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Sebastian
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The reason why you're feeling better is because fish contains DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) an essential Omega-3 oil which makes most of the brain. It has been shown that low levels od DHA are associated with depression.
http://www.iherb.com/fishoil.html
"Fish oils and manic-depressive illness
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS. Manic-depressive illness (bipolar disorder) is a common, severe mental illness involving repeated episodes of depression, mania (rapid mood changes, hyperactivity, and excessive cheerfulness) or both. It is usually treated with drugs such as lithium carbonate or valproate. Unfortunately, these drugs are not very effective and recurrence rates are high. It is generally believed that bipolar disorder involves an overactivity in the neuronal signal pathways. Omega-3 fatty acids are known to dampen this overactivity and the hypothesis has been advanced that they may be useful in the treatment of bipolar disorder. Medical scientists have now confirmed this in a landmark study just completed at the Harvard Medical School. the double-blind, placebo-controlled study involved 30 patients (men and women 18 to 65 years of age) who had all been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Half the patients were given seven fish oil capsules twice a day while the placebo group were given seven olive oil capsules twice a day. Each fish oil capsule contained 440 mg of eicosapentaenoic acid and 240 mg of docosahexaenoic acid. All of the participants except four in the fish oil group and four in the placebo group also continued to received a standard moodstablizing drug prescribed previously. The mental state of the participants was measured using four scales (Clinical Global Impression Scale, Global Assessment Scale, Young Mania Rating Scale, and the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression) at the start of the study and after two, four, six, eighth, twelve and sixteen weeks. Twelve of the 14 participants in the fish oil group completed the four-month study without major episodes of mania or depression as compared to only six out of 16 participants in the placebo group. Also, while nine of the placebo group members experienced worsening depression none of the fish oil group members did. The four patients in the fish oil group who had not been prescribed mood-stablizing drugs all completed the study without major episodes, but only one member in the placebo group not on mood-stablizing drugs did. The average decline in depression rating on the Hamilton Scale was almost 50 per cent in the fish oil group as compared to an increase of 25 per cent in the control group. The Harvard researchers urge further trials of fish oils in the treatment of depression and manic-depressive illness.
Stoll, Andrew L., et al. Omega 3 fatty acids in bipolar disorder. Archives of General Psychiatry, Vol. 56, May 1999, pp. 407-12 and pp. 451-16 (commentary)
Calabrese, Joseph R., et al. Fish oils and bipolar disorder. Archives of General Psychiatry, Vol. 56, May 1999, pp. 413-14 (commentary)
Omega-3 fatty acids: the missing link?
Dr. Emanuel Severus of the Berlin University points out that major depression is characterized by a deficiency of omega-3 fatty acids and that these acids possess powerful antiarrhythmic properties. He suggests that the missing link in the recently establishes association between major depression and sudden cardiac death may be the omega-3 fatty acid deficiency which characterized both conditions.
Severus, W. Emanuel, et al. Omega-3 fatty acids: the missing link. Archives of General Psychiatry, Vol. 56, April 1999, pp. 380-81 (letter to the editor)
Fish consumption and depression
ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND. Dr. Joseph Hibbeln, a researcher at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism reports in a letter to The Lancet that he has found a convincing correlation between fish consumption and the incidence of major depression. Dr. Hibbeln correlated the annual incidence of major depression per 100 people in nine countries with the consumption of fish. He found a high incidence of depression in countries with low fish consumption. New Zealand with an annual fish consumption of only 40 lbs had an annual incidence rate of depression of 5.8 per cent while Korea with a fish consumption of more that 100 lbs/year had an annual incidence rate of only 2.3 percent. Japan with a fish consumption of almost d150 lbs/year had the lowest incidence of major depression (0.12 per cent). Dr. Hibbeln cautions that various economic, social, cultural and other factors could have influenced his results, but points out that high blood plasma concentrations of docosahexaenoic acid, and essential fatty acid found in fish, has been linked to increased serotonin turnover and lower incidences of depression and suicide.
