19 October 2009
Amplifying antidepressant therapy with an omega-3 fatty acid supplement does not result in improvement in levels of depression in patients with coronary heart disease, a new study reports.
In the randomized controlled trial with 122 individuals with major depression and coronary heart disease (CHD) all patients were given 50 mg per day of an antidepressant (sertraline) and randomly received 2 grams per day of omega-3 fatty acids (930mg of eicosapentaenoic acid, EPA, and 750mg of docosahexaenoic acid, DHA) or placebo capsules for 10 weeks (1). The results of the trial showed that the placebo and omega-3 groups did not differ at 10 weeks in regard to measurements of depression or anxiety.
The authors reported that their findings are inconsistent with two previous studies that looked at depressed psychiatric patients who were otherwise medically well, and which indicated that augmentation with omega-3 fatty acids dramatically improved the efficacy of antidepressants. Whether higher doses of EPA, DHA, or sertraline, a longer duration of treatment, or the use of omega-3 as monotherapy can improve depression in patients with stable heart disease remains to be determined, concluded the authors.
Depression is a risk factor for CHD mortality and morbidity. Low dietary intake and low serum or red blood cell levels of omega-3 fatty acids have been associated with depression in patients with and without CHD. Two omega-3 fatty acids, (EPA and DHA) concentrate at synapses in the human brain and are essential for neuronal functioning.
2 September 2013
A new US study reports that infants who were fed formula enriched with long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids from birth to 12 months scored significantly better on several measures of intelligence.
23 March 2012
A new experiment using rodents and a study in postmenopausal women hypothesize that vitamin E supplements may be related to bone loss. Experts criticize that neither feeding rodents with extremely high doses of vitamin E nor measuring bone formation indirectly via a fault-prone marker in women would justify translating the findings into recommendations for supplement users.
1 October 2012
Vegetarian diets have been practiced since ancient times. The popularity of vegetarian diets in recent years has been fuelled by ethical considerations, health concerns, environmental issues, and reli-gious factors. The reason a person chooses to be vegetarian influences the pattern of foods they consume, from only eating plant foods to permitting dairy and/or egg products in the diet. When a vegetarian diet is appropriately planned, it can be nutritionally adequate for individuals through all stages of the life cycle and can promote health and lower the risk of major chronic diseases. Avoiding nutrient-dense meat or animal-based diets means paying close attention to the diet in order to ensure balanced nutrition and an adequate micronutrient intake.
