What is possibly the most fascinating thing about this study is that it was conducted by two brothers in Montana – a high school junior and freshman. (comment – mdl)
While most high school kids are deficient in DHA, supplements derived from salmon could address the deficiency, the Noricks hypothesized.
The brothers set up an experiment to test their theory. First, each subject student agreed to provide a pin-prick’s worth of a blood, gathered by the high school nurse. The samples were then sent to a lab at Montana State University for DHA analysis. The samples showed that the students, were, in fact, low in DHA.
At the same time, the subject students took standardized cognitive tests that measured working memory and reaction times. Then for the next two months, one-third took a standard DHA supplement, another third took double the standard dose, and the rest took a placebo.
DHA levels were measured again, and subject students re-took the standardized cognitive tests. Those given the regular supplement showed marked improvement on the tests, and those given the placebo did not.
But what really interested the brothers was the group given double the supplements. While they showed improvement, they didn’t do any better than those on a regular dosage.