|
To
trace mental health and depression to any single factor would be
to miss the wood for the trees. Without necessarily disputing the
accuracy of the discovery, it may be said that the scientists have
tried only to establish a link between depression and saturated
fat. Nowhere does the excerpt say that increased consumption of
omega-3 fatty acids is a guarantee against depression.
Agreed that our ancestors, who ate less saturated fat and more polyunsaturated
fat, including omega-3 fatty acids, were much less likely to suffer
from depression than those of the present generation are. But our
ancestors enjoyed certain other advantages not available to the
modern American.
For instance, external factors and influences induce depression
as surely as, and much faster than, the kind of food one eats does.
For instance, an unemployed person cannot be saved from bouts of
depression just through being fed more polyunsaturated fat, including
omega-3 fatty acids.
The food one eats certainly influences one's mood, but so do several
external factors. During the time of our ancestors there was little
atmospheric pollution that is a very potent source of depression
today. Besides, the population was infinitely smaller than it now
is, and that helped greater social interaction than is possible
at present when the world has more people than it can accommodate.
The latter fact is a definite source of depression induced by uncertainty
about food, clothing and shelter, among other necessities of life.
When there are 100 aspirants for one job, depression is bound to
set in even if all of them have consumed less saturated fat. Besides,
with the proliferation of population familial responsibilities and
worries have multiplied, and that is the surest recipe imaginable
for bouts of depression. It is true that the Japanese and the Taiwanese
consume large quantities of fish. But even they would be rash to
attribute lower rates of depression to that one factor. The lifestyle,
the social milieu and the ethos of a people combine to insure that
fewer people are depressed at fewer times than mere consumption
of less saturated fat.
The Japanese, for instance, are too neurotically preoccupied with
work and profits to have time to feel depressed. But even among
them, those who fail to make the grade, those who are not the best,
are overcome by depression and commit hara-kiri. Consumption of
large quantities of fish does not come in their way.
Therefore, while increased consumption of fish, omega-3 fatty acids
and less saturated fat might help physical health and mental hygiene,
that alone cannot claim all the credit for lower rates of depression,
if not for its disappearance.
|
