Review of Fish Oil Shows Effectiveness for Mental Health

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Review of Fish Oil Shows Effectiveness for Mental Health

By Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS, November 21, 2006, abstracted from Depression:

Does nutrition have an adjunctive treatment role? " in the December 2006

issue of Nutrition & Dietetics:

Clinical depression is defined as " a mood disorder characterized by a

pervasive negative mood persisting for greater than 14 consecutive

days " , and is accompanied by a generalized loss of interests, an

inability to experience pleasure and suicidal tendencies.(1) But

depression is quickly becoming a serious health problem. The World

Health Organization estimates that major depressive disorders will

become the second leading cause of disability worldwide by the year

2020, after heart disease.(2)

Current treatments for clinical depression comprise a combination of

non-pharmacological treatments, including psychotherapy and

electroconvulsive therapy,(3) and pharmacological therapy, including

tricyclic anti-depressants and selective serotonin reuptake

inhibitors.(4) But with side effects that include weight gain, digestive

problems, blurred vision, drowsiness and dizziness,4 many patients are

trying to find more tolerable alternatives.(5)

Fortunately, while more tolerable alternatives for clinical depression

are surfacing, including folic acid , tryptophan , vitamin B6, B12,

S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAMe) and St. 's Wort ,(6) one of the

supplements receiving the most attention is omega-3 fatty acids .(7,8)

A new study(9) has reviewed previous research on omega-3 fatty acids and

found that they may indeed maintain mental health.

In the study, researchers cited studies showing " evidence that fish and

fish oils may be protective against depression " in western countries,

which average 11-32 kg of fish consumption per year, and 3-6% of the

population suffers depression. In countries such as Japan, which

averages 68 kg of fish consumption per year, only 0.12% of the

population suffers from depression.(10) And although one study " failed

to show any association between dietary intake of omega-3 PUFA or fish

consumption and lowered mood or major depressive episodes " ,(11)( other

data shows that the risk of having depressive symptoms is 31% higher

among infrequent fish-consumers than in people who ate fish at least

once per week.(12)

An overall examination of the data led the researchers to not only

support " a potential therapeutic benefit of omega-3 polyunsaturated

fatty acids for the alleviation of negative symptoms associated with

depression " , but they made an all-inclusive conclusion that " omega-3

polyunsaturated fatty acids, optimal omega balance, folic acid,

tryptophan, vitamin B6, B12, [sAMe] and [st. 's Wort] may all serve

as adjuncts to psychosocial and pharmacological therapies. "

Greg Arnold is a Chiropractic Physician practicing in Danville, CA. You

can contact Dr. Arnold directly by emailing him at

mailto:ChiroDocPSUalum@... or visiting his web site

www.CompleteChiropracticHealthcare.com

Reference:

1 Pollitt P. Mental health literacy: a survey of the public's ability to

recognise mental disorders and their beliefs about the effectiveness of

treatment. Med J Aust 1997; 166: 182–6

2 Murray C, A, eds. The Global Burden of Disease Study: A

Comprehensive Assessment of Mortality and Disability from Disease,

Injuries, and Risk Factors in 1990 and Projected to 2020. Cambridge, MA:

Harvard University Press on behalf of the World Health Organization and

the World Bank, 1996

3 Bloch S, Singh B. Understanding Troubled Minds: A Guide to Mental

Illness and Its Treatment. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1997

4 Garrow J, W. Human Nutrition and Dietetics, 9th edn. London:

Churchill Livingstone, 1993

5 Information leaflet about antidepressants from the Royal College of

Psychiarists. (Cited 13 Oct 2006.)

6 Baumel S. Dealing with Depression Naturally. Los Angeles, CA: Keats,

2000

7 Timonen M, Horrobin D, Jokelainen J, Laitinen J, Herva A, Rasanen P.

Fish consumption and depression: the Northern Finland 1966 birth cohort

study. J Affect Disord 2004; 82: 447–52

8 Hibbeln J, Salem N. Dietary polyunsaturated fats and depression: when

cholesterol does not satisfy. Am J Clin Nutr 1995; 62: 1–9

9 Volker D. Depression: Does nutrition have an adjunctive treatment

role? Nutrition & Dietetics 2006; 63(4): 213-226

10 Hibbeln J, Salem N. Dietary polyunsaturated fats and depression: when

cholesterol does not satisfy. Am J Clin Nutr 1995; 62: 1–9

11 Lonnqvist J. Is low dietary intake of omega-3 fatty acids associated

with depression? Am J Psychiatry 2004; 161: 567–9

12 Viinamaki H. Fish consumption, depression and suicidality in general

population. Arch Gen Psychiatry 2001; 58: 512–13