Is your chia pet a hidden nutritional surprise?

Risperidone (Risperdal) is a common antipsychotic medication that was recently investigated for its influence on omega-3 fatty acid metabolism.

Rats were placed on two different diets, one containing alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) and one that was ALA-deficient. Then both groups were administered a dose of risperidone.

This research design was used because ALA can be converted to docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and the purpose of the study was to evaluate the influence of risperidone on this conversion.

In rats not fed ALA, there was a significant increase in tissue DHA in the presence of risperidone, suggesting that this medication helps to increase the conversion of ALA to DHA. When there was ALA in the diet, this was not observed, suggesting that when there is enough ALA available, there is no need for any augmentation of pre-existing mechanisms.

Some questions and comments:

1. This will be an interesting line of research to follow...to determine whether schizophrenia is related to nutritional imbalances and/or deficiencies, whether there might be different types of schizophrenia, some nutritionally instigated and aggravated, others not.

2. Seems that a dietary strategy of increased ALA isn't a bad idea if you struggle with schizophrenia.

3. At this point, it is NOT rational to assume that increasing dietary ALA will eliminate the need for antipsychotic medications.

4. At the same time, it doesn't make sense to use a prescription medication to correct a nutritionally-relevant problem.

If you balance the diet and focus on adequate ALA, the amount of medication you might actually need might decrease, therefore reducing the risk of metabolic side effects.

For those who are interested, foods that are good sources of ALA include: canola oil, whole soybeans, walnuts, salva (chia), ground flaxseeds, and flaxseed oil.

McNamara RK, Able JA, Jandacek R, Rider T, Tso P. Chronic risperidone treatment preferentially increases rat erythrocyte and prefrontal cortex omega-3 fatty acid composition: Evidence for augmented biosynthesis. Schizophr Res. 2009 Feb;107(2-3):150-7. Epub 2008 Nov 7.

There's something fishy about depression treatment...

Here's the study I've been looking for. There are plenty of studies showing the effectiveness of antidepressant medications. And there are plenty of studies showing the effectiveness of fish oil in treating depression. But no one had compared the two. Until now.

In Iran, researchers compared the separate relative effectiveness of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), one of the chemicals commonly referred to as fish oil, and fluoxetine (Prozac). What they found was that EPA was equally as effective as fluoxetine, in an 8 week trial, in reducing symptoms of depression. The most superior outcome was found in subjects who received both EPA and fluoxetine.

If you're wanting to try this at home, as always, discuss this with your physician. The risk of using fish oil in conjunction with antidepressants is almost always outweighed by the potential benefits--however, it is not advised that you discontinue any prescription medications you are on without consulting with the prescribing party.

A word about EPA. There is a lot of confusion about what it means to use fish oil. Most products available in the grocery store that are labeled as containing "omega-3 fatty acids" actually contain ALA, a great omega-3 but not the one that has been associated with improved mental health. If you're using omega-3 eggs, or vegan (marine algae-based) omega-3's, you're getting DHA, not EPA. That primarily comes from fish. Even though you will read that there are conversions to EPA from both ALA and DHA, the efficiency of these conversions is great and likely not enough to achieve results such as were seen in this study.

If your diet is high in pro-inflammatory oils (those "S" and "C" oils you see me routinely discuss in this blog), it will be harder to get effects described in this study. You're going to need to tweak your diet in order to get the most bang for your buck. And, realistically, that means you're going to have to get rid of most processed foods and salad dressings.

But, for those individuals motivated to make these changes, the results can be profound. I see it routinely in my private counseling. It is certainly my first recommended item of action when someone is trying to reduce the number of medications they are on.

Finally, for physicians who prescribe antidepressants, this study suggests that if you do so without strong nutritional guidance as well, you're not as helpful to your patients as you have the potential to be. It's not just about pills. Your patients did not become depressed because they were antidepressant-deficient!

Jazayeri S, Tehrani-Doost M, Keshavarz SA, Hosseini M, Djazayery A, Amini H, Jalali M, Peet M. Comparison of therapeutic effects of omega-3 fatty acid eicosapentaenoic acid and fluoxetine, separately and in combination, in major depressive disorder. Aust N Z J Psychiatry. 2008 Mar;42(3):192-8.