Beat the Holiday Blues and Build a Better Brain...
December 16, 2007 - Christmas can be a time of family and friends. But it’s easy to feel stress, anxiety or loneliness during the holidays. And with that can come depression.
You know if you go to a doctor, they’re probably going to hand you a prescription for an antidepressant. But taking a pill tinkers with your brain chemistry. I’ve never quite trusted drug companies to do this.
What’s more, they’re expensive, they come with a lot of side effects, and we still don’t know much about their long-term impact on health. And it turns out in my experience many don’t need them at all.
You may just need to get more of an important nutrient into your diet – especially omega-3 fatty acids. While you’re at it, you can actually build a better brain by stimulating the growth of neurons and neural networks. Being over 60% fat, your brain needs a constant source of healthy fats like omega-3s. Without them, you’re more likely to get hit with depression.
In fact, the latest research shows it’s one of your most powerful allies in the fight against depression – as effective as antidepressants, but without the high cost and nasty side effects like insomnia, sexual problems, weight gain, fatigue, and suicidal thoughts.
Even better, it doesn’t matter if you’re already depressed or just at risk for depression. It doesn’t matter how old you are – in fact, it boosts mood in children and in people over 50. It doesn’t even matter if you’re already on antidepressants. You can still get the benefit.
Omega-3’s also help people who have trouble controlling their emotions to be more even-keeled. It’s good for anxiety and “anger management” issues. It keeps the mind sharp. It can even help you sleep better.
Making the Most of Your “Brain Food”
Your brain is the fattiest organ in your body. And your body needs large amounts of fat to make brain and nerve cells. Fat is also crucial for healthy brain function. In fact, if the brain were a V-8 engine, fat would be like high-octane gas. It keeps the signals between your nerve cells firing steadily and rapidly. It literally helps your mind to work harder and smarter.
What’s more, fat has the power to put a smile on your face. It helps the membranes of your brain cells absorb the natural chemicals that put you in a good mood – and keep you there.
And the kind of fat your brain and nerve cells crave most is Omega-3.
Unfortunately, we don’t get anywhere near enough of it. In North America, most people get only 130 mg per day of the most important kinds of omega-3. That falls far short of the 1000-2000 mg per day I recommend for optimal health, brainpower – and mood. And when it comes to serious depression, studies show it takes as much as 2000 to 4000 mg per day to get real results.1
If you think about it, this may be one of the reasons why rates of depression, addiction, and even suicide are so high in this country. It may also explain why people with major depression are 25 percent more likely to have heart disease.
A key ingredient to health and happiness is missing from our diet.
Boost Your Brainpower and Brighten Your Mood
Here’s some food for thought: omega-3 has the power to make your “gray matter” multiply. It miraculously unlocks your brain’s natural ability to grow, heal, and repair itself.
In a study published last summer, the brains of adults given pure omega-3 actually started growing. And here’s the twist: the parts of their brains that grew were directly responsible for happiness.2
This isn’t the first time science has uncovered omega-3’s power to literally turn people from “sad” to “glad.” In other studies, researchers found that people suffering from major depression had very low levels of omega-3 in the areas of the brain that help with mood.3
If omega-3 can make grown adult brains grow their way to happiness, you can imagine how important it is for children. Kids who look totally normal in every other way can actually suffer from stunted “brain growth” if they don’t get enough omega-3. This is true even for the unborn.
In one of the largest studies of its kind, scientists studied the diets of nearly 12,000 pregnant women. The children of women who ate less omega-3 rich seafood turned out to be 48 percent more likely to score in the lowest quarter on verbal IQ tests. These children also suffered poor communication and motor skills, behavioral problems, and difficult social development as they grew older.4
If you’re at risk for depression, more omega 3’s could hold it at bay. A Norwegian study of 22,000 people found that those who regularly took cod liver oil – one of the best sources of omega-3’s – were about 30% less likely to show signs of depression. And the longer they took cod liver oil, the less likely they were to become depressed.5
Omega-3’s can have positive impact even in the most severe cases of depression. In a study published just this year, Irish researchers gave patients suffering from major depression including thoughts of suicide 2,100 mg of omega-3. Another group took a placebo. After three months, the group on omega-3’s showed remarkable improvement across the board.6
Keep Your Mind Clear For the Rest of Your Life
Omega-3’s can make adult brains grow? They can also slow one of the most negative mental effects of aging. European researchers found that over a ten-year period, men over 70 who didn’t get enough omega-3 lost four times as much brainpower as men who did.7
And in a study published just last year, people over 50 with high omega-3 levels cut their risk of age-related dementia, including Alzheimer’s, in half.8
There’s also good news if you’re on antidepressants but unhappy with the results: omega-3 can eliminate their side effects – and even boost their effectiveness. People who weren’t responding well to prescription drugs in one study responded better when given omega-3 supplements, with less depression and anxiety and fewer sleep disturbances and sexual problems.9
Finally, omega-3 has a beneficial effect on “anger management” issues. It can improve a gloomy, negative outlook and reduce “bad behavior.” Several studies have found that people around 45 who struggle with impulsive behavior, hostility, and even “cynical ideas” also have low levels of omega-3. Researchers have even been able to predict whether people will suffer from angry feelings or outbursts by measuring their omega-3 their levels.10
“So Where Do I Get It?”
