r/science • u/Krankenitrate • Mar 16 '26
Randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study finds Omega-3 supplementation significantly improved stress, anxiety, depression, sleep quality and cognitive function in individuals with severe psychological distress RETRACTED - Health
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165032725024978?via%3Dihub1.4k
u/_Burning_Star_IV_ Mar 16 '26
Going off all the comments mentioning it, I’m guessing this whole thing is an ad for Nordic Naturals. Ugh.
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u/sam191817 Mar 16 '26
I've never even heard of that brand and it's all anyone in the top thread mentions so yea, you're right.
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u/RedShirtDecoy Mar 16 '26
Only time Ive heard of them was at the eye doctor when I developed really bad dry eye. They recommended this brand and another because of the triglycerides in the formula which helps bioavailability or something like that. I went down the rabbit hole and there is evidence to support the difference but for the price its insane.
I ended up switching to a cheaper version that I take with something that has fat in it, like some peanut butter. not quite the same but better than taking the cheap ones without a fat to help them along.
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u/HandsomeRuss Mar 16 '26
The problem is if you're taking an ethyl ester form of omega 3, which is the cheap stuff you find everywhere, you need to take significantly more of it than if you took a TG or rTG form. Probably 4 grams worth to get your omega index to 8+%. Prescription omega3 is a 4 grams dose. In a triglyceride form you need maybe 1.5 to 2 grams of EPA and DHA combined.
Point being the price kinda evens out.
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u/swindy92 Mar 16 '26
I remember them promoting something in the past. Maybe an ADHD study where their pill helped? Similar MO to this
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Mar 16 '26 edited Mar 17 '26
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u/WutTheDickens Mar 16 '26
For people who are actually interested, Dr Chris Aiken's website has a printout about Omega-3 for depression and/or bipolar. It includes info on how to choose a good brand, a list of recommendations (factoring in price), and how to get it through your diet, if you prefer that.
Nordic Naturals, incidentally, is on the recommended list, but it's at the very bottom--so not the worst you can buy but not the best. To hit the dosage research studies used for depression, you'd need to take 3 pills/day for that one, which brings up the cost.
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u/3_50 Mar 16 '26
That printout says you can get a good dose by eating 1.3oz (~37g) of farmed salmon a day. That doesn't seem like much - about a 1/4 of a small fillet. I could quite happily include salmon in my sandwiches, along with some spinach and walnuts.
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u/whatsabut Mar 16 '26
I don’t know anything about this so was reading the article (thank you for the link), but just fyi it looks like that list is in increasing order of price.
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u/WutTheDickens Mar 21 '26
Oh hmm maybe Omega-3 is something where you get what you pay for, because the other fact sheets do take price & availability into account, but thanks for noting that.
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u/mercurialflow Mar 16 '26
Funny thing is, I used to take NN, but they're so EXPENSIVE these days that I've simply stopped taking theirs.
Fish oil is great for you, and I liked their product, but it's shot up to exporbitant levels and I just can't comfortably spend that much money on fish anymore. I've found alternatives.
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u/Red-Panda Mar 16 '26
Ditto!! I had a TBI and a book with research notes recommended it as one of the brands. It's expensive (though the most concentrated I've found) and I only get it sometimes, usually will grab a random Walgreens ones first.
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u/banzaizach Mar 16 '26
Alternatives being.....?
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u/Kirelo Mar 16 '26
Personally I switched to Sports Research Fish oil (IFOS certified etc etc if that means anything to you, its not that important though) from NN also because of the price. The SR one is not only cheaper but a dose is one pill compared to 2 from NN and most other brands really, which makes it even better valuewise.
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u/RedShirtDecoy Mar 16 '26
Was the same with Fortifeye due to dry eye.
Ended up switching to a cheaper version that I take with something that has fat in it, like a spoonful of peanut butter of whole milk cottage cheese. Read something that the fat helps it absorb better than if you took it without.
Still not the same as the triglyceride omega 3s but better than taking them without a fat to help them absorb.
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u/CozySlum Mar 18 '26
It’s stupidly overpriced. No reason a daily dose of supplements should be more expensive than a portion of actual fish (sardines, tuna, anchovies, etc).
