182
16
Weil, op. cit., at 206.(^17) Weil, A., Spontaneous Happiness (Little, Brown and Company, New York 2011), at 204.
(^18) Lake, J.A. and Spiegel, D., Complementary and Alternative Treatments in Mental Health Care, American
Psychiatric Publishing, Inc., Washington (2007), at 158-159.
(^19) NCCAM website, http://nccam.nih.gov/health/providers/digest/depression-science.htm
(^20) Appleton, K.M., Rogers, P.J. & Ness, A.R., “Updated Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of The Effects of N- 3
Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids on Depressed Mood,” Am J Clin Nutr. 91(3):757-70 (2010). Epub 2010 Feb
3.
(^21) Muskin, P.R., Gerbarg, P.L., and Brown, R.P., Brown et al. II, op. cit. at 17.
(^22) Carney, R.M., Freedland, K.E., Rubin, E.H., Rich, M.W., Steinmeyer, B.C. & Harris, W.S., “Omega-3 Augmentation
of Sertraline in Treatment of Depression in Patients with Coronary Heart Disease: a Randomized Controlled Trial,”
JAMA 302(15):1651-7 (2009).
(^23) Lespérance, F. et al. “The Efficacy of Omega-3 Supplementation for Major Depression: a Randomized Controlled
Trial,” J Clin. Psychiatry 72(8):1054–1062 (2010)
(^24) Natural Standard Herb and Supplement Guide: An Evidence-based Reference, op. cit., “Omega-3 Fatty Acids,” at
536ff.
(^25) University of California, Berkeley, School of Public Health, The Wellness Reports, Dietary Supplements (2010), at
- However, a 2013 update from Berkeley Wellness examines the recent evidence:
“In 2012, two large analyses pooled data from well-designed clinical trials involving people with pre-existing heart
disease or multiple risk factors. One was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, the other in the Journal of
the American Medical Association. They concluded that overall the evidence does not support claims that omega- 3
supplements help prevent cardiovascular events.
Another large analysis of various studies, published last year in the British journal BMJ, looked at the link between
fish consumption or omega-3 supplements and the risk of stroke. It found that the 26 observational studies
suggested that higher fish intake was associated with moderately reduced stroke risk, but that the 12 clinical trials
(considered the gold standard in medical research) concluded that the supplements offered no benefit. In a large
trial in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2012, people with diabetes or prediabetes, who are at elevated risk
for cardiovascular disease, took 1,000 milligrams of omega-3 supplements a day or a placebo. After an average of
six years, the supplement takers were no less likely to have a heart attack or stroke or to die.
A British study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2011 found that various doses of omega-3s did not
help keep arteries flexible in healthy people (ages 45 to 70). Another British study, in the journal Atherosclerosis,
similarly found no vascular benefit in people with peripheral artery disease. However, a 2012 analysis in the same
journal concluded that omega-3s can improve arterial functioning.
In the newest study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine in May, more than 6,000 Italians at high
risk for cardiovascular disease took 1,000 milligrams of omega-3 supplements a day. After five years, they did no
better than a placebo group in terms of heart attacks, strokes and death rates. This was true even of people with
low baseline dietary intakes of omega-3s and those not taking statins.