Fish Oil & Depression:
Depression is uncommon among fish-eating populations. Detailed investigations suggest that the long chain omega-3s are important in regulating the re-uptake of the brain chemical serotonin. Chemical antidepressants such as Prozac also work by influencing this process. Hence the idea that fish oils might be nature's Prozac!
In Boston, USA, a study into the treatment of depression with omega-3 supplements found such striking improvements in severely depressed, suicidal patients that the trial had to be stopped prematurely, so that the placebo group would not be denied the benefit of the omega-3s!
In a more recent study, omega-3 fatty acids were found to help relieve depression in people already in maintenance therapy for depression.
Source:
http://www.omega-3info.com/soundbody.htm
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Omega-3 for Depression and Bipolar
Author: John McManamy
Published on: September 19, 2000
"... we eat grossly fewer omega-3 fatty acids now. We also know that rates of depression have radically increased."
Have we been fishing in all the wrong places for the magic bullet for depression and bipolar? Have scientists been turning a blind eye to a well-known elixir that works well for other diseases and conditions? Ever since psychiatry threw Freud and his couch in the rubbish bin a couple of decades back, the profession has been oriented toward prescription drugs. Now, their focus appears to be widening.
Last year, a Harvard University study generated a buzz throughout the bipolar community with the prospect of a natural substance that worked - fish oil. After years of being bombarded by industrial-strength pharmaceuticals and toxic salts, people with bipolar could possibly look forward to a kinder and gentler treatment. Paradoxically, the evidence is far stronger when it comes to depression, but we're lacking the clinical trials as proof.
In 1996, the Journal of the American Medical Association published a study comparing the prevalence of depression across ten nations. The survey yielded eye-opening results in showing how the lifetime and annual rates for depression vary widely from country to country (eg 1.5 in every 100 adults in Taiwan experience depression in their lifetimes while the figure is 19 for every 100 adults in Beirut). But what really jumped out of all the data was the strong correlation found between depression and fish consumption, with the higher consuming populations experiencing less depression.
The working ingredient of fish oil is omega-3, a polyunsaturated fatty acid which is also found in certain plants such as flaxseed, pumpkin seed, and walnuts. According to Dr Joseph Hibbeln of the NIMH: "In the last century, [Western] diets have radically changed and we eat grossly fewer omega-3 fatty acids now. We also know that rates of depression have radically increased by perhaps a hundred-fold."
Compounding the problem is 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 clinical trials.
The one clinical trial to date was in the nature of a pilot study - the Harvard study - conducted on 30 patients with bipolar. All but eight of the subjects were on medications, which were left unchanged. All had experienced bipolar episodes over the past year. Half the subjects were given fish oil capsules equivalent to 30 cans of tuna a day (9.6 grams), the other half received olive oil.
Dr Andrew Stoll, 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 National Depressive and Manic-Depressive Conference in Boston, "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. By two months, half of the placebo group had dropped out compared to two in the fish oil group. Some patients experienced nausea, diarrhea, and fishy aftertaste, not surprising considering the high doses. Now Dr Stoll is preparing a much larger and longer study that will take three years. Other researchers are undertaking their own studies.
The two principle types of omega-3 are EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), both found in fish oil. Fish oil has been highly touted as a prevention for heart disease, but clinical trials are mixed. It is also believed to be beneficial for Crohn's disease, kidney disease, schizophrenia, lupus, psoriasis, osteoperosis, Raymond's phenomenon, rheumatoid arthritis, and immune function. Not surprisingly, those who suffer from depression and bipolar will find a ready-made supply on the market, with an abundance of suppliers.
Dr Stoll recommends fish oil capsules over a diet of cold water fish such as salmon or tuna, citing toxic ingredients as a reason for not going with fish. Even one can of tuna a week is too much, he asserts. Dr Andrew Weil - the guru of natural health - offers just the opposite opinion. He recommends eating fish twice or three times a week, and cautions against capsules that may contain toxic contaminants. Both doctors agree that any fish you eat should be ocean fish rather than farm-raised fish. This is because omega-3 travels up the food chain from algae, while farm-raised fished are fed grains, which do not contain omega-3.
Dr Stoll also favors fish oil over flaxseed oil, as fish oil is more proven at this point. Dr Weill says it's okay to go with flaxseed oil, which will make vegetarians happy.
Dr Stoll recommends 1.5 to 3.5 grams a day, taken with food, and to use with the antioxidants vitamins C and E (fish oil is easily damaged by oxygen). He does not suggest using cod liver oil, as high amounts can lead to hypervitaminosis A. There is a blood thinning effect, but this is weaker than aspirin. In buying fish oil, make sure you receive a 90 percent concentration (in the past only 30 percent was available.) Be sure it contains more EPA than DHA, and that it has no heavy metal or fishy (presumably the wrong part of the fish) concentrations.
Finally, keep in mind that although omega-3 looks like a promising way to treat depression and bipolar, there are no major clinical trials to guide us. We are barely aware of its putative efficacy, much less its optimal dosage, much less how it actually works on the brain. Accordingly, omega-3 should be considered a complement to medications rather than a replacement, and should not be taken without first consulting your doctor or psychiatrist.
Source:
http://www.suite101.com/print_articl...pression/48236 
Nature's Prozac: Fish Oil for treatment of depression 
