Findings of a new study have revealed that young people at high risk of developing schizophrenia were found to have reduced risk after getting fish oil supplementation. Researchers found that as long as seven years after getting a 12-week course of Omega-3 fatty acid supplements, the risk of the mental disease was lesser than those who did not get it and went on to develop full-blown psychosis.

It’s the first time when a research has showed the potential of fish oil in preventing severe psychiatric disease. The study helped understand that the effects of a brief regimen of fish capsules were long lasting in young adults who had vulnerable mental health.

Findings of the study have been published in Nature Communications, adding to the belief that fish oil could serve the purpose of a powerful psychiatric therapy. Fatty fish such as salmon and mackerel contain Omega-3 fatty acids in abundance. However, it is also available in fish oil capsules.

Omega-3 fatty acids improve the effectiveness of antidepressants, and help improve attention both in those with ADHD and those without attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Fish oil supplementation improves working memory performance as well in the young and cognitively healthy.

For the new study, researchers turned their focus on to a population of young people who are uniquely vulnerable to developing severe mental illness.

The authors wrote, “The findings offer hope there may be alternatives to psychopharmacological treatment as early interventions in young people at risk for psychosis”.

The research has helped understand that fish oil supplementation plays a role in boosting brain cell regeneration and gives rise to key neurotransmitters linked to mental well-being.