of Melbourne researchers asked when they gave a daily
dose of fish oil to people in their teens and early twenties
with a history of psychotic symptoms. (Using fish oil as a
preventative or therapeutic approach is also very appealing
because it doesn’t carry a stigma the way antipsychotics do.)
Each subject in the trial was given 700 milligrams of
EPA and 480 milligrams of DHA per day. Over three
months, researchers found that, compared to the placebo,
the fish oil group displayed significantly fewer psychotic
episodes.^24 Even more impressive: the improvement in
symptoms seemed to persist when doctors assessed subjects’
mental health seven years later—only 10 percent converted
to full-on psychotic disorders compared to 40 percent in the
placebo group (a fourfold risk reduction). Patients were also
significantly higher functioning, and needed less medication
to manage their symptoms.†
Is fish oil a cure-all for mental health? No, sadly. But this
research does provide further evidence that our diets have
become disharmonious with the needs of our brains—and
by correcting the imbalance, we may reap significant
benefits.
FURANS—YOUR BRAIN’S SLEEPER AGENT?
The late Austrian chemist Gerhard Spiteller, the first scientist
to ring the alarm bell on the dangers of processed
polyunsaturated oils, was studying fish oils when he made a
fascinating observation. He noticed that concentrated