5 Best Edible Oils for ADHD Persons
Yes, natural and unrefined plant-based oils help ADHD persons manage their condition!
WHO Guidelines for Fats and Oils Intake
Fats and oils are essential macronutrients apart from proteins and carbohydrates required for maintaining good health. According to World Health Organization (WHO) recent recommendations that adults limit to 30% of total energy intake from the fats/oils. That means for an average of 2000 Kcal nutrition requirement we need to consume maximum of 65–70 g of fats and oils.
First thing first, this article confines itself for advocating consumption of plant-based oils and not go into the arguments for or against the consumption of animal fat as part of our macronutrient requirements.
Commercially available oils
There are at least couple of dozens of plant-based edible oils available commercially but which one to have them regularly?
Is it good to have only one type of oil regularly? Or a combination of oils is good to have regularly?
Are the abundantly available plant-based oils like sunflower oil, corn oil or soya bean oil are good enough for maintaining good health for neurotypical persons, leave alone neurodivergent persons?
Let’s examine these facts one by one!
Earlier I have already published here on Medium platform about fatty acids beginner’s guide where I have discussed about various fatty acid types, their benefits and sources. Please refer to it for in depth notes on fatty acids.
For non-chemists it’s enough to know that oils and fats are glycerol or alcohol derivatives (chemically ‘esters’) of fatty acids. From here onwards they are simply called ‘fatty acids or oils’ interchangeably and for simplicity.
Brief Introduction of Fats and Oils
Here’s a brief introduction about types of fatty acids in order to understand better rest of the topic. Overall, there are two types of fatty acids, i.e. saturated and unsaturated fatty acids.
Saturated fatty acids constitute major portion of the fats, and they are usually solids at room temperature (21–23 degree centigrade) because of their chemical nature.
Whereas unsaturated fatty acids are major portion of the plant oils, and they are usually in liquid form at room temperature.
Monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) and Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA)
Within the unsaturated fatty acids there are two major kinds which are monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. As their name suggests monounsaturated means there is single double bond in their chemical structure and polyunsaturated means there are more than one double bond in their chemical structure.
Within the polyunsaturated fatty acids there are mainly three kinds of fatty acids depending on the position of the double bond starting from the tail end (omega end) of the fatty acid.
Omega-3, 6, 9 fatty acids
They are 3, 6 and 9 omega fatty acids and the numbers refer to the double bond position from the tail end (omega end) and defined as such. For example, omega-3 fatty acid is known as it’s because the double bond is present from the third position of the tail end (Methyl group end, if one is interested in knowing more chemically). Similarly, omega-6 and omega-9 fatty acids refer to the last double bond in the structure which is on the 6th and 9th position respectively from the tail end of the fatty acid.
All the plant oils contain these omega-3, 6 and 9 fatty acids in different proportions.
All the plant oils have omega-9 fatty acid in larger proportion in comparison to that of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. Omega-9 fatty acid is part of the MUFAs in plant oils and is major contributor among the MUFAs. Even though omega-9 fatty acid is available it’s not an essential fatty acid for our general health as our bodies are also capable of making it by means of biosynthesis.
Whereas omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are called essential fatty acids as our bodies can’t make them and we are dependent on plant-based sources for our nutrition.
In general, the research findings support that omega-3 and omega-9 fatty acids are anti-inflammatory whereas omega-6 fatty acids are pro-inflammatory.
The research findings point towards inflammation is the hall mark of several chronic diseases. Hence, it’s important to include a variety of anti-inflammatory nutrients in our daily routine. The plant based anti-inflammatory nutrients are the most preferred for maintaining good general health and even brain health.
Here when I say brain health I am using in a broader perspective not just attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder and many other neurological disorders including Alzheimer’s.
Further, there’s a common understanding in the research community that omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids should be in a ratio of 1:1 to 4:1 at the most for maintaining good health.
Commercially available seed oils
I have given below a list of commercially available seed oils and their relevance in our nutrition will be discussed after the table.
The above list displays top15 commercially available edible seed oils. In the list we can see that commonly used cooking oils such as soya bean oil, sunflower oil and corn oil are rich in omega-6 fatty acids and their omega-3 fatty acids content is much less. The omega-3 to omega-6 ratio (1:10–50) is much distant away from their preferred ratio (1:1 to 1:4).
From the perspective of omega-3 to omega-6 ratio the best oil is flax seed oil and the next popular oils are mustard and canola oils. The plant-based omega-3 fatty acid is known as alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) which is converted into eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). EPA and DHA are known to be essential for good brain health apart from many other organs in the body. Even though a tablespoon of flax seed oil contains about 7 g of ALA, its conversion by enzymes in multiple steps into EPA and DHA is not efficient. It’s estimated that one tablespoon of flax seed oil gives about 700 mg of mixture of EPA and DHA. This is more than equal to two capsules of 1 g of fish oil supplements which contain about 300 mg of mixture of EPA and DHA in a capsule.
So, the doctors and nutritionists recommend fish oil supplements in addition to taking plant-based oils for good brain health. I believe not everyone needs to take fish oil supplement and their condition may not warrant inclusion of fish oil in their diet plan. However, one has to take a decision in consultation with their doctor or nutritionist whether to add fish oil supplements in their diet along with flax seed oil or any other plant-based oil.
