter in terms of their ability.

Half of the children took a daily Omega-3 fish oil supplement and the remaining children took a placebo for 16 weeks.

Their reading and working memories were tested before and after by their parents at home and teachers in school—with no real differences found in the outcomes.

Professor Paul Montgomery, University of Birmingham, who led the research said:

"We are all keen to help kids who are struggling at school and in these times of limited resources, my view is that funds should be spent on more promising interventions. The effects here, while good for a few kids, were not substantial for the many."

Dr. Thees Spreckelsen, University of Oxford, Co-Author of the report added:

"Fish oil or Omega-3 fatty acids are widely regarded as beneficial. However, the evidence on benefits for children's learning and behaviour is clearly not as strong as previously thought."

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018...=tabs&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=story-tabs
 
We shouldn't even consume much polyunsaturated fats to begin with anyway.
 
We shouldn't even consume much polyunsaturated fats to begin with anyway.
We should eat polyunsaturated fats but however not too much since they have a lot of calories
 
We should eat polyunsaturated fats but however not too much since they have a lot of calories
Yes moderation is key, too much of the healthiest stuff in the world can harm you :)

Ill admit, I'm a bit of a hyprocrite...I tend to overly indulge in Chinese/Italian food as well as nachos and nacho cheese sauce; in fact its even worse with the nachos since I often buy a big bag of nachos and fill up a 16 oz coffee cup (the gas station let's me do this) with nacho cheese sauce and chili and down it all in one sitting. I do exercise intensely, so that should be why my bodyweight is lower than it would've been.

Yeah back to me filling a 16 oz cup, I'm a cheese eating guy. I would put parmasean cheese over macaroni and cheese (at this point you would ask if I was a mouse in my past life).
 
You just can't kill certain people. Donald Trump has the absolutely worst eating habits, and while he's overweight and his blood pressure is a bit high, he seems otherwise remarkably healthy for a 70 year old.

As for why he only sleeps a couple of hours a night, forget the scandal mongering about secret cocaine use: 12 diet cokes a day are the answer. I would never sleep at all. Maybe that's why he's so irascible too. :)
 
Yes moderation is key, too much of the healthiest stuff in the world can harm you :)

Ill admit, I'm a bit of a hyprocrite...I tend to overly indulge in Chinese/Italian food as well as nachos and nacho cheese sauce; in fact its even worse with the nachos since I often buy a big bag of nachos and fill up a 16 oz coffee cup (the gas station let's me do this) with nacho cheese sauce and chili and down it all in one sitting. I do exercise intensely, so that should be why my bodyweight is lower than it would've been.

Yeah back to me filling a 16 oz cup, I'm a cheese eating guy. I would put parmasean cheese over macaroni and cheese (at this point you would ask if I was a mouse in my past life).
As a cheat meal is great don't get me wrong or if your bulking 2 times is great. 4 cups of coffee is the max I can handle before my heart starts aching.
Right now I'm cutting so I'm eating a little less every week with high about of protein (around 150g). Yeah to be honest I'm a bit of a hyprocrite too sometimes with food
 
You just can't kill certain people. Donald Trump has the absolutely worst eating habits, and while he's overweight and his blood pressure is a bit high, he seems otherwise remarkably healthy for a 70 year old.

He was also born a billionaire. Stress is one of the biggest killers of health.
 
You just can't kill certain people. Donald Trump has the absolutely worst eating habits, and while he's overweight and his blood pressure is a bit high, he seems otherwise remarkably healthy for a 70 year old.

As for why he only sleeps a couple of hours a night, forget the scandal mongering about secret cocaine use: 12 diet cokes a day are the answer. I would never sleep at all. Maybe that's why he's so irascible too. :)

it's all personal
de gustibus et coloris non disputandis
and what's healthy/unhealthy for some, may not be for others
although some foods/habits are healthy/unhealthy for all
 
You just can't kill certain people. Donald Trump has the absolutely worst eating habits, and while he's overweight and his blood pressure is a bit high, he seems otherwise remarkably healthy for a 70 year old.
As for why he only sleeps a couple of hours a night, forget the scandal mongering about secret cocaine use: 12 diet cokes a day are the answer. I would never sleep at all. Maybe that's why he's so irascible too. :)
What are the social 'determinants' of health?

The social determinants of health are the circumstances in which people are born, grow up, live, work and age, and the systems put in place to deal with illness. These circumstances are in turn shaped by a wider set of forces: economics, social policies, and politics.

Donald trump was born in a wealthy family and has always been wealthy all his life.

The poorest of the poor, around the world, have the worst health. Within countries, the evidence shows that in general the lower an individual’s socioeconomic position the worse their health. There is a social gradient in health that runs from top to bottom of the socioeconomic spectrum. This is a global phenomenon, seen in low, middle and high income countries. The social gradient in health means that health inequities affect everyone.

If you look at the life expectancy between indegenous Australian people and the rest of the Australian population, there is a huge gap, two decades wide of differences.
 
