9.6g fish oil/day for 4 months
A double-blind study found that 9.6 grams of fish oil per day for 4 months greatly reduced bipolar depression symptoms compared to an olive oil control group.
Snapshot · Huberman Lab
Essentials: The Science & Treatment of Bipolar Disorder
Explore episode
Jul 16, 2026
Where this was said
Tool: Inositol & Omega-3 Fatty Acids, Fish Oil Study
At 26:08 · chapter starts 26:05
Huberman digs into the two most-discussed supplements for bipolar disorder: inositol and omega-3 fatty acids. He offers a personal data point — he takes 900mg of myoinositol every third night for sleep and daytime anxiety relief, though he does not have bipolar disorder. For omega-3s, the key study is a double-blind trial of 30 subjects aged 18 to 64 who took 9.6 grams of fish oil daily for 4 months; the fish oil group showed dramatically reduced bipolar depression symptoms compared to the olive oil control. Huberman acknowledges the small sample size but calls the effect size striking enough to take seriously. The bottom line: high-dose omega-3 supplementation appears to be a genuinely useful adjunct, but the scale of dosing — nearly 10 grams a day — is substantial, and it must be combined with, not substituted for, pharmaceutical treatment.
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