(NaturalNews) An important new study published in the
Archives of General Psychiatry reveals that
fish oil supplements beat mental illness. The study involved 81 people deemed to be at high risk for psychosis. The randomized, placebo-controlled study provided fish oil supplements to half the study subjects for just 12 weeks (the other half received placebo supplements). The results? While 11 people in the placebo group developed a psychotic disorder, only 2 in the fish oil group did.
Although the study was relatively small, it helps demonstrate the wide-ranging benefits of
omega-3 fatty acids, which are thought to be the key nutritional factor in
fish oils. We already know that omega-3 fatty acids /
polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) help protect people against cardiovascular disease. We also know they can play a role in preventing
diabetes and cancer. It's little surprise that they also protect against
mental illness, given the importance of healthy
fatty acids for the functioning of the nervous system.
As the
BBC reports, Alison Cobb, from the mental
health charity Mind, said in response to this study: "If young people can be treated successfully with fish
oils, this is hugely preferable to treating them with antipsychotics, which come with a range of problems from
weight gain to sexual dysfunction, whereas omega-3s are actually beneficial to their general state of health."
She's exactly right: Antipsychotic
drugs actually
cause diabetes. They promote blood sugar
disorders and weight gain, among other problems. Some psychiatric drugs have also been linked to school shootings and violent outbursts (suicides, murders, etc.). They're also expensive and they pose an environmental hazard, since many of the
chemicals used in those drugs pass right through the
body and end up in waters downstream.
Fish oils have none of these negative side effects. In fact, they have positive effects throughout the body. That's why
fish oils are such a remarkable solution to
replace antipsychotic drugs: They're safer, cheaper and they work better!
You're supposed to keep taking drugs, says Big Pharma
The drug
companies, of course, are terrified that people might learn this truth. They want to keep
patients on expensive, patented antipsychotic drugs while discrediting "
natural remedies" like fish oils or nutritional
supplements. The entire war being waged against
nutrition and supplements is, of course, nothing more than the
pharmaceutical industry trying to protect its own turf by destroying the competition.
Because, let's face it: For (virtually) every popular pharmaceutical on the market,
there's a nutritional supplement that works better (and that's also safer and more affordable). Antipsychotic drugs can be replaced with fish oils. Cholesterol drugs can be replaced with B vitamins. Anti-cancer drugs can be replaced with vitamin D and medicinal mushrooms. Diabetes drugs can be replaced with a
healthy plant-based diet and targeted supplements. The list goes on and on...
Nutrition works so well that in this study, subjects experienced a protective effect from fish oils
for an entire year even though they only took those fish oils for 12 weeks! Imagine how much better the outcome might have been if they continued on the fish oils for the entire year...
Get quality fish oils
Of course, when it comes to fish oils, don't settle for just any cheap fish oil
supplement. Many of the cheaper store-bought brands are largely made of olive
oil filler combined with a tiny amount of
fish oil extract. Search out quality supplements or oils from companies like Moxxor, Nordic Naturals or Carlson Labs.
Make sure your supplements are free from heavy metals, pesticides and other residues. Make sure they are harvested in a truly sustainable way, and make sure you can trust the source to provide consistent quality.
Fish oils can provide astonishing health benefits. If the medical
industry were truly honest about researching
what works for patients rather than what makes money for
drug companies, they would have openly prescribed fish oils long ago (and abandoned many of the antipsychotic drugs they still push).
But as you already know, the pharmaceutical industry isn't interested in what works for people
unless it's something they can sell at monopoly prices. They don't want people to know about natural
remedies, nutritional cures or healing foods. They would much rather see people stay ignorant about those things while pumping their minds full of advertisements and propaganda that ridiculously suggests the human brain is somehow
deficient in Big Pharma's patented chemicals and that the only way you'll ever be truly healthy, happy or sane is to keep swallowing their pills for the rest of your life.
The real insanity in the world is not in the minds of mental patients; it's in the evil plans of the FDA, the
WHO and the pharmaceutical cartel -- all of whom conspire to peddle dangerous medications when far safer, more
natural and more effective alternatives are readily available.
