How effective is the Omega supplement in terms of helping me with my inattentive ADD? That is, to take the supplement without any other medications whatsoever. Anyone take any specific brand that is effective and would suggest the brand for me to order? Oh and do stores such as Safeway, Giant, etc carry this so I can buy it or can I only order it on a certain website?

I have a lot of luck with using the omegas, as does my son. For him though, I think it seems to help mostly with his mood, and for teens that is a very good thing regardless. They don't work as well as meds, but work well in conjunction with them, or alone to take the edge off.

I can say what it does for me and my own particularities, they calm me down, lessen my anxiety as well as improve and even out the mood, in turn that helps the concentration and focus a ton, but that is just how they work for me.

The only way you will know is to give them a try. For us, we use a brand called 03mega+joy through a company called Genuine Health. Whatever you decide to get, make sure it has a high EPA to DHA ratio, this one is like 20 to 1. There are also the no-DHA brands like VegEpa or EyeQ. They all take time to build up in your system and I have read that about 3 months at the most before you should make a final judgment. No, most of the best brands for you for mood and attention will not be found locally but only through order. We had NO results regarding mood, etc on the store brands, though they are still good for your health otherwise. Make sure it is pharmaceutical grade too. Locally, we did find a good one to start with where we noticed results, and that one one OmegaMood by Country Health that had a 5 to 1 ratio if I recall correctly.

Overall, I wouldn't live without them.

hI've taken several Omega fat supplements over the past 7 years or so. The ones I have taken have included flax oil, hemp oil, fish oil, and blends of oils offering different things like a perfect Omaga fat profile.

Some worked better than others, but it was not until I started on the antarctic krill oil that I noticed anything that I would consider significant in terms of noticable cognitive effects.

Krill oil has been clinically proven to be more effective than any other Omega supplement found to occur in nature. Part of the reason for krill oils potency is due to the fact that the omega fats in krill oil are already in the form of phospholipids which is exactly the form of the Omega fats that our body uses in ever single cell.

In contrast, all of the other natural sources of Omega fats come in the form of triglycerides, which the body has to convert into phospholipids before the body can use them in the cell. Unfortunately, much can be lost in the transfer with those supplements, and in some cases it is reported that the body is just not able to complete the conversion of some plant sources of triglycerides into phospholipids.

Anyhoot, the point I'm trying to make is that when you take a gram of krill oil, your body is able to readily absorb and use all of the Omega fats in that gram of oil. In contrast, when you take gram of any of the other forms of Omega fat supplement, your body is only able to absorb a fraction of the Omega fats present due to the fact that it is unable to convert them all into usable phospholipids.

I'd love to provide a link to where I get my krill oil, but it's against the rules of the forums to supply a link to places that sell anything. I can tell you that I take the brand NSI "Kria Xanthin Antartic Krill Oil." I suggest that if you can to go ahead and get the large bottle of 300 capsules due to the fact that it is a really good deal. There may be some other companies out there with better deals, and if you find one please let me know.

I hope this helps you in your search for a good Omega fat supplement.

Thanks for your experience with Krill, Lars, I learned something new from your post! :-)

I did too. Where can you purchase krill oil.

I order my krill oil from VitaCost's website. However, the reason I chose them was because I simply got so tired of searching, so I just ended up settling on VitaCost since they had the better price than all of the other places that I looked at. There were just too many vendors out there to check them all, and after about 45 minutes to an hour worth of searching I just ended up going with the best deal I had found at that point.

I suggest doing a Google search for krill oil yourself, and just seeing what you can come up with. If you end up finding a better deal than the one I found I sure hope that you will let us know about it here. Just be sure to avoid posting a link to the place, because the rules of the forums do not allow for that. However from what I understand it is ok to share the name, and then those who want to look it up on their own are free to do that. ;)

Thanks for sharing about the rules posting links vs mentioning the name, I was concerned I infringed, and for sharing the site where you order from. I've ordered from VC before, and they are a reputable place and their prices are usually great too. I have done some quick reading on the krill (don't know why I didn't know about it before) and it does look like a great thing to try when our current supply runs out to see if it would help any more than what we are already taking, since we take oils anyway, it will be interesting to note a difference or not.

