Research Finds Surprising Bonus Mental Health Benefit Of Omega-3s

In the hippocampal cell portion of the study, researchers observed that EPA or DHA prevented increased cell death and decreased neurogenesis in the hippocampal cells. This, they found, was due to new lipid mediators formed in the brain.

And in the patient study, supplementing with those same omega-3s was associated with reduced depressive symptoms—an average reduction of 64% for EPA and 71% for DHA, to be exact.

As lead author of the study Alessandra Borsini, Ph.D. explains in a news release, “Our study has provided exciting new insight into how omega-3 fatty acids bring about anti-inflammatory effects that improve depression,” adding now that the mechanism behind those effects is understood, it can “inform the development of potential new treatments for depression using omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids.”