As it turns out, social isolation affects the activation of our serotonergic pathways—but omega-3 fatty acids (specifically EPA and DHA) and vitamin D both have an important role in the actions of these pathways and are thus, critical nutrients for everyone but especially people who are dealing with loneliness.
According to a 2015 review published by the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, vitamin D, EPA, and DHA all help modulate the synthesis, release, and function of serotonin. To ensure optimal production and use of serotonin, maintaining healthy levels of both vitamin D and marine omega-3s is vital. That requires intention.
If you’re feeling lonely (and even if you’re not!), you’ll definitely want to prioritize this trio of nutrients daily and get both your vitamin D and omega-3 levels checked to ensure your brain has all the nutrients it needs to support your mood and mental well-being. Over time, loneliness can lead to memory difficulties and other cognitive health concerns.
For example, loneliness can affect episodic memory, which is a person’s ability to recall details of a specific event. Luckily, evidence from the Cureus review demonstrates that supplementing with an omega-3 supplement can help you proactively support your cognitive health and longevity (and spoiler alert: Science has also clearly shown these important brain benefits for the all-essential vitamin D, too).*
