UPDATED: Observer plugs fish oil for concentration, ADHD and depression

I was surprised to see the usually excellent Guardian Science tweeting that “Fish oil helps schoolchildren to concentrate”. This linked to Denis Campbell’s Observer article, reporting that

Fish oil helps schoolchildren to concentrate
US academics discover high doses of omega-3 fish oil combat hyperactivity and attention deficit disorder
Children can learn better at school by taking omega-3 fish oil supplements which boost their concentration, scientists say.

Boys aged eight to 11 who were given doses once or twice a day of docosahexaenoic acid, an essential fatty acid known as DHA, showed big improvements in their performance during tasks involving attention.

Dr Robert McNamara, of the University of Cincinnati, who led the team of American researchers, said their findings could help pupils to study more effectively and potentially help to tackle both attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and depression.

Unfortunately, the Observer’s claims about fish oil are not evidence-based.

Daily Mail and Its Frame of a Recent Homocysteine and Depression Study

Daily Mail regularly displays a remarkable similarity to the public writings of Visiting Professor Patrick Holford. It has taken time out from its usual project of dividing substances into things that will give you cancer or cure it, or similarly for diabetes to digress into the Holford obsession with over-claiming for the significance of homocysteine levels and the outcome of manipulating them. In a recent round-up, Daily Mail declared Vitamin B can beat ‘old age blues’. A little confusingly, the accompanying photograph is that of an attractive, well-turned out woman in her late 20s/early 30s or so. It’s distracting because the study was carried out in men over the age of 70.

Patrick Holford and His Alternative to Anti-Depressants

Professor Patrick Holford has a remarkably agile PR team with helpful lacunae in their collective memories. 27.02.2007, Holford’s email subscribers received an email, What’s the alternative to ineffective anti-depressants?