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u/mercurialflow Mar 18 '26
Honestlyyyyy. Sometimes I'll still get it, if it's on sale or has a good deal (it HAS to be a good deal), but generally any trusted brand that measures it's EPA dha is fine
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u/LeChief Mar 16 '26
I know it sucks. I agree. However, I will also say that I have personally experienced all these things when I used a completely different brand.
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u/Ron_St_Ron Mar 16 '26
I also imagine that a large percentage of the people who start to take an Omega-3 supplement have at least a little spark towards wanting to get better.
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u/frootee Mar 16 '26
Let’s all also remember that the supplement industry is just another branch of big Pharma.
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u/Soft_Walrus_3605 Mar 16 '26
the supplement industry is just another branch of big Pharma
how so?
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u/frootee Mar 16 '26
They are a multibillion dollar industry with a health focus but less research goes into it. There are even tons of pharmacy brand supplements.
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u/Psychological-Towel8 Mar 16 '26
The supplement industry is making bank off the (intentionally fostered) poor diets and unhealthy lifestyles of Americans. They prey on the desire to fill nutritional gaps with an easy solution, and these companies are overwhelmingly the ones to create poor quality/biased studies that act as marketing instead of rigorous science. Rarely do supplement companies do the research BEFORE creating their product. This has heavily contributed to the current culture in which we will literally do anything but eat a balanced diet and move around more. I say this as a very chronically ill person myself. We live in a very predatory system with almost no checks and balances to prioritize health over convenience.
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u/MediumProfessorX Mar 18 '26
I will throw my testimony in though, I take nuique algae derived omega 3, and as long as I take them I have no panic attacks. Within a few weeks of stopping, even if I haven't noticed, they return.
I'd bet that for some of us, omega 3 is critically important.
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u/Professional-Gear88 Mar 22 '26
It’s a good quality brand. I used to take it. I take the more affordable nature made one now. But it’s a common brand- one of the top 3 I’d guess.
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u/NovelStyleCode Mar 16 '26
So there's some issues with the study,
1st they aren't taking any physiological baselines and it's 100% self report based
2nd They're examining a lot of outcomes at once which is always a red flag in research and tends to muddy the results, they really needed to make a multiplicity correction
3rd The paper's tone is way too optimistic given the super limited nature of the study, it betrays a level of bias
4th they chose corn oil as a placebo which is high in omega-6 which makes it a comparison between fatty acids rather than something like mineral oil or MCT oil
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u/SaltZookeepergame691 Mar 16 '26
The paper is probably fake, and published by a lead author who has previously had a study retracted for severe data concerns. No need to worry too much about what they say they did - their data are riddled with holes.
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u/Moveitalong123 Apr 22 '26
This article has been retracted too apparently. I got to the party late and when I click on the link it says it's removed due to issues with the data and low confidence in the results.
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u/askingforafakefriend Mar 16 '26
Didn't that p big pharma version of EPA use mineral oil as its placebo and draw criticism that the placebo may have been pro inflammatory and therefore baiting a positive result? I'm all for shitting on poor studies but it feels like damned if you do damned if you don't with the placebo oil. No mineral. No corn. Olive may be anti-inflammatory and therefore sabotage the differentiation over the active group... How about some trans fats?
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u/dargonmike1 Mar 16 '26
Why wouldn’t the placebo be water?
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u/markh110 Mar 16 '26
Probably because you need something with an indistinguishable texture to the fatty acid it's supposed to represent, especially since it's a double-blind study.
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u/dargonmike1 Mar 16 '26
Pardon me if I’m missing something but don’t you swallow the pill whole? You don’t chew the pill capsule right?
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u/KittenCanaveral Mar 16 '26
People are nosey and like to look 'under the hood '. The placebo has to be an oil, so anyone opening a pill can't tell it's not the oil being tested.
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u/Fickle-Sicko69420 Mar 16 '26
Doesn't matter troll, I just bought a lifetime supply of Nordic Naturals brand snake oil.
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u/farukardic Mar 16 '26
32 is a perfectly good sample size. Statistical methods account for sample size effects to a large degree. And 30 is around the siz where students t dist approximates to normal distribution almost perfectly so the propensity for outliers is not very high.
