Phosphatidylserine for ADHD

Phosphatidylserine (PS) may help ADHD. Recent studies are pointing to real benefits from this brain supplement for people with all sorts of cognitive or brain challenges but also for people with no ADHD or  ADD symptoms.  It seems that many new studies are showing that phosphatidylserine is amazingly helpful for maximizing our brain functioning.

Phosphatidylserine (PS) is not one of the ADHD vitamins that I have spoken of before.  It is an ADHD supplement that is a brain lipid or fat that is essential for us to be able to process, attend to, and retain information. We know from previous studies that the essential fatty acid profile of people with ADHD is different from the brain lipid composition of people without ADD. Several studies have demonstrated cognitive benefits for people with Inattentive ADD when they take supplemental Omega-3 fatty acids but PS is a brain fat that is more important and different. 

PS is normally made in our brains but certain conditions such as stress, inflammation, vitamin deficiencies, aging, and other brain issues can diminish the amounts available  and this in turn can lead to a decrease in optimal brain functioning and perhaps to symptoms such as those seen in all types of ADHD.

A study just published in the Proceedings of the Seventh International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) Conference and Expo Journal reported that supplementation with 400 mg of phosphatidylserine daily improved cognitive functioning.  This study was performed on healthy athletes with no symptoms of cognitive impairments. The report concluded that this supplement induced improvement could benefit everyone even people without any symptoms of impaired cognition.

In the old days the only way to get additional PS into your system was to take a supplement that was made out of cow or lambs brains.  The practice of making PS out of cow brains was discontinued in the United States after the onset of Mad Cow disease.  You can now get phospholipid supplements in the form of PS supplements made out of Soy bean, fish livers, squid skin and you can get similar benefits from Krill oil.  Krill oil contains a phospholipid that is similar to PS called phosphatidylcholine (PC). 

According to one study, published in a 2007 Alternative Medicine Review, Krill Oil was very effective when compared to plain Omega-3 supplementation in improving cognition.  To my knowledge a study comparing Krill PC to Soy bean or marine derived PS has not been done but one study did point to the fact that the marine derived PS products were more effectively transported into the brain after supplementation then were the PS products derived from either cow brains or soy beans.

There is good research to support PS and PC supplementation for everyone not just people with ADHD.  The PS and PC supplements are thought to work by decreasing the cortisol response to physical stress, optimizing neurotransmitter functioning and decreasing inflammation in the brain.  It is thought that the best dose to maintain optimal brain function is 100-400mg mg per day.  Phosphatidylserine is considered to be extremely safe but special care should be taken if you are on any blood thinning medication as PS and PC may have blood thinning properties.

Krill oil has cogntive benefits because of the benefits derived both from the Omega-3 fatty acids and from the benefits of PS.  People with Inattentive ADHD as well as the other subtypes of ADHD would benefit from the use of this supplement and it deserves a high place in the category of ADHD Vitamins and supplements.