Comments on: Does a Western Diet Low In Omega-3s Promote Depression?

By: Chris Heath

Chris Heath — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 18:13:21 +0000

I think this is a great article. For my thesis, I swear I read damn near every article on omega-3 and mental health! I would definitely say that omega-3 offers risk factors to depression that our ancestors had, but we do not. There’s no doubt that there is a strong link between omega-3 intake and depression.

I believe the article also left out one interesting bit of information. Omega-3 and Omega-6 compete for metabolizing enzymes. So the little bit of omega-3 we do get often loses out the battle of being processed when we eat loads of omega-6.

By: Robert Hamilton

Robert Hamilton — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 06:25:50 +0000

You should have a 5 to 1 ratio omega 6 to omega 3 for a balance in brain function, central nervous system, joints and skin, as well as hormone balancing. If you only stick with fish or flaxseed oils you will be robbing your body of what it needs to stay healthy. GLA is essential.

By: Scott Kustes

Scott Kustes — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 12:18:37 +0000

Hey Mia,
That’s quite interesting. A quick PubMed search of “fish oil depression” yields several pages of results. It seems that our overabundance of omega-6s is causing all kinds of problems. While I think we have too low of an intake of omega-3s in our society, the bigger problem is the overabundance of omega-6s from vegetable oils and grains. Just a quick click on my omega-3 tag shows how many studies I’ve posted over the last couple years with titles like “Omega-3s help with dementia,” “omega-3s against Parkinson’s,” etc.

Anyway, I put that book on my list.

Cheers
Scott

By: mia

mia — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 19:51:59 +0000

I read about the Omega-3/depression connection a few years ago in a book by David Servan-Schreiber: “The Instinct to Heal: Curing Depression, Anxiety and Stress Without Drugs and Without Talk Therapy” (which I can only recommend by the way).
There weren’t a lot of studies made when the book came out but Servan-Schreiber describes one study that constisted of two groups of depressed probandants, one group got fishoil capsules, the other one placebos. The results of the fishoil-group were so significant (less/lifted depression, weight loss) that the study was aborted after four months since the doctors didn’t want to withhold the benefits of Omega-3 fatty acids from the rest of the patients.

My personal experience is with a childhood friend who’s been on strong antidepressants for a few years and they didn’t really work anymore. So I put a little note into the chapter about Omega-3 and gave him the book. I got it back about a year later, not from him personally, but from his mother with a big thank you, saying how much better he was doing since taking fishoil capsules everyday. And apparently the whole family is taking them now.

By: Migraineur

Migraineur — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 22:15:04 +0000

I got off Prozac 5 years ago after about a year on LC. I have never gone back. I am sometimes tempted, in the dead of winter, but usually a little cod liver oil (for the vitamin D) straightens me out in just a couple of days.

By: Anna

Anna — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 18:31:01 +0000

Julia Ross, author of The Mood Cure and The Diet Cure books, also brings up similar points about connections between diet and mood/mental well-being. She advocates cutting out the bad stuff and getting enough of the good stuff, too. She also talks about “false moods” which come often come about due to poor diet habits (more common), as opposed to physiological mental illness (more severe brain abnormalities). A good diet can reduce or eliminate a lot of the “false moods” that plague many people, whether they realize it or not. I can’t help but wonder if some of the many people on anti-depressants for mild depression wouldn’t be better off just adjusting their diets, especially in light of the news that anti-depressants might often be no better than placebos.

Once I realized that my blood sugar would “roller coaster” when I ate high carb foods, I was also able to recognize the mood swings that went with the extreme highs and lows. I had never thought of myself as having roller coaster moods but now it is so unmistakable to me. Another reason to keep my BG nice and steady.

By: CalicoKitty

CalicoKitty — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 17:49:53 +0000

Preachin’ to the choir here – I first found out about the relationship between mood and food when I discovered the work of Marrena Linberg on Dr. Laura Berman’s sexual health boards. After following her advice (cutting out grains, sugars, trans fats and supplementing with high-quality Omega-3 fish oil, my mood, and my libido changed dramatically for the better. I’ve kept on plan for over a year and a half now, and I’m never going back!

By: Scott Kustes

Scott Kustes — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 16:39:48 +0000

Nibbler, I think you’re right that a host of issues come down to omega balance, which is itself a symptom of a poor diet.

A very good point Huckleberry. All studies can ever really prove is correlation, not causation. But as you said, given the importance of EPA and DHA in proper brain development, it seems to be a fitting correlation. I actually think there are other factors involved in the high rates of depression in our society. For one, we’re constantly bombarded with images that we’re inferior…not rich enough, not pretty enough. Second, the media and government make sure we’re always scared of some big threat, whether it’s Muslims, immigrants, or bird flu. Third, most of us work in unfulfilling jobs, racing up a career ladder that we’ve been told is what we should do, chasing money to buy things we don’t need that can’t give us any satisfaction. Another factor is probably the loss of community and human contact that we see throughout society.

Aww thanks Chainey!

Cheers
Scott

By: chainey

chainey — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 13:09:48 +0000

Great post. I've added it to my link collection here. Consider yourself immortalized.

By: Huckleberry

Huckleberry — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 20:13:30 +0000

I also wouldn’t be surprised if this is true, but it’s also important to note that this study found a correlation rather than a cause. The accompanying article was titled “Omega-6 fatty acids found to be dietary cause of depression, heart disease” which is a little misleading if no actual cause was established. Still, all those oils like corn and cottonseed are simply awful. I’m not going to use them, depression or no depression.

I do think that nutrition, healthy food, and the care associated with healthy food are all significant contributors to emotional and mental wellness.

Anyway, interesting stuff. I’d love to see more about it, if there’s any further research.

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