How Can Fats be Good?
Fats have recently got a bad rap. But the truth is that some fats are actually needed for good health and good mood. That’s the case for omega fatty acids. So let’s take a look at them now.

Omega Fatty Acids
Omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids cannot be made or stored in the body, and are therefore described as essential fatty acids (EFAs.) That is it is essential that we supply these valuable nutrients to the body through our diet, otherwise the body will go without.

2 Main Functions of Omega Fatty Acids:

• To serve as a building block (a structural molecule) for the outside membrane of all cells including the nerve cells in the brain.
• To produce chemicals which regulate the immune system and inflammatory processes.

It probably comes as no surprise that imbalances of these fatty acids can lead to neurological, immune, and inflammatory conditions.

Omega 3 & 6 Deficiencies and Mental Health

Omega 3 and/or 6 deficiencies are related not only to depression, but other mental health illnesses such as autism, Alzheimer’s disease, conduct disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, ADHD, as well as postnatal depression.

It’s been shown that omega 3 supplementation (and sometimes omega 6) can help in the treatment of depression, including bipolar depression.

What Next?

Over the next couple of weeks I’ll review a few studies on omega 3 supplementation and mental health. Then we’ll discuss optimal doses of omega 3 supplementation in depression in both adults and children. If you’d rather get started on omega 3 supplementation right away, click on the following link, download a copy of my book and break free from depression.

But What There’s More…

Omega 3 deficiencies are only one cause of depression. To help you find out about the other physical causes of depression I’ve written a report that discusses which ones may be the root cause of your depression. You can get a copy of it here.

That’s it for today, but I’ll be back with further helpful and life changing information soon.

All the best

Janelle
Dr Janelle Sinclair

Hi there,

Hopefully you all know by now, that there are many different physical causes of depression- including hormone imbalances, nutrient deficiencies, adverse reactions to food as well as toxins. If not- make sure you get a hold of my free report on the topic.

I must admit that not all of what I teach is accepted by the mainstream medical model. But I personally think that often they haven’t taken the time to read the research that is coming out.

More and More Evidence
Well today I want to show you that there’s more and more evidence coming out all the time to support the physical causes in depression.

Let’s look at a study from the Journal of Renal Nutrition.

One thing you may not be aware of is that a lot of patients that undergo dialysis (because of kidney failure) suffer from depression. One of the causes for this is that during the dialysis process many of the essential minerals get stripped out of there bodies- they end up with nutrient deficiencies.

The study below confirms again the key role of zinc for good mental health, and that a zinc deficiency can cause depression.

The Study
Association of Zinc Deficiency and Depression in the Patients With End-stage Renal Disease on Hemodialysis. Roozbeh J et al. J Ren Nutr. 2010 Nov 17.

INTRODUCTION: Depression is a common psychological symptom in patients undergoing chronic hemodialysis. In the general population, low serum zinc level is associated with major depression. The current study surveys the possible relationship between the prevalence of depression and plasma level of zinc in patients on hemodialysis (HD).

PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 135 patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) on HD were enrolled in the study. The severity of depression was assessed using Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Plasma zinc level was measured from fasting samples.

RESULTS: Mean age of the patients was 52.45 (standard deviation: 15.33) years. In all, 76% of the patients had some degree of depression according to BDI scoring system (BDI >14). The mean level of plasma zinc in the depressed patients was significantly lower than the rest of the patients (67.46 ± 29.7 vs. 85.26 + 40.05).

DISCUSSION: Zinc deficiency may be a reversible cause which might contribute to the increased rate of depression in HD patients. This is the first study reporting the association of zinc deficiency with the presence of depression in HD patients; therefore, these findings need further investigations.
Copyright © 2010 National Kidney Foundation, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

PMID: 21093288 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21093288

Dialysis isn’t the only cause for a zinc deficiency, and neither is a poor diet. My book outlines one of the major causes for a zinc deficiency in depression that often runs in families. If you’re wondering what doses of zinc you should take and how to monitor your levels of zinc- know that the book that I’ve written on the biochemical causes of depression covers all those details. If you want to know more about this book click here.