He was also born a billionaire. Stress is one of the biggest killers of health.

Yes, I agree that if you have to live and work in an environment full of stress and put up with a lot of disadvantages in life, you will become more and more unhealthy.
 
Yes, I agree that if you have to live and work in an environment full of stress and put up with a lot of disadvantages in life, you will become more and more unhealthy.

some people can cope with stress, some can't
 
yes some people have to cope with more than others
but some people can cope with much more than others
even if aboriginals commit more suicide than others,
why do some of them, while the others don't ?

I get what you are saying. However, what I am saying is that if somebody has to deal with a lot in life, this person is more likely to die early. The stats show that aborigines die earlier than non-aboriginies in Australia because in comparison to others they have to deal with more social inequality including stress that let them to death at an ealier age than non-aborigines. I am afraid for aborigines in Australia most do commit suicides, only a minority don't in comparison to non-aborigines.

For the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population born in 2010–2012, life expectancy was estimated to be 10.6 years lower than that of the non-Indigenous population for males (69.1 years compared with 79.7) and 9.5 years for females (73.7 compared with 83.1).Jul 18, 2018
 
New research has found no evidence Omega-3 fish oil supplements help aid or improve the reading ability or memory function of underperforming school-children

Where does the idea that brain improves brain function come from? Surely consuming fish rather than meat on a few occasions each week contributes to a healthier physical state, and therefore a healthier mind?

Anyway, few people are as thick as the worst of British society, you could educate them at Eton College and Harvard and they'd still have no interests or passions in life other than drinking alcopops on street corners and setting fire to bins. If you're amongst the worst pupils in a Birmingham school, you've pretty much got no chance in life (and I say that as somebody who was schooled in a rather downbeat area of England)

12 diet cokes a day are the answer. I would never sleep at all

I have a mild Pepsi Max addiction and get withdrawal symptoms if I go a few days without a couple of tins, the aspartame is deadly
 
Where does the idea that brain improves brain function come from? Surely consuming fish rather than meat on a few occasions each week contributes to a healthier physical state, and therefore a healthier mind?

Anyway, few people are as thick as the worst of British society, you could educate them at Eton College and Harvard and they'd still have no interests or passions in life other than drinking alcopops on street corners and setting fire to bins. If you're amongst the worst pupils in a Birmingham school, you've pretty much got no chance in life (and I say that as somebody who was schooled in a rather downbeat area of England)



I have a mild Pepsi Max addiction and get withdrawal symptoms if I go a few days without a couple of tins, the aspartame is deadly

The ability to metabolize caffeine is highly particularized. 23andme told me what I already knew: I can't handle very much of it. When I was doing my post graduate studies I spent hours upon hours in the library. I had a "study" buddy who seemed to need coffee hourly. I would go with him and started drinking six, seven coffees a day without really thinking about it. I didn't draw any connection between that and the onset of the shakes, panic attacks, an inability to sleep, but my GP sure did. The first thing he asked me was did I drink coffee and how much. :) No more coffee: no more problems. I had thought I was having a mental breakdown. My study mate and I are still very close. We moved to this neighborhood because of him. He's in and out constantly and still drinks coffee constantly. Thank God for those coffee pods. I was constantly brewing pots of coffee for him. I've seen him drink three cups after dinner and his wife tells me he falls asleep the instant his head hits the pillow.

I have a feeling that some of Trump's storied ability to sleep only a few hours a night, tweeting at five AM, and also his bellicosity might have something to do with all that caffeine. No need for cocaine.

I agree with you that if anything it's eating the "whole" food that makes the difference. Pills are not a substitute. I don't understand why people seem to find eating fish such a chore. Between tuna, sardines and some fresh fillets or shellfish once in a while I probably eat fish four times a week.
 
In this second study, the researchers tested children who were in the bottom quarter of ability in reading, and found that fish oil supplements did not have any or very little effect on the children's reading ability or working memory and behaviours.

The team from the Universities of Birmingham and Oxford tested 376 children aged 7-9 years old, learning to read, but in the bottom quarter in terms of their ability.

Half of the children took a daily Omega-3 fish oil supplement and the remaining children took a placebo for 16 weeks.

Their reading and working memories were tested before and after by their parents at home and teachers in school—with no real differences found in the outcomes.

Or a daily dose of Omega-3 fish oil supplement failed to counteract whatever was causing them to be "in the bottom quarter of ability in reading" to begin with, whether poverty, malnutrition, or congenital idiocy.
 
Crab is hands down the best seafood...anything crab is so much fun to eat. I can never stand tuna, it's the stink that turns me off
 
Crab is hands down the best seafood...anything crab is so much fun to eat. I can never stand tuna, it's the stink that turns me off
I’ve been :unsure:, LoL, Crabs are just crunchy Seaspiders. 🕷 :grin:
Merry Christmas, Happy Saturnalia, Happy Holiday, ... you decide. :)
 

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