If you have followed nutrition and health news, you have likely heard much about the health benefits of omega 3 fats. Fats are generally considered unhealthy, but this kind of fat is an exception. These compounds have been suggested to have positive effects on the rate of heart disease, high cholesterol levels, dementia, and even arthritis. Now, scientists have added attention deficit disorder to this list.

There are a lot of polyunsaturated fats found in food like Omega 3 fats. Alpha-Linolenic acid (ALA), EicosaPentaenoic acid (EPA), and DocosaHexaenoic acid (DHA) are the three main varities of Omega 3 fats. Among the three, DHA has positive effect on attention deficit disorder.

Recent research at the University of Purdue, has found a link between attention deficient disorder and a child's diet that is lacking in a fatty acid called DHA. The children's diets that lacked DHA showed the classic symptoms of ADD, such as behavior issues and hyperactivity. Because DHA is transmitted through breast milk infants are at risk for ADD as well. They believe that at least 85% of women in America are not digesting enough DHA to pass along to their children.

Fortunately, there are a lot of ways to include more of these healthy fats into your diet. One way is to add foods to your diet that are rich in these nutrients, including fish such as salmon, herring, mackerel, anchovies, sardines and tuna. Non-fish sources include flax and walnuts. If you have deficiencies in this area of your diet, increasing your intake of any or all of these foods will help.

Supplements are available, if any of the above named foods are not to your taste or if a drastic diet change is not something you wish to do. These supplements contain enough omega 3 fats for the health benefits, and are available in the form of fish oil supplements. The taste and hassle of diet change can be avoided with the use of supplements, and you still get the fish oil benefits.

Research by scientists and nutritionists regarding the benefits of omega 3 fats has come a long way, yet new discoveries are being made each day. There are many new frontiers to be explored in this area. Their newest findings about the effects of omega 3 fats on attention deficit disorder is one of many avenues of research currently being pursued.