Omega 3 Fats Helpful for Children with Autism

About 1% of US child have autism or a less severe form of autism called Asperger’s syndrome.  Autistic children suffer a wide range of educational, social, language and movement difficulties.  Autistic people also suffer severe teasing and discrimination for their peers, adults, teachers and potential employers.

Some evidence suggests many autistic children are low in omega-3 fatty acids and can benefit from supplementation.  Most US diets are low in omega 3 fats. The best sources of omega 3 fats are fatty fish (salmon, mackerel, anchovies, sardines, herring), fish oil and flax seeds/ flax oil.  Soybean, walnut, pumpkin and canola seeds/oils also contain small amounts of omega 3 fats.

A recent Israeli double-blind study reported that supplementation with 1,000 of omega 3 rich fish oil for 12 weeks produced significant improvement in autistic symptoms in 8 out of 9 autistic children aged 4 to 7 years  No improvement in symptoms was found in 6 autistic children given placebo for 12 weeks.  Other studies have reported that consuming omega-3 fats can significantly reduce the rates of depression in both children and adults.

 This research was publish by Gal Meiri et al.in  Journal of Child and  Adolescent Neuropharmacology 2009;19(4):449-451