Fish Oil Article
From May 2005 Dicover Magazine
Omega-3s are a family of fatty acids found in seafood and certain plants such as flax. Researchers are interested in their therapeutic potential for several reasons: Large population studies have shown a correlation between rates of seafood consumption and depression. Small studies have found patients with depression have reduced levels of these fatty acids in their blood. A variety of small clinical trials have also suggested that omega-3s (at doses ranging from one to four grams) may alleviate the symptoms of depression, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, as well as improve patients' response to conventional medicines.
Some researchers speculate that fatty acids help maintain fluidity in the cellular membranes, allowing neural receptors to better detect incoming signals. Others, like Harvard psychiatrist Andrew Stoll, believe that omega-3s affect the brain in ways similar to mood stabilizing drugs like lithium and Depakote: They tamp down excessive signaling between cells. Stoll says the compounds also reduce cellular inflammation--common in people with mental disorders--stirred up by omeg-6s, another family of fatty acids. In centuries past, humans ate a great deal of wild game, greens, and other foods rich in omega-3s. Today we eat fewer omega-3s, while filling up on foods heavy with processed vegetable oils, which are high in omega-6s. The change may help to account for the increased incidence of depression in the past 100 years, Stoll says.
Stolls colleagues say that the compounds show promise but require further research. "The problem is there's not a lot of published evidence yet," says Harvard psychiatrist David Mischoulon. "So it's hard to compare this modest body of evidence against evidence for a medication like Prozac or Zoloft that has numerous studies to back it up."
Omega-3s are a family of fatty acids found in seafood and certain plants such as flax. Researchers are interested in their therapeutic potential for several reasons: Large population studies have shown a correlation between rates of seafood consumption and depression. Small studies have found patients with depression have reduced levels of these fatty acids in their blood. A variety of small clinical trials have also suggested that omega-3s (at doses ranging from one to four grams) may alleviate the symptoms of depression, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, as well as improve patients' response to conventional medicines.
Some researchers speculate that fatty acids help maintain fluidity in the cellular membranes, allowing neural receptors to better detect incoming signals. Others, like Harvard psychiatrist Andrew Stoll, believe that omega-3s affect the brain in ways similar to mood stabilizing drugs like lithium and Depakote: They tamp down excessive signaling between cells. Stoll says the compounds also reduce cellular inflammation--common in people with mental disorders--stirred up by omeg-6s, another family of fatty acids. In centuries past, humans ate a great deal of wild game, greens, and other foods rich in omega-3s. Today we eat fewer omega-3s, while filling up on foods heavy with processed vegetable oils, which are high in omega-6s. The change may help to account for the increased incidence of depression in the past 100 years, Stoll says.
Stolls colleagues say that the compounds show promise but require further research. "The problem is there's not a lot of published evidence yet," says Harvard psychiatrist David Mischoulon. "So it's hard to compare this modest body of evidence against evidence for a medication like Prozac or Zoloft that has numerous studies to back it up."