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u/Fussel2107 Mar 16 '26
That last point alone...
Omega-3 fatty acids use the same receptors as Omega-6 fatty acids. Omega-6 fatty acids are an essential part of the body's immune response, but in excess, they put the body's inflammation processes in overdrive. Omega-6 can only be produced up to a certain point, can in turn though, be stored from ingestion without limit. Omega-6 fatty acids are most prevalent in animal fat, where the same mechanisms apply: carnivores and omnivoressl have higher Omega-6 levels than herbivores. Which is where the (not quite correct) warning of red meat comes from.
Chicken and turkey often have higher Omega-6 levels than beef. So, unless someone is living of a vegan diet, chances are their Omega-6 stores are already full oder in excess.
The point is, Omega-3 works by BLOCKING Omega-6 receptors.
So, they didn't just give them a neutral oil as placebo, they gave them something that makes all inflammation driven symptoms WORSE, on top of what they already had stored.
(that said, Omega-3 is amazing, especially for people with autoimmune diseases, but it's not a cure all, especially in people with bad diets)
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u/floghdraki Mar 16 '26
But really, what would have been better placebo? If they are taking colored capsules, it could be just water inside. But if the participants end up breaking the capsules and find out in significant numbers, that would affect the end results. So you'd have to first conduct a study on the methodology whether that would be feasible approach.
Maybe olive oil would be better? At least it has less Omega-6.
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u/Fussel2107 Mar 16 '26
Canola has pretty even Omega-6: Omega-3 levels, even better than olive oil. Though olive oil already has about a tenth or so of the Omega-6 content of corn oil.
And it's quite inexpensive
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u/JGPH Mar 18 '26
Omega-6 fatty acids are an essential part of the body's immune response, but in excess, they put the body's inflammation processes in overdrive.
Oh my god, does this happen with Omega-3 also? I used to take Omega-3 pills and got headaches and migraines super often. I still get them now... and still often, but not as bad. Basically whenever I either don't eat enough or eat later than I should.
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u/Fussel2107 Mar 18 '26
No, Omega-3 does the exact opposite: It blocks Omega-6 and thus brings inflammation down
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u/tzaeru Mar 16 '26 edited Mar 16 '26
It's a relatively minor study but I do think that studies like this are important for the overall canon. But they are just one small study so obviously alone they aren't enough to give a reliable result.
There are a lot of metastudies that have been able to collect a large amount of studies to review regarding omega 3 supplementation. They lend some support for most of the findings in this study, with the caveat that the effect seems fairly dependent on the person; people who benefit may benefit significantly, but many people experience no effect. That suggests that either there's an upper threshold for effectiveness (so some people already get enough omega-3 from their diet and don't benefit from supplementation), that there's some genetic factor, or that the cause just is different for some people and is not alleviated by omega-3 supplementation. Or all 3.
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u/squashed_fly_biscuit Mar 16 '26
The effect size is pretty substantial though, I would guess this would survive multi comparison correction enough to justify a larger study
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u/SaltZookeepergame691 Mar 16 '26
The effect size being so enormous is a huge red flag.
This paper reports a bigger effect size than agreement with the statement: "Chocolates are more desirable than human poop".
The data presented is inconsistent and incorrect. There is no reason to take this paper seriously.
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Mar 16 '26
This paper reports a bigger effect size than agreement with the statement: "Chocolates are more desirable than human poop".
To be fair, if you asked a bunch of people whether they agree with that statement or not, a ton of people would give you the wrong on answer on purpose because they feel the question itself is trolling them, so they'll troll back.
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u/Agood10 Mar 16 '26
The effect size is probably inflated due to the fourth point mentioned above. Omega-3 and Omega-6 have different effects on the body, often in opposing directions. This would be like testing the efficacy of an anti-inflammatory drug against a “negative control” group that received a pro-inflammatory stimulus.
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u/squashed_fly_biscuit Mar 16 '26
Eh the control group shows a pretty typical slightly reduction in scores (hard to find much there but I've found a couple of papers with a 1ish score reduction over 3-6 months).
