French Psychiatrist Promotes Fatty Acids For Depression Care

Some scientific evidence suggests that omega-three fatty acids can counter depression and perhaps bipolar disorder (Psychiatric News, August 3, 2001; January 16). But in France, interest in the omega-three fatty acids is extending far beyond the scientific lab.

French psychiatrist David Servan-Schreiber, M.D., has written a best-selling book called Guérir—le stress, l’anxiété, et la dépression sans médicaments ni psychanalyse ( To Heal—Stress, Anxiety, and Depression Without Medication and Without Psychoanalysis).

In this book, he touts the omega-three fatty acids as a natural treatment for depression. So far, the book has sold some 380,000 copies and has prompted a number of French people to buy omega-three fatty acids, according to a February 18 French television report.

Servan-Schreiber is quoted as saying on a University of Laval, Quebec, Web site: “Antidepressants are a great discovery, and they are very useful in certain cases. My book is against nothing. It is for research into efficacious natural methods and for their integration into the practice of medicine.” ▪