Balancing out our dietary intake of fatty acids can help in clinical depression and some kinds of inflammatory diseases according to a report published online in the journal, Psychosomatic Medicine.

The researchers say that Americans eat way to much omega-6 than they do omega-3 fatty acid. On average an American eats a 20-to-1 ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids. The researchers say that it should be more like 4-to-1 or even better a 2-to-1 ratio.

The Ohio State University researchers completed a long series of experiments to see if there are any relationships between psychological stress and immunity. They also added dietary questions to the studies to see how that would play a role in a person’s health.

British researchers say that a relatively small amount of omega-3 fatty acid can lower blood pressure. The King’s College team believes eating a non-fish based source of Omega-3 could also lower the risk of cardiovascular disease.

The omega-3 tested came from algae and not from fish. So what is the difference? Fish oil contains both Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) while algae omega-3 contains only DHA. Since there are vegetarians that do not eat fish, the researchers wanted to know if DHA alone could lower blood pressure.

A study by the Department of Ambulatory Care and Prevention of Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care found that women who gained excess weight during pregnancy had were four times more likely to have overweight children in early childhood than those who did not gain enough weight during pregnancy. The study was first published in the April issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

The study researched data collected from 1,044 mothers and their children in from Project Viva, which is a study of pregnant women and children located at the Department of Ambulatory Care and Prevention’s Obesity Prevention Program.

“Maternal weight gain during pregnancy is an important determinant of birth outcomes,” says lead author Emily Oken, MD, MPH, instructor in the Department of Ambulatory Care and Prevention. “These findings suggest that pregnancy weight gain can influence child health even after birth and may cause the obstetric community to rethink current guidelines.”