Flax & Heart Health

Omega-3 Revolution

Create and Maintain Balanced Health With Pure Omega-3 Oils

Flax and the Hostile Heart

There isn’t a person living today who won’t benefit from omega-3 fatty acids, a type of essential fatty acid found most abundantly in some kinds of seafood and flax. However, persons suffering from depression, alcoholism, attention deficit disorder, impulsive and violent behavior or emotional hostility can particularly benefit by bringing more omega-3 fatty acids into their diet. In some of the most amazing research done today, scientists have discovered that the type of fat one consumes is “inextricably linked with your state of mind.” (i)

Yes, beyond fluoxetine (Prozac), St. John’s wort or other synthetic or natural medicines, one will never truly overcome depression, violent behavior or other mood disorders without adequate intake of omega-3 fatty acids. It may be extraordinary to think but is truthful to say these essential fats may be as important as medical drugs or natural medicines when it comes to relieving mood disorders.

The brain is comprised of some 60 percent fat. However, this isn’t the kind of fat found in the area of the abdomen, thighs or buttocks. This is structural fat that forms three-dimensional cell membranes and governs cellular function. What’s more, the nerve cells of the brain are extremely rich in omega-3 fatty acids. In fact, the brain’s nerve cells contain five times more omega-3 fatty acids than red blood cells. However, the modern western diet is severely depleted in omega-3 fatty acids. Thus, the nerve cells of depressed or violent persons may be starved of this essential fat.

Doctors’ Information Center
Hold on, what are omega-3 fatty acids? Where do they come from? The omega-3 fatty acids are called essential fatty acids because they body cannot manufacture them on its own, but must be supplied them through the diet. The richest sources of omega-3 fatty acids are some types of seafood—particularly ocean salmon, trout and tuna—and flaxseed. There are different kinds of omega-3 fatty acids, and seafood and flax provide different types. Both are important to the diet. One type is not superior to the other. They are simply different.

Early Research Findings
Dr. Donald O. Rudin must be given credit for launching the early research into the impact of omega-3 fatty acids on mental health. The former director of the Department of Molecular Biology at Eastern Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute, Dr. Rudin began experimenting with flaxseed oil in the early 1980s, at which time he performed a clinical trial with 44 patients with various mental disorders. Providing from two to six tablespoons a day of flax, he found the results to be astounding. Within two hours of providing some patients the flax oil he observed that their “mood is improved and depression is lifted.” (ii)

One patient experienced dramatically improved moods. Dr. Rudin says, “Three days after starting on 6 tablespoons of [flaxseed oil] daily, she developed a marked sense of increased physical energy and unique exuberance.” This finding was replicated in varying degree among most of the patients. By six to eight weeks, most of them were sleeping better, more energetic and less anxious and depressed. Switching the patients to other types of fats (i.e., omega-6 fatty acids which are overly prevalent in the modern American diet) resulted in a return of their symptoms.

Are you presently taking cholesterol-lowering drugs? Consuming omega-3 fatty acid rich foods and supplementation with specific omega-3 fatty acid supplements may critically important for men and women who are on a class of cholesterol drugs called HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (also known as statins). These drugs indiscriminately lower blood lipids so rapidly that the brain appears to become starved of missing essential fatty acids. Some 15 percent of psychiatric drug reactions could be attributed to such drug reactions. (iii) Further clinical evidence incriminates cholesterol-lowering therapy and low cholesterol levels with increased risk for suicide. (iv, v) All of this may be attributed to depleted omega-3 fatty acids.

One’s cholesterol levels can be used to predict high or low levels of such essential fatty acids. Thus, cholesterol levels are indirect surrogate markers for lower levels of essential fatty acids and the feel-good neurotransmitter chemical, serotonin.

The 5-HIAA Connection
Here’s what we think is going on and why omega-3 fatty acids are so key to a healthy mood and outlook. Serotonin is a brain neurotransmitter that plays a key role in keeping people happy. High levels of serotonin are good because this is a feel-good chemical. Severely depressed patients, however, are known to have very low levels of a serotonin metabolite or breakdown product known as 5HIAA. It is now known that essential fatty acid levels in the body predict 5-HIAA levels (and probably, in turn, serotonin levels, too). (vi, vii)

Essential Fatty Acids for Almost Every Common Mood Disorder
Could it be that essential fatty acid levels play a role in almost all of our most common mood disorders? The evidence seems to say yes.

