Omega-3 to reduce aggressive and violent behavior

Fewer bouts of aggression and violence with omega-3 supplements

Taking Omega-3 supplements, combined with taking vitamins and minerals, may inhibit violent and aggressive behavior. This is suggested by research published in the journal Aggressive Behavior, in which experts from the Dutch Ministry of Justice found a 34 percent decrease in violent incidents among young inmates in prisons in the Netherlands. According to the authors of the research, this finding could have important practical implications, and the possibility of limiting aggressive behavior through a food-focused approach deserves further study.

The study

The research involved 221 inmates ranging in age from 18 to 25 years, divided into 2 groups. For a period of 1 to 3 months, 115 of these youths were given a dietary supplement containing vitamins, minerals and Omega-3, while the other 106 participants took a placebo. Prison employees found a 34 percent decrease in the number of violent incidents among inmates who took the supplement alone. In contrast, violent incidents among members of the control group increased by 14 percent. Other analyses conducted by the authors, however, found no significant reduction in psychiatric disorders, and when inmates were asked to self-assess their aggression and general health status, participants did not mention any particular effect.

Omega-3, a confirmed efficacy

The results obtained in this study confirm data from research conducted in the United Kingdom by Bernard Gesch of Oxford University, published in the British Journal of Psychiatry in 2002. The British researchers had shown thatintake of Omega-3 and other nutrients reduced violent actions by young offenders by about 39 percent. According to the experts, the results of these studies suggest that choosing the right diet could reduce aggression and that the use of these fatty acids to limit violent episodes could become an important approach to the problem. Researchers at the University of Oxford have begun a new controlled study that, by including as many as 1,000 individuals, will allow the data obtained to date to be confirmed.

Not just aggression

The observed link between diet and aggressive behavior can be explained by the existence of a correlation between depression, suicides and homicides and the necessity of the presence of Omega-3s for brain health, which has been demonstrated by several research studies. According to the authors of the Dutch study to the other known benefits to mental health and cognitive abilities of Omega-3 intake make the prospect of being able to control aggression by adjusting the intake of these nutrients even more attractive.    

Source 

1. Zaalberg A, Nijman H, Bulten E, Stroosma L, van der Staak C, "Effects of nutritional supplements on aggression, rule-breaking, and psychopathology among young adult prisoners," Aggress Behav. 2010 Mar-Apr;36(2):117-26 

2. Gesch CB, Hammond SM, Hampson SE, Eves A, Crowder MJ, "Influence of supplementary vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids on the antisocial behavior of young adult prisoners. Randomised, placebo-controlled trial," Br J Psychiatry. 2002 Jul;181:22-8