The hemp seed oil and Niger seed oil are not commonly available and are also expensive in retail market and may be consumed for their nutritional values as required if one can afford them.
The next best oils in the above list are mustard seed oil, canola oil and rapeseed oil in terms of best edible oil based on their composition of different factors such as omega-3/omega-6 ratio, SFA, MUFA and PUFA. However, mustard seed oil is not permitted as cooking oil in USA and western Europe. Whereas it is widely used as a cooking oil in south Asia and in few other countries around the world.
The commercially available popular oils such as soyabean oil, sunflower oil and corn oil are not preferred based on their omega-3/omega-6 ratio, as it’s far away from its preferred value. The palm oil and palm kernel oil are having much higher amounts of SFA and are not preferred and need to be consumed in smaller proportions.
Commercially available fruit oils
By this time, you must be wondering how about the well-known plant-based oil, i.e. olive oil? Why it’s not included in the above list?
Well, olive oil is not a seed oil, it’s one of the few fruit oils as shown in the below table.
The omega-3 to omega-6 ratio (1:10) in olive oil or avocado is also not very good from the point of preferred ratio but much better than other edible oils. However, the health benefits of the extra virgin (unrefined) olive oil and avocado oil accrue because of their phytochemical composition rather than solely because of the ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 ratio. Anyways, the PUFA content in extra virgin olive oil or avocado is smaller (14-15%). Therefore, the higher omega-6 to omega-3 ratio doesn’t make much of a difference overall.
Coconut oil
The third oil in the list is that of coconut oil and requires special mention. Even though it’s called ‘coconut’ but it’s actually a fruit oil. It has totally opposite composition compared to that of olive oil or avocado oil. The phytochemistry is also different. Coconut oil contains saturated fatty acid (SFA) in higher proportions unlike olive oil which has MUFA as the major component in the oil.
Coconut oil has been used for centuries in different cultures across the world for various aspects. However, post-world wars, it has been labelled as a bad fat/oil until recently for its high saturated fatty acid (SFA) content. But the saturated fat present in coconut oil is not like that of in other seed oils instead it's made of medium chain triglycerides (MCT), and its major fatty acid is lauric acid, a medium chain fatty acid.
Nowadays coconut oil is extolled for its virtues in various human health aspects including ADHD and other brain disorders.
Oils from nuts?
There are few more edible oils from different nuts (almonds, pecans macadamia and hazel nuts) but they are not consumed as part of diet except for peanut oil. These nuts are consumed directly as part of the nutrition in small quantity as snacks but not as extracted oils as they are expensive (not peanut oil though).
Conditions apply
All oils are preferred to be consumed as unrefined oils for retaining their true nutritional value or refined physically only. It’s recommended to avoid chemically refined oils as they lose most of the phytochemicals during the refining process. Further the extraction process of oils from the seeds also plays an important role in retaining their nutritional values. It’s advised to consume oils expelled at room temperature and slower speeds.
5 Best edible oils for brain health
Now with all the analysis and the above details it’s easy to arrive at best edible oils for brain health. The preferred seed oils are flax seed oil, canola oil, rapeseed oil, hemp seed oil, and Niger seed oil based on their omega-3/omega-6 ratio for brain health.
Whereas fruit oils, olive oil, avocado oil and coconut are the most preferred edible oils for general health and even for brain health.
Various nuts can be included as snacks as part of their oil nutritional values apart from the other dietary benefits.
In my view the best 5 edible oils for anyone including ADHD persons are the following: flax seed oil, canola oil, Niger seed oil, olive oil and coconut oil. Remember the oils should be cold-pressed and unrefined for using in cooking.
Bonus oils if you are interested!
As a bonus unrefined mustard oil may also be added for cooking because it’s widely used in many parts of the world without any adverse reports, but I will leave that to an individual’s preference. Further, unrefined sesame oil is also used widely in south India from where I come. In fact, we use both of them at my home quite frequently and found them helpful for managing my son’s ADHD symptoms.
Rotation or blending?
It’s important to note no single oil is complete on its own for full nutritional benefits for general as well as brain health. Therefore, rotation of the above oils on a weekly basis or blending of different oils may be considered.
How much one should consume?
With respect to amount of the oils one should consume, you have to experiment yourself about how much is really helpful to you. I have already given a cue in the above discussion and follow accordingly. If you are in urgency and don’t want to try it yourself, then you should consult a nutritionist or a naturopathic physician. I don’t expect regular MD physicians would be interested in advising you to go in this route, i.e. managing ADHD with changes in diet.
Next topics to be discussed?
So, far I have discussed various topics to manage ADHD symptoms which helped me in managing my son’s ADHD. The topics covered so far are mainly around either including or not including certain proteins and carbohydrates. Now in this article I have highlighted about various plant-based oils and their suitability for ADHD persons.
Until now, I have only covered plant-based nutritional inputs for managing ADHD.
Even though I am a vegan, I still recommend couple of animal-based items in managing ADHD as they help very much. Those of you in the knowing already might have guessed at least one of them.
Obviously, I am referring to omega fatty acids from fish sources. I’ll write about them in the next posts.
Another animal sourced item I am referring to is known as GHEE, which is derived from regular butter (unsalted). Ghee behaves like a fat at room temperature.
Ghee requires a special mention and I’ll cover it in a dedicated post.
Until then,
Cheers!
Vara
