Do Diets, Supplements, or Omega-3 Help Reading?

By Laura Lurns · Reviewed by Philip Weaver · Last reviewed 2026-10-01

What did the Cochrane review of fatty-acid supplements find?

Omega-3 is one kind of fatty acid. A Cochrane review found no trial data on reading to judge whether fatty-acid supplements help. Tan and colleagues wrote that review in 2016.

The review found two small trials. They had 116 children in all. The review looked at children with "specific learning disorders" in general. Neither trial reported reading or spelling scores. The review found the evidence "insufficient to permit any conclusions" about learning. That is a gap in the research, not a finding either way.

We could read only the review's summary.

What about diet?

We hold no study of what a change in diet does to reading. Food matters to children. Diet is not something we assess.

Who to ask about diet and supplements

In our view, ask your child's doctor about any diet or supplement. In our view, eating very few foods is a question for the doctor too. In our view, so is a food allergy you suspect.

How to judge a claim about food and reading

In our view, four questions help with any claim about food and reading. What was measured, and was it reading or something else? How many children were in the study? What was it compared with: a placebo, something else, or nothing? Was the change big enough to notice on a school day? A claim worth taking seriously will answer all four.

What helps the reading?

Reading improves with reading instruction. Whatever you and the doctor decide about diet or supplements, keep reading instruction going.

Find which job of reading is going wrong, and work on that one. The exception is a skill that was there and has gone. Our position is that a lost skill goes to a doctor first, not a tutor.

When to ask for help

Each of these is a reason to ask for help on its own.

• Little change, even with steady practice and good teaching.
• Reading well below what school expects.
• A teacher who raises a concern about reading.
• Extreme upset about reading.
• Complete avoidance of reading.
• Hopelessness about learning.
• Sadness or worry that lasts.
• Significant delays in speech, language or motor development.
• A skill that was there and has gone. Our position is that a lost skill goes to a doctor first, not a tutor.

If no skill has gone, start with the teacher. Say what you are seeing at home, and what you have tried. Beyond the teacher, the right person depends on what it turns out to be about. If the work is too hard, someone who works on that school skill. If worry or mood is the thing, someone who works with children's mental health. In our view, delays in speech, language or movement are worth raising with your child's doctor. In our view, if you are worried enough to ask, a professional evaluation is worth asking about.

Any talk of hurting themselves is a same-day call to your doctor or a crisis line.