New research demonstrating that fish oil may prevent psychosis in predisposed teens is promising.The study, published in the Archives of General Psychiatry, found that twelve weeks of supplementation with fish oil reduced the progression of full-blown psychosis by 22.6 percent for a year. So even though the subjects only took the supplement for 12 weeks, it seemed to offer some protection for at least a year. No psychiatric drugs have shown this same benefit. This research is so exciting that the scientists have already embarked on a larger study in hopes of finding out more about fish oil’s treatment of schizophrenia.

Although the scientists are not yet sure how the fish oil works in patients with schizophrenia, these individuals do tend to have low EFA levels. The subjects were given fish oil containing 1.2 grams of omega 3s, 700 milligrams of EPA and 480 milligrams of DHA.

Schizophrenia affects 1.4 million Americans, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Standard drugs used to treat this devastating illness are not very effective and come with many negative side effects.