Omega-3’s Benefits on Mental Health
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The Impact of Omega-3 Benefits on Mental Health
Can anti-inflammatory diets modify the onset of psychosis?
Approximately 1% of the population of the world has schizophrenia. At least 54 different genes now come with spontaneous mutations that might make someone more acceptable to schizophrenia, where various environmental issues act on the susceptibility to induce the symptoms.
Schizophrenia is categorized as a consistent display of symptoms that every person doesn’t express.
Most schizophrenia patients experience a prodromic phase between the appearance of initial symptoms and the full development of the disorder, displaying common psychotic symptoms.
This phase of change of subtle signs to substantial symptoms is a curiosity to neuroscientists. It may offer a chance for therapeutic intervention to prevent the transition to a disorder.
These people are well-defined as clinical high-risk (CHR); there is a 22% risk of getting psychosis in the first year of being diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Omega 3’s Benefits
Furthermore, along with a collection of genetic mutations that predispose an individual to schizophrenia, a massive body of growing evidence suggests that oxidative stress and inflammation play a vital role during the disorder’s early stages.
The growing evidence is so convincing that the best animal models of schizophrenia are concentrated on the role of inflammation.
The modern antipsychotic medications which affect dopamine are insufficient at treating cognitive and negative symptoms as well as have severe and unpleasant side effects that discourage people from taking their meds.
There is a serious need for better interventions and medication that can either prevent or delay the development of psychosis. In addition, studies have shown dietary interventions that might help fight against inflammation and oxidative stress.
Mental Health
There are two essential omega-3 fatty acids: eicosatetraenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid. They organize and then help resolve our inflammation response by controlling the levels of inflammation proteins.
Interfering at the prodromal stage with omega 3’s has been studied. Although, the initial studies didn’t create significant benefits.
A recent study investigated the clinical benefits of omega-3 benefits in a large group of clinically high-risk patients. The intent was to prevent the onset of psychosis in high-risk participants who had little or no exposure to antipsychotic medication that might alter the level of inflammatory proteins.
The patients had raised levels of inflammatory proteins in their blood before starting the diet containing omega-3 fatty acids.
Study Results After 6 and 12 Months
They looked at the patients six and 12 months after starting the diet rich in omega 3’s, levels of inflammatory proteins greatly decreased. This result was like other studies showing the anti-inflammatory effects of omega-3s in patients with cerebrovascular diseases, cerebrovascular diseases, neurodegenerative disorders, ischemic, and psychiatric disorders like bipolar and depression.
Although, even with reducing blood biomarkers of inflammation, the volunteers showed no clinical omega 3’s benefits.
Diets high in omega 3’s are usually beneficial, but they can’t change the development of psychotic symptoms during the prodromal phase.
