Taking Fish Oil For Depression - Is it Effective?

Over the past years, a number of clinical studies were conducted, searching for a link between omega 3 essential fatty acids deficiency and depression, the medical condition that afflicts millions of people, especially in the Western world.

In this article, I will present a list of some of these studies' results. They all point to the fact that taking fish oil for depression might be the best cure.

Here goes the list:

1. By studying the dietary habits of people living in different parts of the world, it was shown that occurrence of depression among those whose diet was rich in oily fish, such as salmon or anchovies was much lower than the rest. As you probably know, these fatty fish are rich in omega 3 acids.

Those same people also showed a lower incidence of medical conditions such as coronary artery disease and sudden cardiac death, for which depression is considered to be a risk factor.

2. There are two main groups of fatty acids, omega 3 and omega 6. While omega 6 are more abundant in the western diet, omega 3 are the ones that we are mostly deficient of. Of these omega 3, two are the most important acids: One is called eicospentaenoic acid (EPA) and the other docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Another key finding of the research was that people in the control groups afflicted with depression, generally had lower levels of these two omega 3 acids than the rest.

3. The studies also focused on the ratio between omega 6 acids to omega 3s in the bloodstream. It was interesting to see that people with depression had significantly higher ratios (much more omega 6 than omega 3 than the rest. As a rule of thumb, this ratio should be 3:1. In these individuals, it could go as high as 30:1.

In conclusion, all of the above findings have a sure fire indication: That taking fish oil for depression is definitely worth considering.

But not just any fish oil will do. What is very important is that it should contain a high proportion of omega 3 essential fatty acids (EPA and DHA), rather than omega 6. Omega 3 are found mostly in fatty fish.

Now, one could argue that it would be better to take these fatty acids from your diet, rather than from supplements. I couldn't agree more, but unfortunately we are confronted with the sad reality:

The nutritional intake of our today's diet (especially in the so called "more developed" western world), is far poorer than what it used to be some time ago. To name a few examples, we get our meat from grain fed rather than grass fed cattle and the fish are fed on pellets in fish farms rather than get their diet from their natural habitat in the ocean waters and the lakes.

For this reason, more and more people are relying on supplementation to fulfill their nutritional needs and so regain their health. 

The Best Fish Oil Supplements - The Top 3 Things to Look Out For When You Buy Them

Supplements & Vitamins

Supplements & Vitamins