If you're dealing with anger issues, usually the advice is to practice deep breathing, meditation, or talk to a cognitive behavioral therapist. Anger management is also a common option. But what hasn't been? Taking a supplement.
A new meta-analysis by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania has found that taking omega-3 can reduce aggression by up to 28 percent. What's more, the fatty acids found in fish oil supplements have a noticeable short-term affect in easing anger in anyone, regardless of age, gender, medical diagnosis, or how often you have or haven't been taking them.
These findings, while not entirely new, are highlighting just how effective omega-3 can be in regulating your mood—sparking experts to urge its use for anger management.
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How Omega-3 fatty acids affect aggression:
Plenty of previous studies have looked at omega-3s, particularly eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), for their anti-inflammatory and neurotransmitter-moderating powers. These benefits, scientists have found, can positively impact mood disorders like depression and anxiety.
In fact, this latest meta-analysis was based on existing research. It rounded up 29 previous randomized controlled trials on omega-3 supplementation to reduce aggression to come up with some strong cause-and-effect revelations. In total, these trials included 3,918 people and spanned over almost three decades, from 1994 to 2024. Over half of these subjects were under the age of 18, and the rest were adults.
The numbers showed that taking omega-3 reduced the two different types of aggression in these subjects: reactive and proactive. (Reactive aggression is an impulsive response to a trigger, while proactive is deliberate to influence a desired outcome or exert control.)
The paper's authors, neurocriminologist and Penn professor of criminology, psychiatry, and psychology, Adrian Raine, and Lia Brodrick of the Perelman School of Medicine, concluded: "Results of this study show that omega-3 supplementation significantly reduces aggressive behavior in the short-term, albeit at a modest level. The degree of reduction is modest, with an average effect size of 0.22. This treatment effect does however apply broadly across a variety of different populations, and cuts across age and gender."
What this means if you or someone you know is dealing with anger issues:
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Raine, who's the lead author on this latest research and has been studying omega-3 supplementation and aggression for years, isn't mincing words on what his findings suggest to the greater population.
“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,” he told Penn Today. “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.”
In their meta-analysis, Raine and Brodrick suggest that caregivers—including parents of aggressive children—should be alerted to the benefits of trying omega-3 supplementation in addition to other interventions.
"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," Raine said.
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Indeed, it's best to get your omega-3s from dietary sources, such as fatty fish and other seafood, nuts and seeds, plant oils, and fortified foods. If those foods aren't regularly in you or your child's diet, fish oil capsules can be just as effective.
Remember, this research has found that omega-3 has a moderate, short-term effect on aggression, so it'd be logical to pop a capsule when feelings of anger or irritation pop up.
As the authors admit, "While there is value in knowing whether omega-3 reduces aggression in the short-term, the next step will be to evaluate whether omega-3 can reduce aggression in the long-term.”
