Identification

• Fish oil is an oil that is extracted from fish during processing, and offered in either capsule or liquid form. According to MayoClinic.com, fish oil contains docosahexaenoic acid, or DHA, and eicosapentaenoic acid, or EPA, which are known as omega-3 fatty acids. These acids have been shown in studies to lower cholesterol and blood pressure and help reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke.
  
  The University of Maryland Medical Center reports that DHA and EPA used in combination with mood stabilizing medicines help to reduce the occurrence of both depressive and manic swings in mood in a study group of people with bipolar disorder.
  
  

How Fish Oil Helps Bipolar Disorder

• While the exact mechanism of how fish oil helps to reduce the symptoms of bipolar is not known, Hyla Cass, M.D. notes that fish oil helps to balance the delicate biochemical make up of the brain and nervous system, which has a large concentration of fatty acids, and that DHA and EPA are helpful in maintaining normal brain functioning.
  
  

Other Health Benefits

• Besides using fish oil as one of your treatments for bipolar, you can reap other healthful benefits from fish oil. Heart disease, arthritis, asthma, hardening of the arteries, some cancers, Crohn's disease, dementia and menstrual problems are all conditions that can benefit from fish oil either by reducing risk or improvement of the condition.
  
  

Talk to Your Doctor

• Even with growing evidence that fish oil can help reduce your bipolar symptoms, you should discuss using fish oil for bipolar with your mental health professional or doctor. While fish oil can be generally helpful, there is a risk of problems such as interactions with some medications, a blood-thinning effect, and the inadvertent consumption of contaminants such as mercury.
  
  

Sources of Omega-3 Oils

• The only direct source of omega-3 fatty acids for bipolar is fish oil. However, there are vegetable sources of alpha-linolenic acid, or ALA, which your body can partially convert to both DHA and EPA.
  
  To get the omega-3 fatty acids you need to help with your bipolar symptoms, you will want to consider eating fish that are high in these acids such as salmon, anchovies and bluefin tuna; taking a fish oil supplement; and eating other foods that your body can use to create DHA and EPA, such as flaxseed oil, beans, nuts and seeds, winter squash, spinach and broccoli.