In a recent study from the American Journal of Nutrition, taking 1500 mg of fish oil (specifically, 500 mg of EPA three times/day) slightly helped peri-menopausal women with their depression. Now, it didn’t rock anyone’s world, but fish oil is so helpful for so many concerns that women may find improvement with distressed feelings while taking it for overall health balance.
When taking a fish oil, make sure that it doesn’t have a lot of filler oil, such as soybean oil. You want a reputable brand that tests its fish oil for toxins, mercury, pesticides and herbicides. If you bite into the capsule and it tastes/smells overwhelmingly fishy, you have a problem bottle. Yes, it is fish oil, but the reputable companies have their oil so screened and cleaned that it’s not repugnant.
Don’t leave your fish oil in the heat. Because it’s oil, heat can cause the oil to become rancid, making it taste and smell bad. Also, don’t buy your fish oil from a discount store or overstock store. Yes, it’s cheaper, but you may be swallowing rancid, dirty oil. Who knows how long that bottle has been sitting on shelves?
When reading the label, make sure you’re swallowing 300 mg to 500 mg of EPA per capsule. Don’t buy 1000 mg capsules of ‘fish oil’ with only 120 mg of the good stuff inside. What makes up the other 860 mg?
Lastly, eat the fish that make up fish oil! Go for wild-caught salmon or anchovies on a regular basis.