Can fish oil actually be bad for you? I know you’ve probably heard it a thousand times to take your fish oil capsules and eat fatty fish twice a week. But here’s the dark secret: Fish oil might me making you anxious and ruin your sleep.
Have you experienced depression, anxiety, reduced sex drive, insomnia, and a general feeling of unhappiness ever since you started taking omega-3 fish oil?
And here’s why:
Omega-3 fish oil can cause depression, anxiety, reduced sex drive, and insomnia due to the cholinergic system:
- Research has shown that dietary fish oil increases acetylcholine levels in the brain
- If your brain’s acetylcholine are too high, depression and anxiety tend to set in according to new research, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
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Many People Are Experiencing Depression, Anxiety, Brain Fog, Reduced Sex Drive, and Sleeping Problems Because of Omega-3 Fish Oil
Internet forums are rife with people stating that fish oil is giving them depression, anxiety, and insomnia. Oftentimes very severe. For a lot of people fish oil is very bad for them and they experience intense negative effects.
On Reddit, for example, user u/[deleted] writes:
“I was taking fish oil every morning. I would spend the days depressed, anxious, worried, and very fatigued. I had less control over my motor functions as though I was high, and had trouble with just about everything. Including thinking.” Source: u/[deleted] on reddit
Clearly, omega-3 fish oil was causing him or her depression, anxiety, and fatigue. Also, brain fog, which resulted in him or her having trouble thinking clearly.
Another use, Lucaswarrior19, responds:
“I feel the same whenever I take it, it kills my sex drive and my sleep. […]” Source Lucaswarrior19 on reddit
There are countless other posts on internet forums of people experiencing extremely negative effects because of omega-3 fish oil intake. Their problems tend to be:
- reduced sex drive and erectile dysfunction
- intense insomnia
- brain fog
- depression
- anxiety
- strong feelings of unhappiness
My Personal Experience With Too High Omega-3 Fatty Acid Consumption
I’m writing this article because I, too, experienced quite intense, negative effects whenever I consumed omega-3 fish oil or ate too much fatty fish.
(The problem was that fish oil, as well as fatty fish, is touted as such an incredible health food. And it can be IF your acetylcholine levels are low and you need to raise them via fatty fish or fish oil. As a result, my intake was quite high as in 10g of fish oil per day.)
I experienced anhedonia, meaning things in life that usually bring me joy didn’t make me happy anymore.
I experienced constant, never-ending worrying. It seemed like my mind would just not quiet down. And the constant stream of thoughts was not of a positive nature, generally.
I experienced sleeping problems. I could not fall asleep, and my mind was racing. It seemed like my mind was going at 200 miles per hour.
I lost my drive and motivation to achieve things.
I experienced feelings of hopelessness and depression.
I felt like a completely different person.
Why Do Some People Feel Good on Omega-3 Fish Oil and Other People Horrible?
The reason why some people may feel great taking omega-3 fish oil and yet other people feel depressed and anxious has to do with their brain’s levels of acetylcholine.
Certain foods such as eggs, organ meat, soybeans, beef, chicken, pork, and fish contain high amounts of choline. If your diet is high in these foods your brain’s levels of acetylcholine may already be quite high.
Taking omega-3 fish oil will cause the acetylcholine levels in your brain to be much too high, thereby causing a host of negative effects such as depression, anxiety, insomnia, brain fog, and sexual dysfunction.
My diet is very somewhat high in meat, about 1 lb. every day, and I try to eat plenty of organ meats, mainly liver and heart. My brain’s choline levels are therefore already quite high.
As a result, I can’t consume omega-3 fish oil and only eat fatty fish quite sparingly without experiencing reduced motivation and anhedonia.
Who Can Benefit From Omega-3 Fish Oil?
People whose diets are very low in meat, eggs, and animal products on the other hand may benefit from taking omega-3 fatty acids and eating fatty fish.
So, if you feel like this describes you, taking an omega-3 fish oil supplement may actually be quite beneficial for you.
Krill-Oil Is the Best Form of Omega-3
Scientific research has shown that krill oil is the superior form of omega-3 fatty acids.
The best quality Krill-Oil seems to be *Antarctic Krill Oil. Highly nutritious microalgae from the Antarctic Ocean lead to a superior profile of phospholipids in the krill which helps the body integrate the omega-3 acids into the cell membrane.
So, if your diet is not very high in meat, organ meats, and eggs, krill oil may be highly beneficial for you.
I recommend, just testing it out and seeing for yourself. If you experience any negative effects, you know that your acetylcholine levels in your brain are most likely too high, and you stop the consumption of fish oil, fatty fish, and eggs.
If, on the other hand, the krill oil* improves your mood, your memory, and greatly reduces feelings of depression, then you know that your brain’s acetylcholine levels were too low.
*Disclosure: The links are affiliate-links, which means when you make a purchase through the links, I earn a commission. The prices for you do not change, of course, and all the links that I post I endorse 100% and I’m a huge fan of their product. I would never endorse something that isn’t truly awesome and that I don’t or wouldn’t use myself. Thank you for supporting my work, friend.