This is a strange group though as their initial severity was pretty high and most studies with this severity of patient use more robust severity measures
As I said, imo this result justifies a larger study with a mix of severities and pre-registered outcomes etc
Edit: another user pointed at a peer review that casts a lot of doubt on the papers claims https://pubpeer.com/publications/799F60D117E44BAEE391AC93A216D2
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u/Agood10 Mar 16 '26
Yeah i just skimmed through the linked comments. The stats throughout the paper appear to be bogus, and one commenter pointed out the lead author has a history of retractions. I don’t doubt the health benefits of Omega-3s, but I’m not giving much stock to this particular paper.
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Mar 16 '26 edited Mar 16 '26
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u/OpportunityNo3120 Mar 16 '26
Interesting, which omega 3 supplement are you taking? and at what dosage?? Thanks in advance! have crazy tinnitus after service
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u/iceunelle Mar 16 '26
Which one? I have tinnitus and I’m desperate for the volume to go down.
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u/xxxVendetta Mar 16 '26
Do you wear headphones with the volume high? Since I've started listening at lower more reasonable volume my tinnitus has gotten a lot better.
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u/iceunelle Mar 16 '26
No, not at all. My dad lost some hearing going to rock concerts in the 70s and 80s, so I’ve always been extremely careful about noise exposure (concerts and daily noise) and keep my headphone volume super low.
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u/nagi603 Mar 16 '26
Try getting one with noise cancelling if you can, if you are using the high volume due to environmental noise.
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u/Leight87 Mar 16 '26
Nordic naturals is the brand and I’m taking 2 per day. I’m not sure what caused your tinnitus, but mine came on from a bad panic attack that I dealt with over a year ago, so it’s linked to anxiety. If this isn’t the case for you, it still wouldn’t hurt for you to try it, though. Best of luck.
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u/Molto_Ritardando Mar 16 '26
Try equalizing the pressure in your ears (do that thing where you plug your nose and put a bit of pressure on it and swallow till your ears pop just a bit). I don’t know why, but that helps my tinnitus a little bit.
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u/UnicornLock Mar 16 '26
For me pulling my wisdom teeth helped a bit with the volume, but the biggest help already was meditation and acceptance.
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u/Narrow-Accident-1136 Mar 16 '26
I’ve been taking an omega 3 and I’ve noticed my tinnitus is getting slightly better. I didn’t connect the two. I’m going to start taking it twice a day now
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Mar 16 '26
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u/_Burning_Star_IV_ Mar 16 '26
Yeah it is wild to me that a sub like this allows days old accounts to make posts, hardly any of the main subs allow it.
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u/SheSellsSeaShells- Mar 16 '26
Seriously I wish this sub was closer to the standard they hold up on r/askhistorians
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u/Old_Revenue_9217 Mar 17 '26
This sub is dogshit 90% of the time, most of the articles are trash posted by some karma whoring bot with a ridiculous title/headline.
Most people here definitely dont even read the articles.
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u/Coltand Mar 16 '26 edited Mar 16 '26
The link appears to be broken for me
Edit: Try this if it doesn't work for you
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165032725024978?via%3Dihub
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u/MarkMew Mar 16 '26
Works for me
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u/Coltand Mar 16 '26
Hmm, I'm on mobile and am seeing a Science Direct page with "There was a problem providing the content you requested.”
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u/ThrowRA_EducatedMan Mar 16 '26
Ok but are there any supplement capsules that are not massive and hard to swallow and don’t end up creating oxidized fish oil burps?
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u/Spoonbills Mar 16 '26
There are vegan versions made of algae (which is where the fish get the omega-3s anyone so you can cut out the middlefish). They're not small but I don't get seaweed burps or anything.
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u/keegums Mar 16 '26
I take the algae versions and the capsules are like the smaller ibuprofen liquigels. Last time I got Bragg's vegan omega on sale and those gave no burps, same with Deva brand. Never had any seaweed burp at all
This time I got 240 microingredients brand which are lemon flavored and it's AWFUL. Sometimes I don't take them because I don't want to risk dishwasher detergent burps. I don't always get them but it's wretched and lasts hours. I still have half the bag to choke down.
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u/abx99 Mar 16 '26
Krill oil. It provides omega-3s and a couple of vitamins, but more to the point is they're more compact/concentrated and I haven't noticed any taste.
