Omega-3 Fatty Acids May Have No Impact on Depression

According to new research, eating fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids doesn’t appear to have as big of an impact on depression in women as once believed.

The study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, notes that there is a lot of conflicting evidence regarding the benefits of fish oil, which previously had been suggested to have properties that may help in battling with depression.

"We know that omega-3s are important in brain function," study researcher Dr. Alberto Ascherio, a nutrition expert at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, told Reuters Health.

"We approached this work thinking that when it comes to preventing depression, it's conceivable that you are what you eat," he said.

In order to come to their findings, researchers followed approximately 55,000 nurses over a period of 10 years. The women, between the ages of 50 and 77 were all deemed to have no symptoms of depression when the study began in 1996. Then, over the course of the next 10 years, five percent would go on to develop clinical depression.

The interesting bit, though, was that eating fish oil had zero impact on the development of the condition – one way or the other.

Depression, of course, is twice as moron common in women than men. In the United States, in particular, one in about five women will experience depression at some point in their lives.