Having Bouts of Depression? Try Adding Omega 3 to Your Diet

Are you suffering from depression? Not due to the drop in the stock market indices or some other trivial problem, I am talking about the type of depression that leads to unstable behaviour, mood swings, and other serious results.

It has been found that our western diet could possibly be contributing to these bouts of depression. We consume too much of omega 6 and very less of omega 3. Did you know that in countries such as Japan and Iceland they have very few cases of depression? The difference is, that their diet contains more of fish as compared to the westerners. In Japan the people eat about 147 pounds of fish a year and in Iceland they eat about 225 pounds. I know that is far more fish than I could eat. Could our high intake of the omega 6 fatty acids and a very low intake of omega 3 fatty acids be contributing to our depression?

Blood tests were performed on the people showing signs of depression. It was discovered that people with a higher content of omega 6 in their blood as compared to omega 3 appeared to be experiencing more depression. It is also a fact that people suffering from depression tend to be careless about eating balanced diet resulting in even lower amount of omega 3. Studies have shown good results when omega 3 has been added to their diet. Participants who added it to their diet showed less mood swings and stress. The end result, their depression eases.

You don't need to take an overdose to get these results. Taking as little as 1 to 2 grams a day of omega 3 by supplements is quite sufficient. You can also get your omega 3 by eating fish twice a week. It should be cold water fish and the best amongst them is salmon. If you are pregnant or worried about the possible mercury content or other toxins in fish, then you can take supplements. Flax seeds and fish oil are the two very good options for the supplements that you can take. Both of them can be found at your pharmacy or in a health food store.

Don't take depression lightly. It's a very serious problem. We are not saying that proper amounts of omega 3 in your diet will cure it. You should still be under a doctor's care and taking medicines they have prescribed to you. Adding omega 3 as an additional preventive measure will help these medicines work better.

If you are not suffering from depression, then adding proper amounts of omega 3 to your diet may help keep you from developing it.