There are plenty of high-quality, good sources of omega-3. The problem is how to get enough – and in a form that’s safe and pure.
Fish are a great source of omega-3, but because of our polluted oceans, there’s a real risk of poisoning, particularly from heavy metals like mercury. If you decide to go this route, try to eat smaller fish like sardines, anchovies, and mackerel.
Other omega-3 rich foods include grass-fed beef and eggs from free-range, organic poultry. Flax seeds and walnuts also contain plenty of omega-3.
Studies suggest you get between 1,000 mgs (1 g) and 4,000 mgs (4 g) per day to for the full antidepressant benefit. To give you help you figure out what to look for in the supermarket (organic, free-range, or wild-caught, of course!), here’s a list of omega-3 rich foods:
| Food | Serving Size | Omega-3 |
| Fish | ||
| Mackerel (canned in oil) | 4 oz drained | 2.2 g |
| Salmon (canned) | 4 oz drained | 2.2 g |
| Bluefin Tuna (fresh) | 4 oz cooked | 2 g |
| Wild-caught salmon (fresh) | 4 oz cooked | 1.9 g |
| Swordfish (fresh or frozen) | 4 oz cooked | 1.7 g |
| Sardines (canned in oil) | 4 oz drained | 1.8 g |
| Oils | ||
| Flax seed oil | 1 tbsp | 6.9 g |
| Cod liver oil | 1 tbsp | 2.8 g |
| Canola oil | 1 tbsp | 1.3 g |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | .1 g |
| Other | ||
| Flax seeds | 1 oz | 1.8 g |
| Walnuts | 1 oz | 2.6 g |
| Egg (organic) | 1 large | 270 mg |
| Grass-fed beef | 3.5 oz | 100 mg |
Cod liver oil supplements are also a good way to go. You can find them in health food stores or on line. I prefer to use pure oil instead of soft gels with my patients because the body absorbs it better.
References:
1. Logan AC. “Omega-3 fatty acids and major depression: a primer for the mental health professional.” Lipids in Health and Disease. 2004. 9;325.
2. Conklin et al. “Long-chain omega-3 fatty acid intake is associated positively with corticolimbic gray matter volume in healthy adults. Neuroscience Letters. 2007. 421(3):209-12.
3. McNamara et al. “Selective deficits in the omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid in the postmortem orbitofrontal cortex of patients with major depressive disorder.” Biological Psychiatry. 2006 Dec 21.
4. Hibbeln JR et al. “Maternal seafood consumption in pregnancy and neurodevelopmental outcomes in childhood (ALSPAC study): an observational cohort study.” Lancet. 2007 17;369(9561):578-85.
5. Raeder MB, Steen VM, Vollset SE, Bjelland I. “Associations between cod liver oil use and symptoms of depression: The Hordaland Health Study.” Journal of Affective Disorders. 2006 Dec 18.
6. Hallahan et al. “Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation in patients with recurrent self-harm. Single-centre double-blind randomised controlled trial.” British Journal of Psychiatry. 2007. 190:118-22.
7. van Gelder et al. “Fish consumption, n-3 fatty acids, and subsequent 5-y cognitive decline in elderly men: the Zutphen Elderly Study.” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2007. 85(4):1142-7.
8. Schaefer et al, “Plasma Phosphatidylcholine Docosahexaenoic Acid Content and Risk of Dementia and Alzheimer Disease: The Framingham Study.” Archives of Neurology. 2006. 63:1545-155.
9. Conklin et al. “Serum phospholipid polyunsaturated fatty acids are associated with mood, behavior and personality in healthy community adults. American Psychosomatic Society annual meeting, March 2007, Budapest, Hungary, abstract 1718.
10. Peet M, Horrobin DF. “A dose-ranging study of the effects of ethyl-eicosapentaenoate in patients with ongoing depression despite apparently adequate treatment with standard drugs.” Archives of General Psychiatry. 2002. 59(10):913-9.
Your Health and Mine |