Fish oil may counter schizophrenia

PROTECTION IN A PILL? Widely available fish oil supplements may protect against psychosis, a small study suggests.  

Taking fish oil capsules for just three months can stave off psychosis for years, a small study suggests. If confirmed in larger studies, the results suggest that the common dietary supplement may actually prevent schizophrenia.R_SZATKOWSKI/SHUTTERSTOCK

Such enduring benefits would be extraordinary, if correct, says psychiatrist Jeffrey Lieberman of Columbia University Medical Center in New York City. “I don’t want to sound like a cynic or a skeptic, but it’s almost too good to be true.” Larger studies must confirm the results, he says. “I still want to see replication before I’m ready to say we have a new standard of care.”