ADHD, Depression, Violence, Bipolar, Schizophrenia & Alzheimer's - Omega-3 Deficiency

Attention deficit disorder, depression, anger miss-management, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and Alzheimer's - the connection between these mental illness is more simple and easy to approach than you might ever have guessed! All of these conditions exhibit distinct essential fatty acid deficiencies in the body. Essential fatty acid deficiency and imbalance appear to play an important role in these mood and brain disorders. Since brain tissue has the highest content of omega-3 fatty acids in the body, and the omega 3 fatty acid designated "DHA" in particular, it makes sense that dietary conditions which limit the availability of these essential nutrients in the body are likely to have significant impacts upon mental conditions. Also, those factors which limit the conversion of omega-3 fatty acids into DHA in the body are also important, very important in fact, since the brain needs its omega 3 fatty acid in the DHA form.

Direct experimentation with omega-3 oils as a nutritive supplement with patients suffering bipolar disorders have yielded positive results in Harvard Medical School research. Accordingly, Harvard Medical School researchers believe that omega-3 fatty acids may inhibit problematic neuronal signal pathways in the same sort of way the lithium carbonate and valproate pharmaceuticals do. These are the pharmaceuticals that have been used to successfully treat bipolar patients.

In trials with four months of supplementation at just under 10 mg of omega-3 per day, patients had “significantly longer period of remission than had the controls group that was simply given a placebo”. Also, in epidemiology studies, greater seafood consumption was used to successfully predict lower lifetime prevalence rates of bipolar disorders in large scale populations.

10 mg of omega-3 is really a small amount of omega-3 to ingest each day. The researcher's observations of a positive response by their patients to this relatively low level of supplementation with omega-3 oils is very encouraging, to say the least. What if much larger amounts of omega-3 fatty acids were made available to the patients? What would be the results then? This is entirely feasible. Omega-3 fatty acids are simple nutritives. Persons can safely consume very high levels of this naturally occurring nutrient.

Different studies in schizophrenic patients have seen very significant improvements in the mental health and quality of life of schizophrenics when omega-3 supplementation was used. In a small study, which also included the addition of other nutritional supplements, more than half of the patients treated were able to go on to function normally in the world. In other studies, in India, treating patients for just 4 months very simply with supplementation of 300mg EPA and DHA along with supplementation of E and C vitamins, significant and lasting effects were brought about in the patients studied. The omega-3, omega-6 balance itself appears to be of importance in schizophrenia cases.

Please continue on to page 2...