Depression Our first clue comes from epidemiological work that has found the lowest rates of depression worldwide seem to be correlated with the amount of fish consumed per capita. (viii) Of course, seafood is one of the prime sources of omega-3 fatty acids. It is also known that depressed patients have very low levels of a type of omega-3 fatty acid known as eicosapentaneoic acid in their plasma and red blood cells. Cutting edge research has also recently pinpointed marked depletions of omega-3 fatty acids in phospholipid membranes of red blood cells (which are thought to hold similar fatty acid concentrations as in nerve cell membranes). (ix, x, xi)

Postpartum Depression It is known that women have a some six fold increased risk for serious mood disorders following childbirth. This risk generally remains quite high for at least two years. (xii) Because breast feeding women are passing on their essential fatty acids to their newborns, it is quite common for researchers to observe depleted maternal omega-3 fatty acids.

Omega-3 fatty acids are essential to the normal brain development of the newborn, especially during the last three months of pregnancy when the brain of the unborn baby increases threefold, notes Artemis Simopolous, M.D., one of the world’s leading experts on omega-3 fatty acids and human health. If women neglect to take in enough such essential fatty acids, the unborn baby will rob the mother of these nutrients from her own brain tissues. Modern laboratory testing shows new mothers have only half the normal blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids. (xiii) Nursing mothers may have even lower levels of essential fatty acids, unless they supplement. No wonder, it used to be common practice for women to take cod liver oil during pregnancy! Scientists at the esteemed Mayo Clinic note, “The mental apparatus of the coming generation is developed in [the womb] and the time to begin supplementation is before conception. A normal brain cannot be made without an adequate supply of omega-3 fatty acids, and there may be no later opportunity to repair the effects of an omega-3 fatty acid deficiency once the nervous system is formed.” (xiv)

Impulsive, Violent Behavior There are many theories on the link between diet and the environment and antisocial behavior. Genetics and environmental poisoning with lead, manganese and other contaminants are two influences on violent behavior. However, studies indicate that essential fatty acids play an important role. One study found that violent criminals have much lower levels of a type of omega-3 fatty acids than persons without a history of violence. (xv) “A similar phenomenon has been observed in primates,” notes Dr. Simopolous. “Feeding male money monkeys a diet with a high ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids (33 to 1) has resulted in more slapping, grappling, pushing, and biting.” (xvi)

In yet another study, it show that normal people given omega-3 fatty acids can also reduce their hostility level as a result of the stresses of daily life, adds Dr. Simopolous. In this study, Japanese scientists gave either omega-3 fatty acids or placebo to college students. During examination week, students given the natural medicine exhibited much more measured goodwill compared to those students receiving the placebo who scored higher on tests designed to measure hostility. (xvii)

Finally, persons with a history of violent, impulsive behaviors and those with nonviolent behavior were studied for their levels of docosahexaenoic acid, a member of the omega-3 fatty acid family. Violent persons had significantly higher lifetime violence and hostility ratings and lower concentrations of 5-HIAA than nonviolent subjects, according to research from the Laboratory of Membrane Biochemistry and Biophysics, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Bethesda, Maryland. (xviii)

Heart Disease-Depression In past issues of The Doctors’ Prescription for Healthy Living, we have explored the connection between healthy blood pressure and flax capsules. Part of the answer as to why flax oil capsules are so excellent for immediately lowering blood pressure may be due to their ability to help people deal with daily stress. In one study, men with high blood pressure were given extremely tough math and verbal skill tests to perform with concomitant rises in blood pressure, but when the same men received four tablespoons of flax, the rise in their blood pressure was much smaller. These men also experienced reduced levels of triglyercides, total cholesterol, and low density lipoprotein cholesterol with increases in beneficial high density lipoprotein cholesterol. (xix)

It has also long been known that both depressed and hostile persons are far more likely to die of heart disease. There may be an underlying link between heart disease, depression and hostility that until recently escaped the world’s best medical sleuths. Some scientists speculate that depressed, hostile or self-destructive persons are less likely to regularly take their medications, or perhaps it is the overproduction of cortisol and other stress hormones which have a negative effect on circulatory health. Another explanation is an underlying deficiency of omega-3 fatty acids which is common to each of these conditions. (xx)

The Doctors’ Prescription
Clearly, the medical community needs to become more aware of the link between fat and mood—and the extreme value of omega-3 fatty acids in determining whether depressed persons or those who may be violent or subject to impulsive, self-destructive behavior will overcome the challenges which they face.

