Does fish oil help depression, whether you already have it or you just want to prevent it? This article discusses this topic and whether or not a fish oil supplement is worth taking.
It's been shown in various clinical studies that people who are depressed have low omega-3 fatty acid levels. In fact, most Americans only consume about 120-130 mg/day of DHA and EPA omega-3 fatty acid, even though the recommended daily dosage is at least 650 mg.
Fish Vitamins
On top of this, people diagnosed with depression lack a healthy balance between the amount of omega-3s and omega-6s in the body. The average American consumes 14-25 times more omega-6 than omega-3, which is not good to say the least!
Does Fish Oil Help Depression?
As long as you take a supplement that's high in DHA and EPA omega-3 fatty acids, you can benefit from it. Just try to aim at getting a brand that contains at least 250 mg of DHA and 100 mg of EPA. And make sure half of the supplement is omega-3 fatty acids in general.
How Does Fish Oil Help Depression?
It's been shown that omega-3 fatty acids (especially DHA omega-3s) help nerve cells communicate with each other. And as you can probably guess, this is an important step in maintaining and preserving good mental health.
But again, it also helps by leveling out the balance between omega-3 fatty acids and omega-6 fatty acids (which interestingly enough promote inflammation).
So whether you already have been diagnosed with depression, just feel depressed, know somebody who is depressed, or just want to prevent depression from happening to you, you should really look into getting and taking a quality fish oil supplement.