Hibbeln, Joseph R. Fish consumption and major depression. The Lancet, Vol. 351, April 18, 1998, pp. 1213 (correspondence)
Your brain needs DHA
NEW YORK, NY. Dr. Barbara Levine, Professor of Nutrition in Medicine at Cornell University, sounds the alarm concerning a totally inadequate intake of DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) by most Americans. DHA is the building block of human brain tissue and is particularly abundant in the grey matter of the brain and the retina. Low levels of DHA have recently been associated with depression, memory loss, dementia, and visual problems. DHA is particularly important for fetuses and infants; the DHA content of the infant's brain triples during the first three months of life. Optimal levels of DHA are therefore crucial for pregnant and lactating mothers. Unfortunately, the average DHA content of breast milk in the United States is the lowest in the world, most likely because American eat comparatively little fish. Making matters worse is the fact that the United Stated is the only country in the world where infant formulas are not fortified with DHA. This despite a 1995 recommendation by the World Health Organization that all baby formulas should provide 40 mg od DHA per kilogram of infant body weight. Dr. Levine believes that postpartum depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and low IQs are all inked to the dismally low DHA intake common in the United State. Dr. Levine also points out that low DHA levels have been linked to low brain serotonin levels which again are connected to an increased tendency to depression, suicide, and violence. DHA is abundant in marine phytoplankton and cold-water fish and nutritionists now recommend that people consume two to three servings of fish every week to maintain DHA levels. If this is not possible, Dr. Levine suggest supplementing with 100 mg/day of DHA.
Levine, Barbara S. Most frequently asked questions about DHA. Nutrition Today, Vol. 32, November/December 1997, pp. 248-49
Docosahexaenoic acid fights depression
ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND. Researchers at the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism believe that the increasing rates of depression seen in North America over the last 100 years are due to a significant shift in the ratio of n-6 (arachidonic acid, linoleic acid) to n-3 (docosahexaenoic acid, linolenic acid) fatty acids in the diet. The human race evolved on a diet having a ratio of about 1:1 of these acids; it is now estimated to between 10:1 and 15:1. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is a main component of the synaptic membranes and a lack of it has been linked to depression. Fish oils are a rich source of DHA and it can also be biosynthesized in the body from linolenic acid. The researcher speculate that the depressions which often accompany alcoholism, multiple sclerosis, and childbirth (postpartum depression) are all due to a lack of DHA and can be corrected by increasing the dietary intake of DHA or linolenic acid (flax seed oil). they also point out that depression and coronary heart disease are strongly associated and that a low intake of n-3 fatty acids has been linked to both.
Hibbeln, Joseph R. and Salem, Norman. Dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids and depression: when cholesterol does not satisfy. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 62, July 1995, po. 1-98 "
Nevertheless, fish and even some supplements could be contaminated. A good thing would be to take a supplement previously tested and found uncontaminated. Being a vegetarian, I use a vegetarian supplement of DHA since this fatty acid ends up in cold water fish due to the fact that they consume algae.
http://www.iherb.com/fishoil.html
"Fish oils and manic-depressive illness
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS. Manic-depressive illness (bipolar disorder) is a common, severe mental illness involving repeated episodes of depression, mania (rapid mood changes, hyperactivity, and excessive cheerfulness) or both. It is usually treated with drugs such as lithium carbonate or valproate. Unfortunately, these drugs are not very effective and recurrence rates are high. It is generally believed that bipolar disorder involves an overactivity in the neuronal signal pathways. Omega-3 fatty acids are known to dampen this overactivity and the hypothesis has been advanced that they may be useful in the treatment of bipolar disorder. Medical scientists have now confirmed this in a landmark study just completed at the Harvard Medical School. the double-blind, placebo-controlled study involved 30 patients (men and women 18 to 65 years of age) who had all been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Half the patients were given seven fish oil capsules twice a day while the placebo group were given seven olive oil capsules twice a day. Each fish oil capsule contained 440 mg of eicosapentaenoic acid and 240 mg of docosahexaenoic acid. All of the participants except four in the fish oil group and four in the placebo group also continued to received a standard moodstablizing drug prescribed previously. The mental state of the participants was measured using four scales (Clinical Global Impression Scale, Global Assessment Scale, Young Mania Rating Scale, and the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression) at the start of the study and after two, four, six, eighth, twelve and sixteen weeks. Twelve of the 14 participants in the fish oil group completed the four-month study without major episodes of mania or depression as compared to only six out of 16 participants in the placebo group. Also, while nine of the placebo group members experienced worsening depression none of the fish oil group members did. The four patients in the fish oil group who had not been prescribed mood-stablizing drugs all completed the study without major episodes, but only one member in the placebo group not on mood-stablizing drugs did. The average decline in depression rating on the Hamilton Scale was almost 50 per cent in the fish oil group as compared to an increase of 25 per cent in the control group. The Harvard researchers urge further trials of fish oils in the treatment of depression and manic-depressive illness.
Stoll, Andrew L., et al. Omega 3 fatty acids in bipolar disorder. Archives of General Psychiatry, Vol. 56, May 1999, pp. 407-12 and pp. 451-16 (commentary)
Calabrese, Joseph R., et al. Fish oils and bipolar disorder. Archives of General Psychiatry, Vol. 56, May 1999, pp. 413-14 (commentary)
Omega-3 fatty acids: the missing link?
