Fish is brain food, and krill is food for whales. We can’t say whether that makes whales the smartest mammal in the sea, but they could be the happiest. That’s because a raft of research shows that the DHA found in krill can sail you away from the blues.
It starts with the simple fact that the human brain is mostly fat – about 60%, specifically DHA and phospholipids. DHA is also a major structural component of neurons, which are in charge of processing and transmitting information in the brain – exactly the kind of job we like the brain to undertake a few billion times a day. “What makes krill oil so extraordinary is the composition of fatty acids and phospholipids,” writes Michael A. Schmidt, Ph.D., in Brain-Building Nutrition (Frog Ltd, 2007). “In fact, if one were to set out to design the ideal ‘custom formula’ of brain fatty acids, you would arrive at something not so different from krill oil.”
Secondly, many studies show that depressed people tend to have low levels of omega-3 DHA in their system. In a study published in 2010, researchers at the Veterans’ Administration Pittsburgh office made no bones about it: They looked at the brains of 14 deceased individuals, and found a distinct correlation between the amount of fatty acids present in the brains and whether or not the person was said to be majorly depressed at the time of his or her demise.1
This is also true of new mothers after giving life to babies but who consequently suffer from the “baby blues” – a conservative estimate is that 16% of new moms are afflicted by it. And while genetic, social, psychological and biological factors have all been implicated to various degrees, so has nutrition, with omega-3 fatty-acid deficiencies decidedly atop that list.2
Depression is a worldwide problem, so much so in fact that the World Health Organization (WHO) forecasts that within 20 years more people will be affected by depression than any other health problem. WHO says that depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide, affecting around 120 million people.
In 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 different research teams in Asia, Europe and America all came to the same conclusion: “Significant antidepressant effect of omega-3 PUFAs (polyunsaturated fatty acids, scientific shorthand for omega-3 DHA and EPA),” as the Taiwan team put it in 2007.4,5,6,7
In 2009, a psychiatrist reviewing the published research in people who are bipolar or who have major depression went one better and said the evidence to date shows people should get between 700 and 1,500 milligrams per day of DHA.8
Again, because krill contains esterified DHA combined with phospholipids, you can probably cut that DHA quantity in half or more.
Here’s one more testament to the depression-fighting performance of omega-3 DHA and EPA: the US military is looking at supplementing its troops with them to potentially save money on health-care because of the overabundance of both brain injuries, as well as depression. Ten-hut!
Lin PY, Su KP. A meta-analytic review of double-blind, placebo-controlled trials of antidepressant efficacy of omega-3 fatty acids. J Clin Psychiatry. 2007 Jul;68(7):1056-61.
McNamara RK. Evaluation of docosahexaenoic acid deficiency as a preventable risk factor for recurrent affective disorders: current status, future directions, and dietary recommendations.Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids. 2009 Aug-Sep;81(2-3):223-31.
Submitted by Guest User on Sat, 09/18/2010 - 00:00.
There’s ample scientific proof of a strong relationship between depression and the kind of fat in brain cell membranes (read the lack of DHA in brain cell phospholipids; the same DHA phospholipids as in krill oil). It's beyond scientific discussion that omega-3 fatty acids are essential for a good functioning central nervous system.
The importance of the kind of fat in the brain cell membranes for mood and depression is that the fats in the phospholipid determine which receptors will sit in the cell membrane. To understand how this works, one needs to imagine that fat molecules are strings of carbon atoms, and the longer the string the better. For example EPA is 20 carbons long and DHA is 22 carbons long. Not only that, these strings have bonds, and these bonds and double bonds make the string crooked and give the fat molecule a very distinct shape. This phospholipid fatty shape works like a key hole and the receptor fits like a key in that cellular fatty key hole.
So certain fats fit certain receptors. Mood and depression in particular are related to basic serotonin receptors and omega-3. The strategy of common anti-depressant drugs (SSRIs, such as Prozac, Celexa, Lexapro, Zoloft, Paxil) is to increase the serotonin level in the blood by selectively blocking the liver enzyme that breaks down serotonin. The strategy of increasing omega-3 DHA in brain cell membranes is to increase the number of serotonin receptors. See it as the SSRIs increasing the number of mail letters, and DHA in membranes as increasing the number of mail boxes. The point being that it’s hard to get mail without a mailbox. It doesn’t matter if someone sends you a 1,000 love letters, and there’s no one home to read them. Just go krillin’.
Submitted by Guest User on Tue, 10/26/2010 - 00:00.
My Daughter has depression. Our naturopath suggested Krill oil instead of fish oil. My doctor told me the benefits of krill oil out way the benefits of fish oil because krill oil get into the brain. My daughter also reported that the side effect of burping up the fish oil stop when taking krill oil pills. About 2 months after switching from fish oil to krill oil she started to feel happier and had fewer complaints around PMS. I highly recommed krill oil for kids with depression.
Comments
#1 How krill oil might work on your depression and mood
There’s ample scientific proof of a strong relationship between depression and the kind of fat in brain cell membranes (read the lack of DHA in brain cell phospholipids; the same DHA phospholipids as in krill oil). It's beyond scientific discussion that omega-3 fatty acids are essential for a good functioning central nervous system.
The importance of the kind of fat in the brain cell membranes for mood and depression is that the fats in the phospholipid determine which receptors will sit in the cell membrane. To understand how this works, one needs to imagine that fat molecules are strings of carbon atoms, and the longer the string the better. For example EPA is 20 carbons long and DHA is 22 carbons long. Not only that, these strings have bonds, and these bonds and double bonds make the string crooked and give the fat molecule a very distinct shape. This phospholipid fatty shape works like a key hole and the receptor fits like a key in that cellular fatty key hole.
So certain fats fit certain receptors. Mood and depression in particular are related to basic serotonin receptors and omega-3. The strategy of common anti-depressant drugs (SSRIs, such as Prozac, Celexa, Lexapro, Zoloft, Paxil) is to increase the serotonin level in the blood by selectively blocking the liver enzyme that breaks down serotonin. The strategy of increasing omega-3 DHA in brain cell membranes is to increase the number of serotonin receptors. See it as the SSRIs increasing the number of mail letters, and DHA in membranes as increasing the number of mail boxes. The point being that it’s hard to get mail without a mailbox. It doesn’t matter if someone sends you a 1,000 love letters, and there’s no one home to read them. Just go krillin’.
Joe53
#2 krill oil for children with depression
My Daughter has depression. Our naturopath suggested Krill oil instead of fish oil. My doctor told me the benefits of krill oil out way the benefits of fish oil because krill oil get into the brain. My daughter also reported that the side effect of burping up the fish oil stop when taking krill oil pills. About 2 months after switching from fish oil to krill oil she started to feel happier and had fewer complaints around PMS. I highly recommed krill oil for kids with depression.
Judy
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