Did you know that omega-3 fatty acids have been scientifically shown to reduce symptoms of depression?
Since May is Mental Health Awareness Month, we thought this would be a great topic to talk about.
The food we eat and how we feel are absolutely correlated.
Omega-3 fatty acids are brain food. They protect our brain and keep it healthy, so that it can keep working to keep the rest of our body in order. Our brains seek these fats all the time (in addition to amino acids). It’s how we’re wired biologically. And, our brain will continue telling us we’re hungry until we get adequate amounts of fat and amino acids. This can be one factor of the overfed/undernourished crisis facing our population today.
In addition, most of us are consuming WAY too much omega-6 from seed oils (e.g. soybean oil, canola oil, vegetable oil, etc.). This unbalanced ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids, plus the oxidized nature that most seed oils are consumed in, promote ongoing inflammation in the body.
Many studies have been done on the use of omega-3 supplementation related to treatment of depression. If you or someone you love struggles with anxiety or depression, placing a focus on your omega-3 consumption could provide immense improvement. According to Dr. Andrew Huberman, neuroscientist at Stanford University and producer of the Huberman Lab podcast, some people are able to wean completely from their medications and solely focus on omega-3 intake instead.
Even if you don’t struggle with anxiety or depression, getting enough omega-3 fatty acids in your diet is still vital for overall health and longevity. These fats:
- Reduce inflammation in the body
- Regulate blood sugar
- Decrease hunger
- Increase fat burn
- And as we said, help protect your brain and grow neural tissue
They are absolutely critical for optimal infant brain growth, so especially important for pregnant and breastfeeding women, too.
We personally aim to get 1,000mg of omega-3 fatty acids per day.
We achieve this by eating fatty fish (wild-caught salmon and sardines) 3-4 times per week. We also regularly eat pasture-raised eggs, beef and liver, which are additional great sources (though not nearly as high) of omega-3s.
When it comes to supplementation, consider two things.
First, obtaining your nutrients from whole food sources is always preferable to a singular supplement because it’s often more bioavailable.
The whole food has multiple nutrients and beneficial cofactors that help your body efficiently absorb and utilize the nutrition in the food. When you take a singular supplement, you miss out on some of those digestive aids and your body doesn’t utilize it as well. So even if you think you’re taking a certain dosage each day, your body might not be benefiting like you hoped.
Second, many fish oils are rancid or low quality, so you need to do your research to find one that is truly good.
An alternative “supplement” to consider instead of a fish oil or omega-3 supplement is the wild-caught fish eggs product from Ancestral Supplements.
These are capsules of freeze-dried Hoki fish eggs. Because they are a whole food, you are getting Vitamins D, K2 & A, choline, iodine, and zinc, in addition to all three types of omega-3 fatty acids – DHA, EPA and ETA in phospholipid form (more bioavailable).
This is a great solution for people who don’t like fish, but still want a high quality source of omega-3 fatty acids. Plant-based sources of omega-3s (like flaxseed oil) are not efficiently used by the body, so an animal-sourced product is preferred, if possible.
While the suggested dosage is 6 capsules per day, Ancestral Supplements notes that the product is just food (fish eggs), and that the dose can be doubled (or even more) for added support.
We take this product every few days in addition to regularly eating fish just because of the amazing nutrition specifically found in roe. If you want a fascinating read about the nutritional benefits of fish eggs and how our ancestors prized them, click here.
If you’re not getting close to 1,000mg of omega-3 fatty acids a day, consider increasing your intake of foods high in this important nutrient as well as checking out the fish eggs product mentioned above.
Make a plan to up your intake for one month and see how you feel at the end of it!
In addition, try reducing your consumption of seed oils (this means reading nutrition labels and likely reducing your intake of processed foods and restaurant meals) to help get your omega-3 and -6 ratio in check.
And, if you know anyone else would benefit from this information, be sure to pass it on.
Active-ists for your health,
Irene & Brianna