Just found this interesting article online about Omega-3 for Depression and Bipolar Disorder.
- Infant monkeys fed baby formula supplemented with omega-3 are stronger and more alert even at less than a week than monkeys given standard baby formula.
- Depression is 60 times higher in New Zealand, where the average consumption of seafood is 40 pounds a year compared to Japan, where a person consumes nearly 150 pounds of seafood a year.
- Postpartum depression is 50 times more common in countries with low levels of seafood consumption. During pregnancy, a woman’s body becomes depleted of fatty acids, which are transferred to the fetus.
- Omega-3 seems to be critical to the growth and maintenance of brain cells, especially cell membranes.
- When omega-3 is not available, the body uses omega-6, which produces cell membranes less able to cope with neurotransmitter traffic.
- And of course the famous 1999 Harvard pilot study.
We eat far greater amounts of other damaging fatty acids. A healthy diet should provide for at least five grams daily of essential fatty acids, divided between omega-3 and omega-6.
A quick Medline search turns up several studies that show depleted omega-3 levels in the blood, cell membranes, and brains of depressed patients, suggesting that an intake of omega-3 could help reverse the process, though this has yet to be proved in large-scale clinical trials.
The Omega-3 Bipolar Disorder Study
The 1999 Harvard study that started it all was conducted on 30 patients with bipolar disorder, generally in stable condition but with a history of relapses (all had experienced bipolar episodes over the past year). All but eight of the subjects were on medications, which were left unchanged. Half the subjects were given 9.6 grams of fish oil capsules, the other half received olive oil.
Andrew Stoll MD, who conducted the study, admits the olive oil, which did not have a fishy taste, was not a perfect placebo. In one case, a person’s cat actually attacked the fish oil capsules. But, as he jokingly confessed in a session at the 2000 DBSA annual conference, "you want a flawed study. That way, you get money to do another study."
The trial was supposed to go on for nine months, but was stopped after four due to its outstanding results, with the omega-3 group staying in remission significantly longer than the placebo patients. By two months, half of the placebo group had dropped out compared to two in the fish oil group. The omega-3 group actually did less well in lowering their mania scores than those taking placebos, but fared much better getting their depression down.
Omega 3 fatty acids influence mood, impulsivity and personality, study indicates
DENVER, March 3 – Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids may influence mood, personality and behavior, according to results of a study presented today by University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine researchers at the 64th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Psychosomatic Society in Denver.
In a study of 106 healthy volunteers, researchers found that participants who had lower blood levels of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids were more likely to report mild or moderate symptoms of depression, a more negative outlook and be more impulsive. Conversely, those with higher blood levels of omega-3s were found to be more agreeable.
"A number of previous studies have linked low levels of omega-3 to clinically significant conditions such as major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, substance abuse and attention deficit disorder," said Sarah Conklin, Ph.D., a postdoctoral scholar with the Cardiovascular Behavioral Medicine Program in the department of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. "However, few studies have shown that these relationships also occur in healthy adults. This study opens the door for future research looking at what effect increasing omega-3 intake, whether by eating omega-3 rich foods like salmon, or taking fish-oil supplements, has on people’s mood."
