Marc Joseph Nutrition - Blog

In a study published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine, researchers at Ohio State found that individuals with the highest blood levels of Omega-6 fats relative to Omega-3 fats were more likely to suffer from depression and to have higher levels of inflammation-promoting compounds in their bodies.

Specifically, as depressive symptoms increased in the study participants, higher Omega-6/Omega-3 ratios were associated with higher levels of inflammatory cytokines (immune system messengers) TNF-alpha and IL-6. Conversely, Omega-3 fats help promote the production of anti-inflammatory substances, such as prostaglandin PGE-3, and are linked to lower rates of depression.

Omega-3 fats are found primarily in fish oil and flaxseed oil (although only fish oil has the Omega-3 fats EPA and DHA in their final bioavailable forms). Omega-6 fats are found primarily in the diet in vegetable oils, such as soybean, corn, sunflower, and safflower oil, and also in the form of arachidonic acid in meat, dairy, and eggs.

* An exception to the primarily pro-inflammatory Omega-6 fats is gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), which is found in borage, evening primrose, and black currant oils, and helps to promote the production of anti-inflammatory prostaglandin PGE-1.

Changing Fat Intake Patterns & Implications

Historically, people eating a hunter-gatherer type of diet consumed about 2 to 3 times the amount of Omega-6 fats relative to Omega-3 fats. Today, in most Western diets, largely as the result of higher intake of refined vegetable oils in packaged and restaurant-prepared foods, that ratio is more like 15 to 20 to one.

The pro-inflammatory state that results from eating such a diet has negative implications not only for conditions such as depression as highlighted in this study, but also for many other conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, allergies and asthma, prostate cancer, skin disorders, and more.

Diet-wise, this imbalance in Omega-6/Omega-3 fat intake is likely one of the biggest factors contributing to chronic disease. Taking a fish oil supplement that has been tested for contaminants and reducing the consumption of foods prepared using vegetable oils are two ways to help improve this balance and restore a more normal immune response.

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Marc Joseph Nutrition

A recent New York Times article highlighted what has become a growing trend over the last few years: giving multiple psychiatric medications to children:

[A] growing number of children and teenagers in the United States are taking not just a single drug for discrete psychiatric difficulties but combinations of powerful and even life-threatening medications to treat a dizzying array of problems.

Last year in the United States, about 1.6 million children and teenagers — 280,000 of them under age 10 — were given at least two psychiatric drugs in combination, according to an analysis performed by Medco Health Solutions at the request of The New York Times. More than 500,000 were prescribed at least three psychiatric drugs. More than 160,000 got at least four medications together, the analysis found.

The numbers are amazing, aren’t they?

The article notes that there is evidence that suggests individual medications may be useful for certain conditions, but that there is “virtually no scientific evidence to justify this multiplication of pills.”

The majority of the child prescriptions are for ADD/ADHD and depression (click image to expand):

What’s going on here? Stimulants, antidepressants, antipsychotics and anticonvulsants in young children? Why the greater use of these serious drugs (many with significant risk for side effects)? Most importantly, why the increasing prevalence of conditions in children requiring their use?

I think dietary factors and toxin exposure likely play significant roles in the greater prevalence of these conditions and the use of these drugs in children. Taking multiple prescription drugs without a closer look at potential root causes doesn’t seem to make much sense.

The behavior of many children (and adults) with attention deficit disorders often significantly improves with a shift to a whole foods diet that eliminates chemical additives. For others, exposure to toxins, such as those found in some vaccines and in the environment at large, may be an underlying cause. Safely reducing a child’s toxic body burden may help to improve the situation.

You can read more about a better approach to ADD/ADHD that attempts to identify and address underlying root causes here.