Fish Oil Rivals Antidepressants in Clinical Trial

by Craig Weatherby

The results of the largest-ever clinical trial found that omega-3 fish oil may significantly benefit half of all people diagnosed with depression.

Specifically, fish oil seemed to help the 50 percent of depression patients who are free from diagnosed anxiety disorders.

Fish oil appeared to help these people about as much as the leading class of antidepressant drugs ... that is, selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as Prozac and Paxil.

Participants for the trial were people diagnosed with moderate to severe unipolar (i.e., not bipolar) major depression who were unable to tolerate antidepressants, who refused them despite a physician's recommendation, or who were not helped by the drugs.

More than 430 patients with an episode of major depression were assigned to take either with omega-3 EPA from fish oil (1,050mg per day) for two months or an identical-looking placebo pill masked with fish odor.

Fish oil did not perform better than placebo, for the patients diagnosed with anxiety as well as depression.

More than 430 patients with an episode of major depression were assigned to take either with omega-3 EPA from fish oil (1,050mg per day) for two months or an identical-looking placebo pill masked with fish odor.

Omega-3 EPA from fish oil did not perform better than placebo among the patients diagnosed with anxiety as well as depression.

But among those diagnosed with major depression - but not anxiety - the patients who took omega-3 EPA had significantly better scores than the placebo group.

As lead author Francois Lesperance, M.D., told Medscape Psychiatry. "... the level of improvement we saw in this subgroup is on a par with what has typically been reported with pharmacologic treatments." (Stein J 2009)

Findings apply to the half of all depression patients not usually studied.

These findings are important because they carry implications for about one-half of all depressed patients ... those who do not also display anxiety disorders.

And these people are often excluded from placebo-controlled studies of antidepressant drugs.

Dr. Lesperance made a key point: "Many depressed patients prefer to avoid drug treatment because of the stigma associated with such therapy, not to mention potential treatment-related side effects, and thus it's nice to be able to offer patients an alternative treatment that is similarly effective but without the risks." (Stein J 2009)

Most population studies show links between higher levels of omega-3's and reduced depression risk, and/or link low levels of omega-3's - or an excess of omega-6's versus omega-3's - to higher levels of depression.

Besides supporting normal mood, research shows that omega-3's - and higher than average omega-3/omega-6 intake ratios - likely benefit cardiovascular, brain, bone, and metabolic health.

Note from Dr. Jonny:

My favorite sources of Omega-3's are:

• The Vital Choice brand of salmon is the ONLY fish I have discovered, via independent lab testing, to be free of harmful mercury and other toxins. Save 10% at Vital Choice when you use with the coupon code: DRJONNY
  
• High Potency Fresh Catch Fish Oil by Barlean's contains one of the highest amounts of EPA and DHA in a two capsule serving: 783 EPA and 400 DHA plus another 1/3 gram of other omega-3's. It's pharmaceutical grade and one of the purest products I know of.
  
• Omega Swirl by Barlean's looks and tastes like a smoothie but contains optimal levels of EPA/DHA. Your kids will have no idea they are eating a big dose of fish oil!
  

Sources

*Lesperance F et al. The efficacy of eicosapentaenoic acid for major depression: Results of the OMEGA-3D trial. 9th World Congress of Biological Psychiatry: Abstract FC-25-005. Presented July 1, 2009. Accessed at http://www.wfsbp-congress.org/fileadmin/user_upload/WFSBP_Final_Programme_090625.pdf

*Stein J. WCBP 2009: Omega-3 Supplements Provide Mixed Results as Antidepressant. Medscape Medical News, July 4, 20009. Accessed at http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/705508

B12: The New Star in the Vitamin Universe

Recently we've been hearing (and I've been writing) a whole lot of amazing things about vitamin D, which is turning out to be one of the most "underrated" vitamins on the planet. Now get ready to hear a lot about another vitamin that's about to be "discovered" by the media: Vitamin B12.

Look, these vitamins have been around since vitamins have been discovered. They're not new. But what happens is that the research mounts, people begin to pay attention, and slowly but surely a critical mass of intelligent folks in the health business realizes that this stuff is really important and amazing- and we're not getting enough of it.

Which is what's happening now with vitamin B12.

Many epidemiological studies have indicated that low levels of vitamin B12 are commonly associated with several ailments (many of which affect older people) like Alzheimer's, dementia, frailty, depression, osteoporosis, heart disease, stroke and even some cancers. For example, the famous Framingham study of 2,576 adults living in Massachusetts linked low blood levels of vitamin B12 to bone loss (in both men and women). And a study published this year of 107 people over 60 who were followed for five years linked low levels of B12 to shrinkage of the brain.

Here's the thing- in many studies, symptoms were seen with B12 levels just slightly below normal, or in some cases well above the level that causes anemia, the most famous B12 deficiency disease.

Once again, it's turning out that minimal levels of a vitamin- the levels known to prevent a specific deficiency disease- are very far from the optimal levels.

Vitamin B12 is needed in every cell in the body. It's water soluble, so you can't take "too much". And we absorb it poorly and probably don't get enough of it. Read on to see why.

Vitamin B12 is primarily found in animal foods (sorry, my vegan friends but it's the truth). To be assimilated it has to first be separated from the protein that contains it (like meat or fish) by stomach acid. It then binds to a compound called "intrinsic factor". The problems are threefold:

1. many people (especially vegetarians) are not eating animal protein;
2. many people do not make enough stomach acid, or they use antacids
3. many people don't make enough (or any) intrinsic factor. This is especially true once we hit forty.

Often, vitamin B12 deficiency doesn't show up for years. And it can influence depression, energy and performance, not to mention a whole host of degenerative diseases. Vegetarians (and vegans) especially must take supplements, and in my opinion, most everyone else would benefit as well.

Because of the limiting factor of stomach acid and intrinsic factor, many people prefer to get B12 in injections or take B12 as a liquid sublingually, so it bypasses the "gut". You can also take B12 in a small capsule. It's inexpensive and great insurance. I recommend you take it with folic acid, because the combination has been shown to lower levels of a nasty toxic inflammatory compound in your body called homocysteine.

Vitamin B12 is also known as cobalamin. But it's been shown that the more "potent" and effective form to use in supplements is a kind of "turbo" vitamin B12 called methylcobalamin. Make sure to always use supplements of methylcobalamin. And remember also that to make any kind of difference you need to take a dose of at least 1000 mcg. (And It's perfectly OK if you skip a day from time to time).

How to Get a Free Bottle of B12 in November For the month of November 2008 I will include 1 free bottle of vitamin B12 ($11.40 value) with any vitamin store order over $99. You don't need to add the product to your cart, I will simply toss it in your box as it goes out the door. (Unless you specify "b12 capsules" during order I will include the liquid form.)