Taking This Supplement To Prevent Depression Is A Myth, Says New Study Eat This Not That – Eat This, Not That

As the days get colder and the nights get longer, the rates of winter seasonal depressionincrease. In some parts of Sweden, depression rates can increase up to 10% in the wintertime. Harvard Health says this can occur due to a lack of light exposure, which throws off your circadian cycle, affects your mood, and releases less serotonin (the feel-good hormone) than normal. Typically consumers look for ways to combat feelings of depression with supplementation, and one of the most commonly used supplements includes omega-3 fatty acids.

And yet, while previous analyses have made links between omega-3 fatty acid consumption to prevent depression, a new study published in JAMA Network debunks the myth by stating that omega-3 fatty acid supplementation does not prevent depression in adults.

This randomized clinical trial included 18,353 adults over the age of 50, who didn't have depression or clinically relevant depressive symptoms to start. The study had some participants consuming an omega-3 supplement compared to a group that took a placebo over a five-year treatment period. Through mood scoring, researchers found no significant differences in the omega-3 group compared to the placebo group. They concluded that the use of omega-3 supplementation is not advised as a depression preventer for adults.

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These findings are shocking when held up to other previous research, which states the opposite about omega-3 supplementation.

One Nutrients study published in 2020 was able to link consumption of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA)a type of omega-3 fatty acidand feelings of happiness and fulfillment for a study of 133 participants. This type of omega-3 is found in cold-water fish, like salmon.

Another review in Neuroscience & Therapeutics, evaluated three different studies regarding omega-3 fatty acids as a treatment for depression and concluded that consumption of EPA saw benefits for adults with depression, but only for a very small number of participantsbetween 8 and 28 for each study.

Nevertheless, one report published in Integrative Medicine Research evaluated different studies that claim omega-3 fatty acids as an effective depression treatment and found no connection with their findings. The most recent JAMA Network study solidfies this conclusion through their randomized controlled trial, with over 18,000 participants contributinga significantly higher number compared to other conducted studies.

Whether it's seasonal, clinical, bipolar, postpartum, or the other types of depression that can occur, there is no conclusive evidence to show that omega-3 fatty acid supplementation will work to prevent it.

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Taking This Supplement To Prevent Depression Is A Myth, Says New Study Eat This Not That - Eat This, Not That