Providing omega 3 fatty acid supplements daily helps in improving children's reading skills, scientists say.
Investigators from the University of Oxford found the power of Omega-3 fatty acids, particularly Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in producing better results in reading tests and improving the children's behavior.
Omega-3 fatty acids are essential for human health. As the body lacks the ability to make them naturally, consuming the food rich with the compound is the only way to solve the problem. Fish oils, squid oil, algal oil and plant oils (echium and flaxseed oil) are some sources rich with the omega 3 fatty acids.
The findings published in the journal PLOS ONE, Sept. 6 included 362 children studying in various schools in Oxfordshire. All the participants, aged between seven and nine, were selected according to their performance in reading.
The children were given 600 mg of omega-3DHA from algal oil daily for 16 weeks.
The results showed the DHA supplementation helping children to improve their reading skills. Children with very low reading skill showed 50 percent improvement by the end of the analysis.
"Our results showed that taking daily supplements of omega-3 DHA improved reading performance for the poorest readers (those in the lowest fifth of the normal range) and helped these children to catch up with their peer group," Dr. Alex Richardson, a senior research fellow at the Centre for Evidence-Based Intervention at Oxford University, said in a statement.
Apart from these, the results also showed significant improvement in the children's behavior- less hyperactivity and defiant behavior- after taking the supplementation.
"Previous studies have shown benefits from dietary supplementation with omega-3 in children with conditions such as ADHD, Dyslexia and Developmental Coordination Disorder, but this is the first study to show such positive results in children from the general school population," Paul Montgomery, Professor of Psychosocial Intervention at the Centre for Evidence-Based Intervention at Oxford University, said.