[. Just be sure to avoid posting a link to the place, because the rules of the forums do not allow for that. However from what I understand it is ok to share the name, and then those who want to look it up on their own are free to do that. ;)[/quote]

Is it okay to create a hyperlink to the site, that way you can see the sites name when you search the link?

I. Just be sure to avoid posting a link to the place, because the rules of the forums do not allow for that. However from what I understand it is ok to share the name, and then those who want to look it up on their own are free to do that. ;)


Is it okay to create a hyper link Krill Oil? That way I wouldnt be mentioning the name

[. Just be sure to avoid posting a link to the place, because the rules of the forums do not allow for that. However from what I understand it is ok to share the name, and then those who want to look it up on their own are free to do that. ;)

Is it okay to create a hyperlink to the site, that way you can see the sites name when you search the link?[/quote]

I don't think so. I think the point is to prevent people from drumming up customers for their businesses. I may be wrong about that though. I'll check it out to be sure, and post about it here when I find out. ;)

Is it okay to create a hyper link Krill Oil? That way I wouldnt be mentioning the name

Yeah, feel free to post about krill oil with links to anything except businesses that sell it.

I found the paper on the krill oil on ADHD:

http://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/contractors/materials/neptune/press3.html

Of interest, the company that markets the oil that has been mentioned here "markets natural health products from marine biomasses and currently provides the world's only FDA approved oil from krill."

Ooops, take caution with the info on the link I provided. I discovered it is not "published" in any journal, blah blah blah....... my bad.

I just quickly checked the composition of these:

1 cap krill oil has
75mg epa
45mg dha
phospholipids 200mg
astaxanthin .75mg

cost (in euros) 89.95 for 100 caps

eye q
1 cap has
99epa
29dha
omega 6 100mg
gamma linolenic acid 10mg
cost for 180 caps 27 euros

I'm not sure whether the price is justified. I have seen excellent results with my son on eye-q and have just started him back on them recently. the results with him set in within less than a week.

i took him off them for a while because we are doing the dore program, but I recently restarted him on a low dose.

i am also taking them at the moment. I have some training courses scheduled and want to see whether they help my concentration:D

I would go with whatever works best Kathiealla.

I have never tried eye q, but the krill oil works better than any other Omega supplement I have ever taken. It did not take weeks to start working for me like other Omega supplements, I felt results in a week or less with krill oil.

I'm curious about eye q. What is the source of the Omega fats you listed?

The reason I ask is because often times people will assume that we are what we eat, but the truth is we are only what we absorb. A good analogy would be how horses and cows can absorb nutrients and vitamins from the grass in a field. You and I could eat that same grass, but we would absorb none of those nutrients.

Depending on the source of the Omega fats, the are either in the form of triglycerides (non krill oil), or phospholipids (krill oil). The phospholipids are completely absorbed by the body. The phospholipids must be converted first, and the bodies ability to convert them is far from perfect depending on the source of the triglycerides.

The key is to go with what works, and I am glad that you are finding success with something that is certainly more affordable than the krill oil. I would love to learn more about it, and what it's composed of.

Lars, just out of pure curiosity, were/are you able to take any less of your meds by taking the krill oil, or does it do something totally different for you than the issues you take your meds for?

That's a good question. It's something different for me altogether.

For example, when it comes to cognitive improvements, the medications are like using a gas powered chain saw, compared to the Omega fats being more like a dull hand saw.

That is not to say anything negative about the Omega fats, because they are critical to every cell in the body, and they play critical roles in so many ways. Even though they might not help as much as the meds do with improving my cognitive abilities, they are much more important to me because they are essential nutrients, and the Omega supplements allow me to do something that I know my body desperately needs whether I was feeling any benefit from it or not.

All that being said, whether the Omega fats are a dull hand saw or not, I have found nothing over the years other than the Omega fats that even come close to being able to saw at all. Given the choice, a dull saw is better than no saw any day of the week. Especially considering that I usually do not take my medication on holidays or weekends, so I have plenty of chances to appreciate the effects of the Omega fats fairly often.

