Are you someone who has ‘n’ number of bottles lined in your kitchen cabinet that are labeled as supplements? And do you consume all those according to your health and necessities?
Then you might be helping yourself unknowingly!
Read on to know more.
According to a 2024 study, published in Aggression and Violent Behavior, fatty acids, available as dietary supplements via fish oil capsules and thought to help with mental and physical well-being, could also cut down on aggression.

What’s the research?

On one hand, omega-3 has previously been linked to preventing schizophrenia. On the other hand, aggression and antisocial behavior are thought in part to stem from a lack of nutrition. Now, what we eat can influence our brain’s chemistry.
Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania built on earlier, smaller studies of omega-3 supplementation effects on aggression. Their meta-analysis looked at 29 randomized controlled trials across 3,918 participants in total.
Across all the trials, a modest but noticeable short-term effect was found, translating to up to a 28 percent reduction in aggression across multiple different variables (including age, gender, medical diagnosis, and length and dosage of treatment).
The trials included in the study, carried out between 1996 and 2024, ran for an average of 16 weeks. They covered a variety of demographics, from children aged 16 and under to older people aged between 50 and 60.
Neurocriminologist Adrian Raine said, when the meta-analysis was published, “I think the time has come to implement omega-3 supplementation to reduce aggression, irrespective of whether the setting is the community, the clinic, or the criminal justice system.”

What else?

The reductions in aggression included both reactive aggression (in response to provocation) and proactive aggression (behavior pre-planned). Before this study, it wasn’t clear if omega-3 could help with these different types of aggression.
While larger studies across longer periods are going to be needed to further establish this relationship, it adds to our understanding of how fish oil pills and the omega-3 in them might be beneficial for the brain.
As per Raine, “At the very least, parents seeking treatment for an aggressive child should know that in addition to any other treatment that their child receives, an extra portion or two of fish each week could also help.”

The findings:

As per the researchers, something in the way that omega-3 reduces inflammation and keeps vital brain processes ticking over might be helping regulate aggression. There are still a lot of questions yet to be answered. However, the team suggests there’s enough evidence to look into this further.
Additionally, studies also show that medications derived from fish oil, which is a rich source of omega-3, can help reduce the risk of fatal heart attacks, strokes, and other heart health problems. As per Raine, “Omega-3 is not a magic bullet that is going to completely solve the problem of violence in society. But can it help? Based on these findings, we firmly believe it can, and we should start to act on the new knowledge we have.”

Benefits of fish oil:

Fish oil contains omega-3 fatty acids, which may have many health benefits, including:
Heart health: Fish oil may help prevent cardiovascular disease, coronary artery disease, and ischemic strokes. It may also help lower blood pressure and improve blood flow.
Brain health: Fish oil may help improve brain cell function, memory, and prevent Alzheimer’s disease.
Eye health: Fish oil may help prevent macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness.
Joint health: Fish oil may help relieve rheumatoid arthritis and curb joint pain and stiffness.
Fetal development: Fish oil may help boost fetal development, especially of the brain and eyes.
Neurodevelopmental conditions: Fish oil may help improve attention and hyperactivity in children with conditions like ADHD.
Immune system: Fish oil may help boost the immune system.
Blood sugar levels: Fish oil may help control blood sugar levels in patients with diabetes.
Depression: Some researchers found that cultures that consume foods with high levels of omega-3s have lower levels of depression.
You can get omega-3s from fish, especially cold-water fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, and tuna. If you don’t eat fish, you can take fish oil supplements.