Abstract of study from the Archives of General Psychiatry
Long-Chain Omega-3 Fatty Acids for Indicated Prevention of Psychotic Disorders
http://archpsyc.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/67/2/146A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled TrialG. Paul Amminger, MD; Miriam R. Schäfer, MD; Konstantinos Papageorgiou, MD; Claudia M. Klier, MD; Sue M. Cotton, PhD; Susan M. Harrigan, MSc; Andrew Mackinnon, PhD; Patrick D. McGorry, MD, PhD; Gregor E. Berger, MD
Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2010;67(2):146-154.
Context: The use of antipsychotic medication for the
prevention of psychotic disorders is controversial. Long-chain
omega-3 (omega-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) may be beneficial in a range of psychiatric conditions, including schizophrenia. Given that omega-3 PUFAs are generally beneficial to health and without clinically relevant adverse effects, their preventive use in psychosis merits investigation.
Objective: To determine whether omega-3 PUFAs reduce the rate of progression to first-episode psychotic
disorder in adolescents and young adults aged 13 to 25 years with subthreshold psychosis.
Design: Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial conducted between 2004 and 2007.
Setting: Psychosis detection unit of a large public hospital in Vienna, Austria.
Participants: Eighty-one individuals at ultra-high
risk of psychotic disorder.
Interventions: A 12-week intervention period of 1.2-g/d omega-3 PUFA or
placebo was followed by a 40-week monitoring period; the total study period was 12 months.
Main Outcome Measures: The primary outcome measure was transition to psychotic disorder. Secondary outcomes included symptomatic and functional changes. The ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids in erythrocytes was used to index pretreatment vs posttreatment fatty acid composition.
Results: Seventy-six of 81 participants (93.8%) completed the intervention. By study's end (12 months), 2 of 41 individuals (4.9%) in the omega-3 group and 11 of 40 (27.5%) in the placebo group had transitioned to psychotic disorder (P = .007). The difference between the groups in the cumulative risk of progression to full-threshold psychosis was 22.6% (95% confidence interval, 4.8-40.4). Omega-3 Polyunsaturated fatty acids also significantly reduced positive
symptoms (P = .01), negative symptoms (P = .02), and general symptoms (P = .01) and improved functioning (P = .002) compared with placebo. The incidence of adverse effects did not differ between the treatment groups.
Conclusions: Long-chain omega-3 PUFAs reduce the risk of progression to psychotic disorder and may offer a safe and efficacious strategy for indicated prevention in young people with subthreshold psychotic states.
Trial Registration: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00396643
Author Affiliations: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria (Drs Amminger, Schäfer, Papageorgiou, and Klier); Orygen Research Centre, Centre for Youth Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia (Drs Amminger, Cotton, Mackinnon, and McGorry and Ms Harrigan); and Department of Research and Education, The Schlössli Clinic, Oetwil am See, Switzerland (Dr Berger).
Other sources for this story include:BBC:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8490937.stmWSJ:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704107204575039590838522222.html
About the author: Mike Adams is a natural health author and award-winning journalist with a passion for sharing empowering information to help improve personal and planetary health He has authored more than 1,800 articles and dozens of reports, guides and interviews on natural health topics, reaching millions of readers with information that is saving lives and improving personal health around the world. Adams is an independent journalist with strong ethics who does not get paid to write articles about any product or company. In mid 2010, Adams produced NaturalNews.TV, a natural health video sharing website offering user-generated videos on nutrition, green living, fitness and more. He also founded an environmentally-friendly online retailer called BetterLifeGoods.com that uses retail profits to help support consumer advocacy programs. He's also the founder of a well known HTML email software company whose 'Email Marketing Director' software currently runs the NaturalNews subscription database. Adams also serves as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a non-profit consumer protection group, and regularly pursues cycling, nature photography, Capoeira and Pilates. He's also author of numerous health books published by Truth Publishing and is the creator of several consumer-oriented grassroots campaigns, including the Spam. Don't Buy It! campaign, and the free downloadable Honest Food Guide. He also created the free reference sites HerbReference.com and HealingFoodReference.com. Adams believes in free speech, free access to nutritional supplements and the ending of corporate control over medicines, genes and seeds. Known as the 'Health Ranger,' Adams' personal health statistics and mission statements are located at www.HealthRanger.org
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