Fish Oil and Depression
Fish oil and depression have long been linked together by scientists from around the world as the fish oil is a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, which happens to play an important role in brain function.
Depression is a really awful disease and, for those who suffer from it, continuing hopelessness and despair are always the same core feelings no matter what the duration and degree of their illness or the more specific symptoms they may experience.
Depression is not just feeling low; there is a big difference between the two. And if you’ve never experienced it, you will find it very difficult to understand the disease and it will also be a difficult situation for people around you.
Omega-3 fatty acids are polyunsaturated oils, that cannot be made by the body and are derived primarily from seafood. But even cold water ocean fish are not able to produce omega-3 fatty acids, they get them from their food, as sea-plankton. The colder sea-water is, the more omega-3 fatty acid content of the plankton.
Omega 3 fatty acids are important components of the cell-membranes, which surround the cells of our body. Cell-membranes are made up partly of omega-3 fatty acids. They are particularly important for our nerve-cells, the neurons. They seem to be critical to the growth and maintenance of brain cells, especially cell-membranes.
It is possible that increasing the omega-3 levels makes it easier forserotonin to pass through cell-membranes. Omega-3 fatty acids can be found all over our body, however they are highly concentrated in the brain. Researchers noted significantly lower levels of omega-3’s in the red blood cell membranes of patients with depression.
The two most effective omega-3 fatty acids are EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexanic acid). They are found in generous amount in cold sea water fish, as tuna, salmon, mackerel or sardines. The third effective omega-3 fatty acid is ALA (alpha-linolenic acid) comes from some plants, as flaxseed, pumpkin seed and walnuts.
• People with depression may have low blood levels of brain chemicals called eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).
• Countries with the highest fish consumption have the lowest rates of depression.
• Many small studies have suggested that fish oil can help smooth out the mood swings of bipolar depression. Researchers found, that omega-3 fatty acids raised levels of the important neurotransmitter, serotonin in the brain.
• They observed that mothers in England who ate very little fish during pregnancy, doubled their risk of developing postpartum depression compared to women who ate fish regularly.
• In a study of fish oil and depression of 30 manic-depressive patients, sixty-four percent of those who took 10 grams of fish oil per day for four months reported a marked improvement in their symptoms. By contrast, only 19 percent of those receiving the placebo benefited.
• But noone knows exactly how omega-3s regulate mood. One theory is that they work like lithium and certain other standard drugs by dampening overactive nerve-to-nerve communication channels in the brain.
Fish Oil and Depression – What is the Suggested Dose?
The best dose of fish oil isn’t clear, but it appears that supplements containing 100 to 300 milligrams of either EPA or a combination of EPA and DHA may be helpful in relieving mild depression. And according to some other studies refined EPA supplements in a daily dose of 1 gram are the most effective in the treatment of more serious mood disorders. If you take fish oil supplements the daily dose can be higher up to 3 grams a day. Take the supplements always with meal. When the depression symptoms have disappeared stay on a maintenance dose of at least 500mg a day..
Unlike Prozac and other antidepressants that can cause sexual problems and other troubling side effects, fish oils appear to cause nothing more serious than occasional indigestion. They are also compatible with most prescription medications, although those taking blood-thinning drugs or herbs, such as Coumadin, aspirin, or ginkgo biloba, should watch out for excessive bleeding since, in theory at least, fish oils may have an anticoagulant effect.
Fish Oil and Depression- Caution:
Cod liver oil is not an appropriate source of omega-3s. The amount you’d have to take to supply a therapeutic dose of omega-3s in cod liver oil might cause vitamin A toxicity, so do be careful.
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