calm down and try omega 3. Fatty acids, which are available as dietary supplements via fish oil capsules and are thought to benefit mental and physical health, may also reduce aggression, according to a 2024 study.
These discoveries didn’t come out of nowhere. Omega-3s were previously thought to be associated with protection against schizophrenia, while aggression and antisocial behavior are thought to be partially attributable to mental illness. malnutrition. What we eat can affect brain chemistry.
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania built on an earlier small study on the effects of omega-3 supplements on aggression. Their meta-analysis examined 29 randomized controlled trials across a total of 3,918 participants.
Across all trials, modest but significant short-term effects were found, with up to a 28 percent reduction in aggression across multiple different variables (including age, gender, medical diagnosis, and treatment duration and dose).
“I think it’s time to introduce omega-3 supplements to reduce aggression, whether in the community, in the clinic, or in the criminal justice system.” said Neurocriminologist Adrian Raine when the meta-analysis was published.
The trials included in this study were conducted from 1996 to 2024 and lasted an average of 16 weeks. They covered different layers. Children under 16 years old to Elderly people between 50 and 60 years old.
Furthermore, the reduction in aggression included both reactive aggression (responses to provocation) and proactive aggression (pre-planned actions). Until this study, it wasn’t clear whether omega-3s could help with these different types of aggression.
Although larger studies over a longer period of time will be needed to further establish this relationship, this study will improve our understanding of how fish oil pills and the omega-3s they contain may be beneficial to the brain. deepens.
“At the very least, parents seeking treatment for aggressive children should know that an extra fish or two each week, in addition to any other treatment their child is receiving, may also be helpful. ,” Lane said. said.
Researchers are wondering how omega-3s work. reduce inflammation maintains important brain processes The clock ticks by It may help regulate aggression. There are still many unanswered questions, but the researchers suggest there is enough evidence to investigate this further.
add research showing Fish oil-derived medicines can help reduce the risk of fatal heart attacks, strokes, and other heart health problems, and adding omega-3s to your diet appears to have many benefits.
“Omega-3s are not a silver bullet that will completely solve the problem of violence in society.” said rain.
“But will it help? Based on these findings, we strongly believe that it will help, and we need to start acting on the new knowledge we have gained.”
This research aggression and violent behavior.
A previous version of this article was published in June 2024.
