What are fish oil pills good for?

Fish oil is oil derived from the tissues of oily fish. It is recommended for a healthy diet because it contains the omega-3 fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), precursors to eicosanoids that reduce inflammation throughout the body. Fish do not actually produce omega-3 fatty acids, but instead accumulate them from either consuming microalgae that produce these fatty acids, as is the case with fish like herring and sardines, or, as is the case with fatty predatory fish, by eating prey fish that have accumulated omega-3 fatty acids from microalgae. Such fatty predatory fish like mackerel, lake trout, flounder, albacore tuna and salmon may be high in omega-3 fatty acids, but due to their position at the top of the food chain, these species can accumulate toxic substances (see biomagnification). For this reason, the FDA recommends limiting consumption of certain (predatory) fish species (e.g. albacore tuna, shark, and sWordfish) due to high levels of toxic contaminants such as Mercury, dioxin, PCBs and chlordane. More than 50 percent of the world fish oil production is fed to farmed salmon.

Over the years, fish oil has also sparked a lot of interest in the study treating clinical depression and especially, bipolar disorder. While there have been limited studies done on the subject, there have been notable trials that showed significant evidence to suggest that the omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil acted as a mood stabilizer, or at least, enhanced the benefit of SSRI medications. It is also interesting to note that the countries that indicated the highest intake of fish in their diets also correlated with the lowest rates of depression among citizens.