Calm agressive kids with diet rich in Omega 3

Washington D.C: Managing meltdowns in kids can be exhausting and now, a team of researchers has found that omega-3-rich diets can help you out.

Incorporating omega-3, vitamins and mineral supplements into the diets of children with extreme aggression can reduce this problem behavior in the short term, especially its more impulsive, emotional form, according to University of Pennsylvania.

In the study, the participants getting the combination of cognitive behavioural therapy and Omega-3s reported less aggression than the control group and the therapy-only group.

"Immediately after three months of the nutritional intervention rich in Omega-3s, we found a decrease in the children's reporting of their aggressive behaviour," said researcher Therese Richmond.

For the study, the randomised trial included 290 children who were aged between 11-12 year olds with a history of violence. They were divided into four groups. The first received Omega-3 in the form of juice, as well as multivitamins and calcium for three months.

The second group participated in cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) which focused on the links between thoughts, feelings and behaviours and also practicing alternative actions the children could take to deal with difficult situations rather than to emotionally react to something.

The third group took the supplements and participated in CBT and the fourth received resources and information targeted at reducing aggressive behaviour.

Blood samples at the experiment's start and conclusion measured Omega-3 levels in each child.

The study is published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.