Yesterday’s post covered some of the benefits of Omega-3’s and Omega-6’s; with some explanation of how fish oil benefits us.  Interestingly, I read this article in the Wall Street Journal this morning, and have some comments about it:

Wall Street Journal

February 2, 2010

A Study Finds Mental Benefit of Fish Oil

Eighty-one young people, ages 13 to 25, were identified with high risk symptoms of schizophrenia. Forty-one of them were placed on 4 fish oil ‘pills’ and the rest were placed on placebo look-alikes. One year later, 2 of the 41 (5 %) in the treated group were diagnosed with schizophrenia, and 11 of the 40 (28 %) in the placebo group were given the same diagnosis. The study is printed in the February issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, with the lead author from the University of Melbourne in Australia. The researchers speculate that omega-3 fish oils may help brain cells to repair and stabilize. Dr. Wozniak of Harvard Medical School is hoping psychiatrists will start to recommend this to their patients because of the potential benefits and little risk.

Dr. Gardner’s comments: It’s great seeing this study in the mainstream literature. Nerve support has been just one of many benefits of fish oils, whether it is directly helping the fat content in the nerve cell membrane or the myelin sheath surrounding the nerve, or by its anti-inflammatory action through which it is helping decrease inflammation in blood vessels. Niacin was the first effective treatment for schizophrenia, but was unfortunately discarded when anti-psychotic medications hit the market soon after and received much better marketing. ‘Orthomolecular’ medicine (the use of vitamins and minerals in medicine) was also mocked at that time, even though Linus Pauling, the only person to ever receive 2 Nobel Prizes by himself, was advocating it.

Since fish oil can help schizophrenia, this stresses the importance of the essential fatty acids for all nerve conditions. In your zeal for fish oil, don’t forget the need for the omega-3 parent compound, alpha-linolenic acid, found in flaxseed oil. The omega-6 oils found in borage oil and evening primrose are also critical for membrane function in every cell of the body.