Increase your intake of omega-3 fatty acids, both from seafood and terrestrial sources. Consider taking fish oil capsules or, better yet, consuming fish particularly rich in these essential fatty acids two to three times weekly. Such sources include Pacific salmon, rainbow trout, tuna, sardines, and mackerel.

Supplement your diet with flax oil which provides a different set of omega-3 fatty acids than seafood. For convenience, consider taking flax oil capsules or utilizing flax in recipes. Purchase a copy of Flax for Life! by Jade Beutler (Progressive Health Publishing, 1996), one of the better flax recipe books now available. References
(i) Simopolous, A. The Omega Plan. New York: HarperCollins, 1998, pp. 86-98.

(ii) Rudin, D.O. & Felix, C. Omega-3 Oils. Honesdale, PA: Paragon Press, 1996, p. 216.

(iii) Buajordet, I., et al. “Statins—the pattern of adverse effects with emphasis on mental reactions. Data from a national and an international database.” Tidsskr Nor Laegeforen, 1997; 117: 3210-3213.

(iv) Muldoon M.F., et al. “Lowering cholesterol concentrations and mortality: A quantitative review of primary prevention trials.” BMJ, 1990; 301: 309-314.

(v) Golomb, B.A. “Cholesterol and violence: Is there a connection?” Ann Intern Med, 1998; 128: 478-487.

(vi) Hibbeln, J.R., et al. “Essential fatty acids predict metabolites of serotonin and dopamine in CSF among healthy controls, early and late onset alcoholics.” Biol Psychiatry, 1998; 44: 235-242.

(vii) Hibbeln, J.R., et al. “A replication study of violent and non-violent subjects: CSF metabolites of serotonin and dopamine are predicted by plasma essential fatty acids.” Biol Psychiatry, 1998; 44: 243-249.

(viii) Hibbeln, J.R. “Fish consumption and major depression.” Lancet, 1998; 351: 1213.

(ix) Mes, M., et al. “Fatty acid composition in major depression: Decreased omega-3 fractions in cholesteryl esters and increased C20:4 omega 6/C20:5 omega 3 ratio in cholesteryl esters and phospholipids.” J Affect Disord, 1996; 38: 35-46.

(x) Adams, P.B., et al. “Arachadonic acid to eicosapentaneoic acid ratio in blood correlates positively with clinical symptoms of depression.” Lipids, 1996; 31(suppl): S157-S161.

(xi) Edwards, R., et al. “Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in the diet and in the red blood cell membranes of depressed patients.” J Affect Disord, 1998; 48: 149-155.

(xii) Gitlin, M.J. & Pasnau, R.O. “Psychiatric syndromes linked to reproductive function in women: A review of current knowledge.” Am J Psychiatry, 1989; 146(11): 1413-1422.

(xiii) Holman, R.T., et al. “Deficiency of essential fatty acids and membrane fluidity during pregnancy and lactation.” Proc Natl Acad Sci, 1991; 88: 4835-4839.

xiv Holman, R.T., et al. “Deficiency of essential fatty acids and membrane fluidity during pregnancy and lactation.” Proc Natl Acad Sci, 1991; 88: 4835-4839.

(xv) Virkkunen, M.E., et al. “Plasma phospholipid essential fatty acids and prostaglandins in alcoholic, habitually violent, and impulsive offenders.” Biological Psychiatry, 1987; 22: 1087-1096.

(xvi) Kaplan, J.R., et al. “The effects of fat and cholesterol on social behavior in monkeys.” Psychosomatic Medicine, 1991; 53: 634-642.

(xvii) Hamazaki, T.S., et al. “The effect of docosahexaenoic acid on aggression in young adults.” J of Clinical Investigation, 1996; 97(4): 1129-1134.

(xviii) Hibbeln, J.R., et al. “A replication study of violent and non-violent subjects: CSF metabolites of serotonin and dopamine are predicted by plasma essential fatty acids.” Biol Psychiatry, 1998; 44: 243-249.

(xix) Singer, P. “Effects of dietary oleic, linoleic and alpha-linolenic acids on blood pressure, serum lipids, lipoproteins and the formation of eicosanoid precursors in patients with mild essential hypertension.” J of Human Hypertension, 1990; 4: 227-233.