Dr. Emanuel Severus of the Berlin University points out that major depression is characterized by a deficiency of omega-3 fatty acids and that these acids possess powerful antiarrhythmic properties. He suggests that the missing link in the recently establishes association between major depression and sudden cardiac death may be the omega-3 fatty acid deficiency which characterized both conditions.
Severus, W. Emanuel, et al. Omega-3 fatty acids: the missing link. Archives of General Psychiatry, Vol. 56, April 1999, pp. 380-81 (letter to the editor)
Fish consumption and depression
ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND. Dr. Joseph Hibbeln, a researcher at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism reports in a letter to The Lancet that he has found a convincing correlation between fish consumption and the incidence of major depression. Dr. Hibbeln correlated the annual incidence of major depression per 100 people in nine countries with the consumption of fish. He found a high incidence of depression in countries with low fish consumption. New Zealand with an annual fish consumption of only 40 lbs had an annual incidence rate of depression of 5.8 per cent while Korea with a fish consumption of more that 100 lbs/year had an annual incidence rate of only 2.3 percent. Japan with a fish consumption of almost d150 lbs/year had the lowest incidence of major depression (0.12 per cent). Dr. Hibbeln cautions that various economic, social, cultural and other factors could have influenced his results, but points out that high blood plasma concentrations of docosahexaenoic acid, and essential fatty acid found in fish, has been linked to increased serotonin turnover and lower incidences of depression and suicide.
Hibbeln, Joseph R. Fish consumption and major depression. The Lancet, Vol. 351, April 18, 1998, pp. 1213 (correspondence)
Your brain needs DHA
NEW YORK, NY. Dr. Barbara Levine, Professor of Nutrition in Medicine at Cornell University, sounds the alarm concerning a totally inadequate intake of DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) by most Americans. DHA is the building block of human brain tissue and is particularly abundant in the grey matter of the brain and the retina. Low levels of DHA have recently been associated with depression, memory loss, dementia, and visual problems. DHA is particularly important for fetuses and infants; the DHA content of the infant's brain triples during the first three months of life. Optimal levels of DHA are therefore crucial for pregnant and lactating mothers. Unfortunately, the average DHA content of breast milk in the United States is the lowest in the world, most likely because American eat comparatively little fish. Making matters worse is the fact that the United Stated is the only country in the world where infant formulas are not fortified with DHA. This despite a 1995 recommendation by the World Health Organization that all baby formulas should provide 40 mg od DHA per kilogram of infant body weight. Dr. Levine believes that postpartum depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and low IQs are all inked to the dismally low DHA intake common in the United State. Dr. Levine also points out that low DHA levels have been linked to low brain serotonin levels which again are connected to an increased tendency to depression, suicide, and violence. DHA is abundant in marine phytoplankton and cold-water fish and nutritionists now recommend that people consume two to three servings of fish every week to maintain DHA levels. If this is not possible, Dr. Levine suggest supplementing with 100 mg/day of DHA.
Levine, Barbara S. Most frequently asked questions about DHA. Nutrition Today, Vol. 32, November/December 1997, pp. 248-49
Docosahexaenoic acid fights depression
ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND. Researchers at the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism believe that the increasing rates of depression seen in North America over the last 100 years are due to a significant shift in the ratio of n-6 (arachidonic acid, linoleic acid) to n-3 (docosahexaenoic acid, linolenic acid) fatty acids in the diet. The human race evolved on a diet having a ratio of about 1:1 of these acids; it is now estimated to between 10:1 and 15:1. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is a main component of the synaptic membranes and a lack of it has been linked to depression. Fish oils are a rich source of DHA and it can also be biosynthesized in the body from linolenic acid. The researcher speculate that the depressions which often accompany alcoholism, multiple sclerosis, and childbirth (postpartum depression) are all due to a lack of DHA and can be corrected by increasing the dietary intake of DHA or linolenic acid (flax seed oil). they also point out that depression and coronary heart disease are strongly associated and that a low intake of n-3 fatty acids has been linked to both.
Hibbeln, Joseph R. and Salem, Norman. Dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids and depression: when cholesterol does not satisfy. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 62, July 1995, po. 1-98 "
Nevertheless, fish and even some supplements could be contaminated. A good thing would be to take a supplement previously tested and found uncontaminated. Being a vegetarian, I use a vegetarian supplement of DHA since this fatty acid ends up in cold water fish due to the fact that they consume algae.
