Fish Oils
The two key omega 3 essential fatty acids in fish oil are eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docohexaenoic acid (DHA), the latter being a major component of brain tissue. Perhaps the old wives tales were right in calling fish "brain food!"
Even in healthy people, supplementing with fish oil decreased anger, anxiety and depression, and increased vigor while also improving various types of attention, certain cognitive and physiological functions, and mood. Fish oils were also shown to significantly decrease stroke risk and also help dry eyes.
Taking fish oil is especially important during pregnancy. Babies born to moms with high blood levels of DHA at delivery had advanced attention spans (considered an indicator of IQ in babies) well into their second year of life. Because of the mercury in fish, it is likely better to simply take mercury free fish oil omega 3 supplements during pregnancy.
In addition, high fish oil intake during pregnancy and lactation:
- Decreases the risk of the baby developing breast cancer later in life.
- Decreases the risk of the child getting asthma by 80%.
- Significantly decreases the risk of postpartum depression.
With most of the brain being made of the fatty acids found in fish oil (DHA), it is not surprising that fish oil has been shown to be helpful in many processes. These include depression and schizophrenia unresponsive to drug treatment alone. This was seen in five of six double-blind, placebo-controlled trials in schizophrenia, and four of six such trials in depression. EPA was also found to be beneficial in the treatment of borderline personality disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and also is helpful in treating the depression associated with bipolar illness (manic depressive illness).
If you have dry eyes or dry mouth, this is a good indicator of fish oil deficiency. Also take it if you are pregnant or nursing, have depression, or have an inflammatory disease. For most people, I recommend simply eating salmon, tuna, or sardines 3-4 times a week.
Critical information
What you need from fish oil is not the oil, but rather the omega 3 essential fatty acids in the oil. The oil itself is no more helpful than drinking soybean oil, and it’s the part that carries toxins (e.g., mercury) and becomes rancid, causing fish oil burps. So it was a stroke of genius to simply separate out the critical omega 3s and leave the rancid oils behind! This was done in Vectomega (by EuroPharma). One tablet a day replaces 8 regular fish oil capsules, without the toxins, and without the "fish oil burps." I take 1 a day along with a multivitamin powder.
More Information Online
Nutritional primer
We have a 20,000 word primer on nutrition at our website that provides more detail with study references on each nutrient. Click here to visit the "Fish Oils" section of our primer.