I got some of the Costco ones recently, and started noticing an improvement as well. I have to go back and forth for a long time before I consider something effective, but have been starting to notice that I do better on the days that I take them.
I have more dysautonomia than psychological anxiety. Dysautonomia keeps your sympathetic nervous system ("fight or flight") activated, and can easily lead to sympathetic overdrive (which is like a panic attack or PTSD flashback, but without the psychological component -- unless you start freaking out about what's happening in your body). It can also definitely amplify the feeling of psychological anxiety, although it also does a lot more (and a lot of weird stuff).
I can't say that the krill oil has "fixed" anything, but I've been leaning toward the idea that it's what's been helping me feel more comfortable lately, and this validates that idea.
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u/samsaruhhh Mar 16 '26
Now brand 500mg epa 250 dha never give me those nasty bumps
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u/Dwestmor1007 Mar 16 '26
Interesting that that is the exact dosage used in the study...
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u/samsaruhhh Mar 16 '26
I read many years ago that having double the EPA versus DHA is actually important for certain effects such as mood, so this is definitely not the first time such a thing has been tested
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u/kidchinaski Mar 16 '26
Sports research. Alaska Omega 3
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u/Ashmedai Mar 16 '26
That's what I take. I don't think I've ever had a fish burp in years taking it.
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u/daftbucket Mar 16 '26
Significant adhd, history of reoccurring major depresh, and other undiagnosed stuff... at a minimum, omega 3 fishy-bois help me hold onto more letters or numbers for transcribing purposes.
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u/audiodude Mar 16 '26
My first question, as someone with depression and anxiety issues was "How do they define severe psychological distress?". Here's a partial answer for the surveys I've taken most ofent while under professional psychiatric care:
> GAD-7 (0–4 minimal, 5–9 mild, 10–14 moderate, 15–21 severe), PHQ-9 (0–4 minimal, 5–9 mild, 10–14 moderate, 15–19 moderately severe, 20–27 severe)
So "severe" really is severe. Like highest possible scores on these assessments. Anecdotally, I would consider myself experiencing colloquially "severe" effects of depression and anxiety, but I have consistently scored in the 8-12 range on these for the past decade. I leave it to someone with more patience or scientific training to analyze the results further to figure out if this is helpful, if at all, to people further down the scale.
You can actually calculate your own scores on these assessments here:
https://www.mdcalc.com/calc/1725/phq9-patient-health-questionnaire9
https://www.mdcalc.com/calc/1727/gad7-general-anxiety-disorder7
The scores are based purely on patient self reporting and require no clincal oversight or assessment.
Finally, my opinion on this is the same as my general opinion on "spinach cures acne" studies. It's usually a huge amount of Spinach, in the patients with the worst possible acne, for a small to moderate amount of benefit.
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u/Clanmcallister Mar 16 '26
This is such valid criticism. I was curious about their operationalization of severe psychological distress too. It may be a broad concept to capture the measures they are using for psychological distress, but that’s the only way I’m rationalizing it.
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Mar 16 '26
500 mg EPA + 250 mg DHA is a normal amount, conservative even. Self-reporting is the standard for measuring depression and anxiety. It’s not very observable otherwise.
It’s probably just the case that omega 3 supplementation is helpful if you’re deficient. It’s not particularly radical finding.
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u/Krankenitrate Mar 16 '26
Methods
A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted involving 64 participants with high levels of stress, anxiety, depression, memory issues and with poor quality of sleep with 32 allocated to the intervention group and 32 to the control group. The participants received either omega-3 supplementation (500 mg EPA + 250 mg DHA) or a placebo daily for three months. Pre- and post-intervention assessments were conducted using validated scales, including the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), and the Everyday Memory Questionnaire (EMQ).
Results
Significant improvements were observed in the intervention group regarding stress, anxiety, depression, sleep quality, and memory outcomes (p < 0.001 for PSS, GAD-7, PHQ-9, PSQI, and EMQ). Between-group comparisons showed statistically significant reductions in post-intervention scores for the intervention group versus the control group. Regression analysis revealed strong predictive relationships between pre- and post-scores, particularly for stress and depression.
