Sunday, April 3, 2011

Will More Fish On The Dining Table Cure Your Depression? Huh?

That probably sounds a little silly, asking if eating fish will cure your depression. But even if you're a little sceptical stay with me here.
You see there is evidence that that is in fact the case.
You see fish, and a particularly oily fish, is packed with the Omega 3 essential fatty acids DHA and EPA. And there is substantial evidence that increasing our intake of the Omega 3 fatty acids known as DHA and EPA could improve our health. And there is now evidence that this may include depression.
It was observed almost 20 years ago that there has been a reduction in our intake of seafood over the last century together with an increase in the rate of depression. It was also observed that societies where fish formed a large part of the diet had lower rates of depression.
There are now studies showing that there may well be a link between the 2. There are encouraging results suggesting that increasing your intake of the Omega 3 essential fatty acids may well have a role in helping treat depression.
Of course like all these things there are also studies suggesting the opposite. It is always extremely difficult to say when something is proven and when it is not. But there is clearly now evidence to suggest that Omega 3 supplementation, or eating more fish, may affect your depression.
There is no doubt about the health benefits of eating more fish. There is solid scientific evidence which is now accepted by the mainstream medical community that there are worthwhile health benefits to eating more of the Omega 3 fats, including reducing your risk of dying from a heart attack.
And whilst it is not yet sufficiently proven that eating more fish will improve your depression there is no doubt that it will certainly help other areas of your health.
However there is a problem. Fish is getting increasingly expensive and out of the reach of many families. Not only that but it is commonly recognised that many fish are contaminated with Mercury and other industrial toxins, and we shouldn't eat too much for this reason.
So there is a conundrum. Eating more fish will help your health and may well help your depression, but exposes you to other problems, namely the cost and the risk of toxic contamination.
Fortunately there are high quality fish oil supplements available which are safe to take and cost-effective to use daily.
Note however that not all fish oil supplements are high quality.
Interested in seeing some of the evidence? Click here and here

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