Since the days of antiquity, our ancestors routinely fasted, abstaining from eating food and sometimes even certain drinks for prolonged periods of time. Hippocrates (460 BC-370 BC) and Plato (428-348 BC) discuss fasting in ancient Greek writings. Paracelsus (1493 to 1541), a Swiss physician, alchemist, and astrologer, considered along with Hippocrates to be one the fathers of Western medicine believed, “Fasting is the greatest remedy—the physician within”.

What if in the treatment of depression, physicians quit relying on manipulating brain chemistry with drugs and focused instead on supporting brain chemistry? Based upon the results of a new study with fish oil supplementation conducted at the University of Pittsburgh, it seems that fewer college students would be depressed or need to be on antidepressant drugs.