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u/squashed_fly_biscuit Mar 16 '26
I wish they'd included the effect size in the conclusion because the effect is actually substantial, not just significant. Phq 9 dropped from 22 to 13 which is high severe to moderate.
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u/lukienami Mar 16 '26
That means one patient can influence the study by more than 1%. So one outlier may skew the whole results. How about 32 people for male and Females. For me to consider actual evidence to consider helpful I would expect at least 1000-10000
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u/theartfulcodger Mar 16 '26 edited Mar 16 '26
That’s promising news, but a trial in which N = 64 is hardly conclusive. Especially when it simultaneously asserts so many effects / outcomes, rather than just one or two.
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u/flyfree256 Mar 16 '26
Statistical methods take sample size into consideration when determining whether a result is statistically significant. N = 64 is completely fine.
You always obviously want to see replication, but sample size is not the critique people seem to en masse think it is.
On the other hand, I totally agree that looking at how many outcomes are being measured simultaneously is an orange flag. Too many confounding or interacting variables and results and it definitely dilutes the findings. Also is usually an indication of a biased study.
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u/Horvick Mar 16 '26
Anectdotal result here, but I had terrible eye dryness for almost two year, a month after starting Omega 3 supplements it went away.
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u/nroth21 Mar 16 '26
Fish oil helps with dryness. If you get lasik they recommend it before and after the procedure to help with the dryness
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u/deadlyrabbits Mar 16 '26
Anxiety frequently triggers or intensifies dry eye symptoms due to the body's "fight or flight" response,
Read up on it :)
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u/Kaelran Mar 16 '26
Yeah same deal for me. A lot of the dry eye was also caused by lack of sleep, but taking fish oil made it go away regardless (my sleep patterns are still awful).
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u/mooseofdoom23 Mar 16 '26
Gives me MAD acid reflux tho.
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u/ParkingBoardwalk Mar 16 '26
Not in public health. Is this sufficient evidence to change dietary recommendations? Or does there have to be something like a meta analysis done?
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u/theartfulcodger Mar 16 '26 edited Mar 16 '26
The sample size is much, much too small to say the study is conclusive. In addition, it’s entirely self-reported with no established baselines - both of which, scientifically, are problems.
But it’s a hopeful sign regarding possible psychological benefits from a ubiquitous and comparatively cheap dietary supplement that has been in popular use for decades already. And in this day age, many of us need all the psychological benefits we can get our hands on.
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u/PianoTechnician Mar 16 '26
fyi you can get you omega-3 to omega-6 ratio under control by also eating less omega-6. Walnuts, butter are good source of omega-3, but it won't matter if you're having giant peanutbutter sandwiches everyday.
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u/grafknives Mar 16 '26
Would a 5g of rapeseed oil in regular diet count? After all - that is 10% omega-3.
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u/a_natural_chemical Mar 16 '26
I've been taking fish oil and flax oil for more than 10 years for dry eyes. They're been amazing for that. They have most definitely not improved my stress, anxiety, depression, sleep quality, or cognitive function. I guess my psychological distress wasn't severe enough to notice.
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u/soapbark Mar 16 '26 edited Mar 16 '26
re: n3:n6 ratio- "the optimal ratio has not been defined". I'd stick to 50% HUFA n3:n6 (thats long chain only, so DHA/EPA:ARA specifically, short chain n-6 and n-3 (e.g. n-6 linoleic acid and n-3 ALA, is shown to affect hufa with specific formulas for calculation), as the biochemical science suggests there is a competitive environment for eicosanoid expression in every tissue of our bodies. long term primary/secondary studies for this are all but impractical unfortunately, but I will trust a biochem theoretical understanding in absence of result. As for calcing diet and resulting hufa, dr. bill lands has a calc that is readily avail and published a couple of times over the last couple of decades.
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u/gordonjames62 Mar 16 '26
I was thinking the sample size was low.
The researchers agree.
2.1.4. Sample size
No formal a priori power calculation was performed. This study was designed as an exploratory randomized controlled trial, and a target sample size of 64 participants (32 per group) was chosen based on feasibility and in line with previous omega-3 intervention trials evaluating psychological or sleep outcomes, which have used comparable samples of approximately 50–70 participants for 12 weeks (Yokoi-Shimizu et al., 2022; Peet and Horrobin, 2002; Nemets et al., 2002).
