The Omega-3 Way to Better Mental Health

Certainly the entire blame is not on physicians, as many patients are seeking a simple band-aid cure. They do not want to do the hard work that their body is screaming for them to do and address the underlying emotional circuit disruption and diet changes that would improve their condition.

Others are not even aware that these effective options exist, as the media does not widely support them -- and the drug companies, and their control of virtually the entire medical system, certainly doesn't want the competition.

What they don't want you to know is that depression, and many other diseases, can be beaten naturally and safely by eating the right foods containing omega-3 fats.

Dr. Stoll is a Harvard psychiatrist who has done a great job of compiling the evidence supporting the use of fish oils for depression. His book, The Omega-3 Connection, is an excellent resource for those that need more detailed information on this topic.

Unfortunately, the ideal source of omega-3 -- fish -- is typically not a safe solution because nearly all of them contain high levels of mercury and PCBs.

Until now, I've generally recommended using a high-quality fish or cod liver oil instead.

However, since this is such a vital piece of the Total Health Program, I have carefully been researching this area for the last year and have come up with some surprising solutions. There is actually a type of fish oil that has more benefits than traditional fish oil.

My personal intake of fish oil this year has been krill oil. Krill oil is not only  full of the beneficial omega-3s, but also:

• Is more stable than fish oil
• Krill are at the bottom of the food chain and have virtually no time to grow and acquire toxic heavy metals, but even if they didn't they grow in some of the cleanest waters in the world, in the Antartic
• The omega-3 fats have a phosphate attached, which allow it to work far more effectively in your brain
• They are packed with cancer-preventing antioxidants as well

Just as with fish and cod liver oil, you have to be very careful about the krill oil you choose, as some brands are impure or diluted. 

However, krill oil is a type of fish oil and as such has very little vitamin D, so if you are not getting enough sun exposure you will want to continue with cod liver oil. Vitamin D is such a critical element of health that it easily makes cod liver oil your best choice of omega-3 fats if you aren't getting enough sun.

As of this year I am officially a snowbird. I escape the Chicago winters and have full access to daily sunshine and ocean water, which is why I personally switched over to krill oil earlier this year.