Welcome to Food and Behaviour Research (FAB)
FAB for Parents
Your go-to place for reliable, independent information on how food, diet and nutrition affect mental health, wellbeing and performance.
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Does diet really matter for ADHD - or related conditions?
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What's the evidence?
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And what does it mean in practice?
Whether or not food and diet can make any difference for children with 'ADHD' (attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder) remains a topic of much debate - and one that often generates more heat than light.
Even among professional and research experts in ADHD and related behaviour and learning difficulties - which include autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) dyslexia, or dyspraxia, among others - controversy and confusion remain about the role of nutrition, and its relevance for the management of these conditions. And most health professionals receive no training in this area.
In the mainstream media, coverage of these issues typically ranges from 'miracle stories' to 'myth-busting' ones (often in parallel, or alternating by the day or week). As for social media... needless to say, the scope and variety of information there covers even more extremes. But in both cases it can be hard to know what to trust.
Obviously, this makes life even more difficult than it already is for parents and carers of children with mood, behaviour or learning problems, dietary issues - or both (and the two very often go together...)
You need to feed your child something. And of course, you also want them - and their diet - to be as healthy as possible. But what does that really mean in practice? And even if you're confident you know what they should be eating - how can you get them to do it?
If you're looking for reliable, independent and evidence-based information that might help - you've come to the right place.
- Please sign up for our FREE E-alerts to receive parent-friendly resources and updates to your inbox
- And please see below for one of our new research studies that might be of interest you you, or other parents you know
Dr Alex Richardson
Founder of FAB Research, world-renowned researcher, author, and educator.
Based at the University of Oxford for 30 years, and now a Visiting Research Fellow at Bournemouth University, the impact of her 90+ publications puts Dr Richardson in the top 3% of academic researchers worldwide.
She is best known for her research into how nutrition (and particularly fatty acids) can affect behaviour, learning and mood, as her pioneering clinical trials were the first to show that dietary supplementation with omega-3 (and omega-6) fats can improve behaviour and learning in children with dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD and related conditions; and that this approach may also help many other children without such diagnoses.
Her work also includes some of the earliest reports of successful nutritional approaches to both depression and schizophrenia in young adults, which others have since confirmed and extended (although as with child behaviour and learning difficulties, these broad descriptive diagnoses mask considerable individual variability).
Read more about Dr Richardson here.
"They Are What You Feed Them" by Dr Alex Richardson
All author proceeds from this book go to the FAB Research charity - to help support the work we do
- to raise awareness of the importance of nutrition and diet for brain health
- to help more people to be able to apply the best available evidence in real-world practice
- to carry out, support and promote the additional research needed in this vital but still neglected area
"What your child eats can have a profound effect on his or her ability to read, write, concentrate and remember things. In fact, the right foods can actually improve your child's ability to learn, and can help with everyday difficulties in mood and behaviour, as well as conditions like attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia and Autistic Spectrum Disorders.
"In this cutting-edge book, Dr Alex Richardson, the UK's number one authority on how nutrition impacts children's behaviour and learning, exposes the truth about what children eat - or fail to eat."
Find out more here.
Sign up for our FREE Newsletter - and receive some of our most helpful and informative handouts and other resources - on a range of topics.
These include:
- Sugar and Brain Health - Key findings and practical tips
- Dietary Recommendations for Children with Autism or ADHD
- An Evidence-based Approach to Evaluating Dietary Interventions - David Rex RD
- Omega-3 - What Everyone Needs to Know
- Clinical trial of fatty acids for ADHD symptoms in dyslexic children
- Nutritional Considerations for Vegans & Vegetarians
- Sleep Problems - Resources and Links
- Dr Alex Richardson - Sleep and Mental Wellbeing - The Relevance of Nutrition and Diet - Slide Handout
Sign Up for Our FREE Newsletter here
to receive these handouts, and regular news updates - including 'bitesize' videos
Stay on top of the latest news and research into how food and diet affects mood, behaviour and learning
Help us to help you - and other parents and their children
The first clinical trials to show benefits of omega-3 for child behaviour and learning were published by FAB Researchers over 20 years ago - followed by others showing that more omega-3 may also help children's sleep.
Since then, many more controlled trials have also shown increased omega-3 intakes can improve behaviour, learning and/or mood in many (but not all) children with conditions like ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia or ASD, or with no such diagnosis.
- You'll learn more about all these findings when you sign up for our FREE HANDOUTS and E-alerts
But for public health policy, practice and treatment guidelines to change - MORE RESEARCH IS STILL NEEDED
Please read on for more details.....
NEW CHILDREN'S RESEARCH STUDY
Can Omega-3 help children's mood,
attention, behaviour or sleep?
> Register Your Interest <
No formal diagnoses are needed for a child to take part.
Our aim is to find out if supplementing children with the long-chain omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA (from fish oils) really can help children who have difficulties with mood, behaviour and/or attention to feel better, behave better, and learn better.
Previous studies of these omega-3 have already shown benefits for children with one or more of the following kinds of difficulties (whether these are mild/moderate or severe):
- ADHD – hyperactive and/or impulsive behaviour, attention and concentration problems
- Autism Spectrum Disorders – poor social skills, communication and/or behaviour problems
- Anxiety and Mood Disorders – difficulties with emotional self-regulation, sensitivity to stress, low mood and/or mood swings
Preliminary evidence also shows that supplementing these omega-3 may improve:
- Sleep problems – including difficulties getting to sleep, waking up on time in the morning, and/or night-time sleep disturbances
Find out more
All of these kinds of difficulties very often overlap in the same child. And improvements in one area, such as sleep, may help to improve others, like mood and anxiety - or vice versa.
A major aim of this study is therefore to find out how supplementation with omega-3 may affect each of these areas – and their interactions with each other – as well as children’s wellbeing in general.
IMPORTANTLY
- All measures can be completed ONLINE
- Supplements are delivered by post, so no travel is required
- The study is open to children living anywhere on the UK mainland
It is open to children who have at least some difficulties in one or more of the areas described above, haven't already been taking supplements containing omega-3, and who are:
- aged between 6 and 12,
- generally in good health
- willing and able to take a food supplement for 12 weeks (This involves taking 3 small capsules daily with food. Guidance and tips on how to achieve this are available if needed.)
If you’d like more information, please register your interest below and we'll be in touch.
Please help us if you can:
- by registering if you might be interested in your own child taking part
- and by simply sharing details of this new study with parents, teachers, psychologists, GPs, social workers - or anyone else you may know who has – or who works with - children aged 6-12 years who have any difficulties with behaviour, mood, learning or sleep.
- please let us know via this feedback form
Register Your Interest
Would you like to know more about this study?
Please just complete the form below - and we'll be in touch to answer any questions you may have, and guide you through the process.
We'll also include you in our e-alerts which include a range of free factsheets and infographics providing helpful and informative resources in a pocketsize form.
"FAB has raised my awareness of the importance of a healthy diet for all, not just those with behaviour and learning issues or other problems."
- Parent and Early Years Officer, Local Authority
"Alex Richardson has the ability to bridge the gap between her knowledge from the forefront of science and my need to find good information as a parent.
More than that – she genuinely cares about helping parents access up to date information on nutrition and behaviour."
