Readin', `riting and ritalin? - newsbites - Brief Article

Better Nutrition, Feb, 2003

"Problem children" experience a dramatic increase in reading skills and concentration when furnished with daily health supplements--rather than Ritalin--for as little as three months. This UK finding bolsters a theory that fatty-acid deficiencies cause some learning difficulties.

In the study, children in 13 different schools were given fish oil, plant extracts and vitamin A, which markedly improved their non-motor skills. Who knows? Considering education costs, it may prove cheaper--and far more effective--to send your children to the health food store for some common dietary supplements than to the school nurse for a daily Ritalin dose.