Omega 3 Fatty Acids and Depression
How Omega 3 fatty acids and depression are related.
It’s no secret that there’s a link between Omega 3 fatty acids and depression, what you may not know is exactly how Omega 3 fatty acids and depression are related to one another.
What They Are and How to Get Enough
Before going into why Omega 3 fatty acids and depression are related, it’s important to understand what Omega 3 fatty acids are and how they work.
Omega 3 fatty acids are essential fatty acids. Your body needs these fatty acids in order to function properly, but you’re body can’t make them on its own. It needs you to get them through diet or though health supplements.
Because the best and truest source of Omega 3 fatty acids is fish oil, diet is not a practical source of these essential fatty acids and when dealing with Omega 3 fatty acids and depression, higher doses of Omega 3 are needed so getting the Omega 3 through diet alone is out of the question.
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How They Work
The linking between Omega 3 fatty acids and depression began when researchers realized that many of their depressed and bipolar patients had low levels of Omega 3 in their systems. When given Omega 3 supplements, many times the moods elevated and stabilized.
Omega 3 fatty acids and depression relief is not as far-fetched as it sounds at first. Depression is often treated with drugs like Prozac and Zoloft. These drugs regulate the reuptake of serotonin to the brain much in the same way that Omega 3 does.
What is Serotonin?
Serotonin is a neurotransmitter. A neurotransmitter is a chemical in the brain that is responsible for communication among the nerve cells. Serotonin helps regulate moods, behavior and thought.
Because Omega 3 helps the brain’s re-uptake of serotonin, it helps elevate the moods of people who are suffering from depression and bipolar disorder.
EPA vs. DHA
When dealing with Omega 3 fatty acids and depression, it’s important to understand the components of Omega 3 supplements. Omega 3 supplements contain both EPA and DHA.
EPA is the part of the supplements that is thought to have the therapeutic effect on depression. Because of this, you might want to look at supplements that contain more EPA than DHA.
By researching the links between Omega 3 fatty acids and depression, we can hope that there is a light on the horizon from those suffering from the condition.