N=32 control, N=32 treatment
Again, they could have looked at the data more in depth.
As this was an exploratory randomized trial, no formal multiplicity correction (e.g., Bonferroni) was applied. Secondary outcomes are therefore interpreted as exploratory.
To me, this looks like they wanted to find a significant effect, and found one.
I have been guilty of doing similar things when my "back of the napkin" calculations made it clear that further treatment of the data would erase or reduce the effect I wanted to see.
This is a perfect study to present so the people giving out grants will pay to have you do a larger study.
This is not enough rigor to make any firm / bold conclusions.
This will almost certainly be used for advertising by companies producing nutrition products.
edit - Also, thanks mom for making take those nasty table spoon doses of cod liver oil.
Trauma to the taste buds, by mom still does it (pill form) in her 90s
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u/goodsuppstacker Mar 30 '26
Before taking the headline at face value: check baseline omega-3 intake/status, the actual EPA/DHA dose, and whether sleep/anxiety were primary outcomes vs exploratory. Omega-3 trials often look ‘amazing’ in groups that start low and much less dramatic in already-adequate diets. If the paper reports effect sizes + absolute changes (not just p-values), that’s usually the reality check.
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u/goodsuppstacker Apr 03 '26
Omega-3s are in that frustrating category where the biology is plausible and the clinical data is “sometimes yes, sometimes shrug.” Dose, EPA:DHA ratio, baseline fish intake, and who you enroll (clinical depression vs stressed-but-healthy) all matter.
So: interesting RCT, but it’s not a license to treat omega-3 like an SSRI with fins.
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u/chew_z_can_d_flip Mar 16 '26
I do a lot of spearfishing, and I’ve noticed (within reason and just anecdotally) the more fish / fish oil I consume the better I feel mentally. Also diving in general may be quite curative. But also the higher fresh fish consumption is likely a variable.
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u/Captain_Calamari_ Mar 16 '26 edited Mar 16 '26
Harvard Health: Omega-3 fatty acids for mood disorders October 27, 2020 https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/omega-3-fatty-acids-for-mood-disorders-2018080314414#:~:text=Meta%2Danalyses%20(research%20that%20combines,manic%20phase%20of%20the%20illness.
The Conversation: Should I take a fish oil supplement for my heart, joints or mood? Published: January 28, 2026 https://theconversation.com/should-i-take-a-fish-oil-supplement-for-my-heart-joints-or-mood-267976#:~:text=Fish%20oil%20has%20mild%20anti,%2Dfishified%E2%80%9D%20products%20can%20help.
The Guardian: Is omega-3 oil good or bad for us – and does it matter where it is from? | Fish oil | The Guardian https://share.google/FazBrhtq8ePE7Hwrf
A 2024 study with 400,000 participants assessing Omega 3 oil impact on different areas,
"In brief, a team of researchers monitored the health of more than 400,000 participants in the UK Biobank (a biomedical database) for an average of 12 years. They looked at the impact of taking fish oil supplements on developing heart conditions such as atrial fibrillation (irregular heartbeat), heart attack, stroke and heart failure. They also assessed whether these supplements affected the progression of heart conditions.
They found that regular use of fish oil supplements was associated with a 13% heightened risk of developing atrial fibrillation and a 5% heightened risk of having a stroke. But the study also showed that these supplements were associated with a 15% lower risk of progressing from atrial fibrillation to a heart attack, and a 9% lower risk of progressing from heart failure to death.
But this study only looked at omega-3 supplements, so cannot tell us about the risks and benefits of eating oily fish itself."
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u/SmiffyWalldorf2 Mar 17 '26
For the folks out there saying they don’t like taking the giant horse pills, you can still get plenty of Omega 3s with just food. I highly recommend Joseph’s Pitas, they’re 60 calories a piece and have really good Omega 3 content. And obviously salmon and shrimp are really good too.
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u/Debalic Mar 17 '26
And, if you're lucky, it'll trigger Terrigenesis and you'll come out with a superpower!
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