I would much rather have to adapt to a life without medication before I would ever want to adapt to a life without the Omega fats. ;)

Well said, then, Lars! Thanks for that, and I'm sure that would hopefully bottom line it for OP as well. :-)

Yes, even a dull hand saw is better than a plastic knife that breaks, which is how I've felt for most of my life. Taking Omega3 was a marked improvement, and it was within days. Running out also showed a marked decline within days which is how I knew for sure that it was helping. All I can afford is the brand at the dollar store, I wish I could afford to experiement with different brands that have different ratios of EPA to DHA.

Some research I've read in connection with Autism shows that some kids have trouble abosorbing certain nutrients, or that those nutrients don't cross the brain barrier in those kids. Sometimes a change of diet is helpful. Seems that would apply to other people with neurological issues as well. Perhaps some people do abosrb the omega 3 from krill oil better than from other fish oils, but there may be people who cannot absorb the omega 3 from krill oil either.

but there may be people who cannot absorb the omega 3 from krill oil either.
I don't think so. Everyone needs these in order for the body to function properly. It's not like taking a supplement like ginseng, or bee pollen, or anything that may or may not be helpful. Instead, the Omega fats fall into a category referred to "essential nutrients." Most essential nutrients are needed from outside sources due to our bodies inability to make them on its own.

All of the essential nutrients play a very important role in one way or another. For example, if a person was to not get enough vitamin C in their diet, they would develop a condition called scurvy. If a person was not to get enough iodine in their diet, they would develop a goiter. The list goes on and on depending on the nutrient in question.

When it comes to the essential fatty acids (Omega fats) scientist are just beginning to understand the profound impact that they really have on brain function and a persons mood. In fact, they are becoming a very popular treatment for depression by Dr's around the world who are finding that a certain percentage of their patients who never responded to antidepressant drugs, often do respond to the Omega fats.

From what I have read, it is estimated that over 80% of the worlds population is deficient in their daily intake of these essential fatty acids. As important as they are for adults, they are extremely important for infants and developing children. In fact it is strongly urged that pregnant women and nursing mother do their best to consume these fats every day in order to facilitate proper development of their children.

Food for thought, literally. ;)

Eye-Q is sold by equazen. I don't know the answer to your questions, but i found the composition on their website. if you enter eye q and adhd it comes up with a lot of studies done in english schools.

I agree 100% with Lars, in fact, I have understood for some time now, that (at least) every teen, pregnant mother, and post-partom mother should be on omegas. I wonder if the rise in the population that is deficient has anything to do with the rise in issues of ADHD and other psych issues. As if, if I had known 16 years ago about this stuff and taken it when pregnant, and given it to my son as well early on as part of my prenatal protocol, would he be any different? There is also literature out there that supports post-partum depletion from pregnancy, which means PP depression in the moms that could be alleviated by prenatal supplementation. Not that omegas are the smoking gun, but it is likely the MOST widely studied supplement due to the increase in preliminary and completed research findings and trials for many MANY health and human issues.

Here is a great published paper re: depression and the omegas:
http://jerrycott.com/user/Logan.2003.review.pdf

What sounds intriguing about the krill oil is the chemical makeup of it makes it so much more efficient for the body to make use of than the regular omegas. (Get to take less too!)

Just wanted to add one thing I read recently. The article said that if you have extremely dry skin and/or hair, it is likely that you have a deficiency and need to take fish oil. So in other words, if you have adhd type symptoms + the dry skin then fish oil is likely to help you. I wish I could find the article, but I think it was in German (I live in Germany)

My son had really, really dry skin, which would go scaly in the winter. he refused any kind of lotion. When we started him on the eye-q, in addition to his behaviour changing and his moods evening out, he got beautiful soft skin.

I can't remember the details, but it had to do with the theory that some people don't metabolise nutrients properly and end up with a deficiency in long chain fatty acids (I think). Will try to find the article again.

ok, here's the article about the metabolic disorder:
http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/62/4/761

Thanks for the link. That looks very interesting.

