Fish and walnuts help manage anger
If you tend to lose your temper in public, it may not be your personality that is to blame, but your diet. Scientists from the University of Pennsylvania found that people who take omega-3, which is found in fish, flaxseed and walnuts, are less likely to experience outbursts of aggression and violence.
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The team of researchers analyzed more than 20 studies that tested this nutrient and found a 30 percent reduction in aggression in people who took the supplement for at least two weeks.
According to the Daily Mail, since it has been proven that Omega-3 stimulates brain function, and researchers have suggested it may improve mechanisms that work poorly in people with these behaviors.
"I think it's time to introduce omega-3 supplements to reduce aggression, whether it's in the community, the clinic, or the criminal justice system, – Adrian Raine, a neurocriminologist at the University of Pennsylvania, noted in a statement. – Omega-3 is not a magic bullet that can completely solve the problem of violence in society. But can it help? Based on these results, we firmly believe that it can, and we should begin to act on the new knowledge we have.»
Omega-3 is a type of fat that our bodies need to survive, but which they cannot make on their own. Some common sources of these nutrients include fish such as mackerel, salmon and herring, as well as flax and chia seeds, walnuts and soybeans, writes the Daily Mail.
If you are not a fan of these foods, doctors sometimes recommend taking fish oil pills, which contain a large amount of the nutrient.
Professor Raine has been studying the link between omega-3s and criminal behavior for ten years. His latest study, published in the journal Aggression and Violent Behavior, collected and analyzed data from 29 previous studies involving 3,918 people from 1996 to 2024.
About 51% of the participants were children. but the average age of the participants was 21.74 years. On average, participants took 1.18 grams of omega-3 supplements for 16.37 weeks.
Summarizing these results, Professor Raine and his colleagues found that across people of all ages, genders, psychological diagnoses, duration of treatment and dosages, aggressive behavior was reduced by an average of 30 percent.
However, the team noted that their results showed only a short-term reduction, and more research is needed to see the long-term effects.
There are many studies that link abnormalities in brain tissue with aggressive behavior, the Daily Mail highlights.
“When the nerves in an area of your brain known as the prefrontal cortex are underdeveloped, you are more likely to develop violent, aggressive, or impulsive tendencies,” – says neurologist Dr. Pamela Blake of Georgetown University Hospital.
No matter how omega-3 affects the brain, scientists do not claim that it is a panacea for aggressive behavior. It is likely that people who struggle with temper tantrums will need more than dietary changes to improve their situation.
"At the very least, we would argue that taking omega-3 supplements should be considered adjunct to other interventions, whether psychological (eg CBT) or pharmacological (eg risperidone), and that carers should be informed of the potential benefits of omega-3 supplements, Professor Raine and her colleagues say in their study . – We believe it is time to both put omega-3 supplements into practice and continue scientific research into their long-term effectiveness.»