The Fish Oil Theory for Psychiatry

"Dietary variations are known to predict the prevalence of physical illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease but the possible influence of diet on mental health has been neglected." Peet (2)

Introduction

"The dietary predictors of outcome of schizophrenia and prevalence of depression are similar to those that predict illnesses such as coronary heart disease and diabetes, which are more common in people with mental health problems and in which nutritional approaches are widely recommended. Dietary intervention studies are indicated in schizophrenia and depression." Peet (2)

Ref. 1 supports the theory of Dr. Peet on fish oil being beneficial to psychoses. However, there is a flaw to the above quote from Dr. Peet. Atypical "antipsychotics" are known to cause heart problems and diabetes as side effects (3).

For Peet's Sake

I have found enough evidence in favor of Peet's theory about fish oil to make it worth writing an article about it, even though I am not convinced in favor of the theory. This may be just as well, because bias can creep in if one is convinced in favor of a theory. The treatment is relatively safe, so one does not have to prove the theory to be correct in order to try the treatment. My experience is that the treatment does not work. However, there are many scientists, including Dr. Andrew Stoll, who claim that the treatment does work.

Peet may not have originated the theory. This theory has been around for a relatively long time. Ref. 5 is prior to Peet's article and supports a similar theory for depression. Stoll has advocated the theory for bipolar disorder for over a decade. Refs. 1 & 2 & 4 & 5 all support the fish oil theory. However, there are many different theories in psychiatry.

Influenza Theory

Refs. 6-8 all debunk the influenza theory.

Amino Acids

These are dietary theories because amino acids are found in the diet. Ref. 9 discusses many of these controversial theories. The article is favorable to amino acid theories.

Other Alternative Treatments

Ref. 10 discusses various alternative treatments. This report is in favor of alternative treatments, which is somewhat surprising because it was indexed on Pubmed. It appears to represent a major shift by the APA (American Psychiatric Association). There also appears to have been a major shift on Pubmed indexing as Ref. 11, also favorable to alternative treatments, was also indexed at Pubmed. Prior to the Obama Administration, Pubmed had been heavily censored to exclude data favoring alternative treatments. Orthomolecular treatments were religiously excluded.

Alzheimer's Disease

Ref. 12 reported 8 amino acids elevated in AD. This finding could be a major breakthrough in AD research. If amino acids are elevated in the cerebrospinal fluid as reported, then amino acids could be flooding the brain cells. This could cause the brain cells to burn amino acids for fuel instead of glucose, which the brain is designed to burn for fuel. The result would be less ATP produced, which could alter mental processes.

But what does this have to do with fish oil? Probably nothing, so the fish oil theory is not supported.

Conclusions

Most of the references reviewed supported the fish oil theory. Other forms of alternative medicine were also supported by the rerferences. Ref. 3 shows dangers with current orthodox treatments (atypical antipsychotics). There do not appear to be any known dangers to the alternative treatments.

Refs. 6-8 blast a current orthodox theory (the influenza theory). Other references support the fish oil theory except for two which support amino acid theories. More research needs to be done on amino acids. Amino acid abnormalities support dietary treatments since these amino acids are found in the diet. Thus a diet for Alzheimer's disease is possible.

References

1. Dietary intake of fish, omega-3, omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids and vitamin D and the prevalence of psychotic-like symptoms in a cohort of 33,000 women from the general population. Hedelin M, Löf M, Olsson M, Lewander T, Nilsson B, Hultman CM, Weiderpass E. BMC Psychiatry. 2010 May 26;10:38.

2. Peet M. International variations in the outcome of schizophrenia and the prevalence of depression in relation to national dietary practices: an ecological analysis. Br J Psychiatry. 2004;184:404-408.

3.
4. Andrew McIntosh and Stephen Lawrie Cross-national differences in diet, the outcome of schizophrenia and the prevalence of depression: you are (associated with) what you eat The British Journal of Psychiatry, May 2004; 184: 381 - 382.

5. Henning Tiemeier, H Ruud van Tuijl, Albert Hofman, Amanda J Kiliaan, and Monique MB Breteler Plasma fatty acid composition and depression are associated in the elderly: the Rotterdam Study Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, Jul 2003; 78: 40 - 46.

6. Crow TJ, Done DJ. Prenatal exposure to influenza does not cause schizophrenia. Br J Psychiatry. 1992;161:390-3.

7. Selten JP, Slaets JP. Evidence against maternal influenza as a risk factor for schizophrenia. Br J Psychiatry. 1994;164:674-6.

8. Susser E, Lin SP, Brown AS, Lumey LH, Erlenmeyer-Kimling L. No relation between risk of schizophrenia and prenatal exposure to influenza in Holland. Am J Psychiatry. 1994;151:922-4.

9. Peripheral amino Acid levels in schizophrenia and antipsychotic treatment. De Luca V, Viggiano E, Messina G, Viggiano A, Borlido C, Viggiano A, Monda M. Psychiatry Investig. 2008 Dec;5(4):203-8.

10. J Clin Psychiatry. 2010 Jun;71(6):669-81. Complementary and alternative medicine in major depressive disorder: the American Psychiatric Association Task Force report. Freeman MP, Fava M, Lake J, Trivedi MH, Wisner KL, Mischoulon D.

11. Psychiatr Clin North Am. 2010 Jun;33(2):441-63. Complementary and alternative medicine for the treatment of depressive disorders in women. Deligiannidis KM, Freeman MP.

12. Neurodegener Dis. 2010;7(4):251-9. Epub 2010 May 5. Cerebrospinal fluid concentrations of functionally important amino acids and metabolic compounds in patients with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease. Kaiser E, Schoenknecht P, Kassner S, Hildebrandt W, Kinscherf R, Schroeder J.