A Fine Kettle of Fluoxetine

"A FINE KETTLE OF FLUOXETINE" The source for the New York City water supply was recently tested for the occurrence for pharmaceutical and personal care products. As I talked about on my previous videos, many of the drugs we take are excreted in our urine and can end up polluting our water ways. What about New York City? Well they found trace amounts of drugs like Tylenol, Ibuprofen; stimulants like nicotine, caffeine; hormones like Estrone and testosterone; some antibiotics; barbiturate, ***. The levels they found were extremely low though, well under the New York safety standards. The concern is bio-accumulation. Does it build up in the flesh of fish swimming in it? Well, in a national study, the occurrence of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in fish they did find. For example, Prozac metabolites in fish fillets at levels higher than that found in the surrounding water. But before one considers eating fish to improve their mood...know that these drugs are mostly concentrated in the brains of fish. And a recent Harvard study looked at fish consumption and depression (The Harvard Nurses Study), and their findings do not support a protective effect of the long-chain omega-3s from fish on depression risk. Although they do support the hypothesis that higher ALA, the plant-based omega-3 found in flax seeds and walnuts, may reduce depression risk.