Fish Oil: Known Benefits, Little Risk

The Wall St Journal reports fish oil pills may be able to spare some young people with signs of mental illness from a progression into fully developed schizophrenia.

A Study Finds Mental Benefit of Fish Oil  

No one knows what causes schizophrenia but one hypothesis is that people with the disease don't process fatty acids correctly, leading to damaged brain cells. Omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil could help brain cells repair and stabilize, the researchers speculate. 

Dr. Janet Wozniak of Harvard Medical School said the findings might reasonably cause psychiatrists to recommend fish oil to some patients because there are known benefits and little risk. 

This is not the first study that found a correlation between omega 3 fatty acids, mental illness and crime. 

In 2003 a study from South Africa saw the Clinical potential of omega-3 fatty acids in the treatment of schizophrenia.

The Australian press did a round-up of studies being conducted around the world studying the effects of omega-3 fatty acids on the brain in its article, Crime, punishment and a junk-food diet.  Can violent behavior be attributable at least in part to nutritional deficiencies?

The British prison trial at Aylesbury jail showed that when young men there were fed multivitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids, the number of violent offences committed in the prison fell by 37 per cent.

In 2006, the New York Times asked whether Eating Salmon Will Lower the Murder Rate?

In 2001, Dr. Joseph Hibbeln, a senior clinical investigator at the National Institutes of Health, published a study, provocatively titled "Seafood Consumption and Homicide Mortality," that found a correlation between a higher intake of omega-3 fatty acids (most often obtained from fish) and lower murder rates.
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Consider, for example, a study conducted by researchers in Finland. They tested prisoners convicted of violent crimes and found that they had lower levels of omega-3 fatty acids than ordinary, healthy subjects. Why? Omega-3's foster the growth of neurons in the brain's frontal cortex, the bit of gray matter that controls impulsive behavior. Having enough of these fatty acids may keep violent impulses in check.

I admit to being a bit of nut on the benefits of coffee, bear, chocolate, Vitamin D and Omega 3.    Here are a few on Omega -3

Fish Oil and Breast Cancer
Fish Oil after Heart Attacks
Fish Oil to Lose Weight Faster
Fish Oil to Help Asthma
More Salmon, Less Murder
Splendid Omega