Kathiella, thanks for the link, I will see if I can get the full article at my work station. :-)

My son also had skin problems starting from when he was very tiny. It ended up being a gluten issue. He had eczema-like patches that were miserable. Finally, I heard about using flax oil, and boy did his skin get nice, beautiful, and he was really very comfortable in his skin again while on that. (He will always probably have a gluten issue, but if/until he is ready to face that, I can no longer do a thing about THAT.) Since he has been back on the omegas again full force, his acne cleared way up too! :-) So, it's not surprising Kenny's skin is much better as well. I tell you, these omega things are wonderful. I hate taking any kind of supplements on a regular basis, and this is the one that always makes it in, it is that helpful.

FYI, Eye Q is a modification of the first major neurological Omega-3 formula, Efalex. It is fish oil and evening primrose oil. The fish oil was not molecularly distilled.

I take fish oil (salmon oil, specifically) and flax seed oil. I have taken various omega fatty acid suppliments over the years and I do feel they improve my mood a bit. I feel this is a good combo for me right now as well. I don't know if it does anything for my ADD or not. I started taking them again once I pretty much got regulated on my Dexedrine so it's hard to say. I do notice that my skin is much improved. I have a little trouble with eczema and dry skin in general and I've been doing much better since adding the suppliments. I'm taking a few others but nothing I think would affect my skin like that so I believe it is the oil suppliments.

I like the salmon oil better than general fish oil. I love salmon in general and will often go for some sushi when I'm feeling particularly bad and am amazed how much it helps.

I think the flax seed oil does more for my skin than anything else.

I take a 1000 mg. Omega 3 fish oil a day. How much is the recommended dosage for ADDers?

Hi Lucy2.

I like the Myomancy site for the conglomeration of info on there. Here is that site's link on the studies done on the omegas and ADHD. The studies done that showed an positive results were done with the higher EPA omegas, maybe somewhere in there it will say what the amounts were that they used. Its good informative reading.

I am now trying 1 gram of the krill oil and 1 gram of very high EPA a day. One version studies as beneficial for the mood, and another version studies more beneficial for heart and vascular. It's a bit hard to sort all out, but I'm trying!

What formulation are you taking, are you finding any benefits from what you are taking?

I am taking Natrol brand, the kind that Walmart carries. I have just started taking it regularly so I haven't noticed much yet. I started taking it for weight loss. I also take lexapro (antidepressant) and read t hat Omega 3 and CLA help SSRI caused weight gain.

anyone have a link for the proper dosing for an ADD guy?

Hey Reudegar:
Marge: 'You don't have to become a circus clown just because the opportunity came up.'
Homer: 'You know Marge, in some ways you and i are very different people.' Love that line!
(I would just take the recommended dose.)

Anywhoo, i read this thread with great interest and went to the health food store yesterday to get some. They only really had two types, unidentifed fish oil and salmon, so I got the salmon, not sure if there's a difference. The EPA and DHA were all the same ratio, 180 to 120. Is this okay?
One bottle recommended taking Vit E when on Omega oils, have you guys heard of this and do you do it? Do you just have it in your diet or take supplements?

Also, am seriously considering applying for a grant from the Australian Government to conduct a series of interviews with krill-eating whales in order to establish if any of them have ADHD symtoms - what d'ya reckon?
:)Cheers.

When I started taking Ritalin LA-- not my current medication-- it was only partially effective. I then supplemented it with Omega-3 fish oil pills and it dramatically improved everything. The "lights went on" to an even greater extent, it was a more stable sense of attentiveness, really helped to quiet things down. I use Nature Made because it is a respected company but also because they make a "controls fish burps" softgel. It has a thicker coating so in addition to "no fish burps" you can throw them in your pocket/bag all day, even in the summer, and they don't get soft, break, or get that slimy feeling that a thin gel coating can. 3 softgels three times a day. If I stop taking them, efficacy of stimulants drops dramatically.

Wow, how do you remember to do meds three times a day? There are days when I forget to take them once - and that's not good with the meds for my blood pressure.