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Garum Armoricum®: “An Extraordinarily Useful Tool”:
A Doctor Reviews Garum Armoricum® for Depression, Anxiety, Cognition and Stamina

“I simply burst out laughing,” recalls Thomas Dorman, M.D., board-certified in internal medicine in both the U.S. and Canada, and author of the classic textbook for physicians on prolotherapy, Diagnosis and Injection Techniques in Orthopedic Medicine, of the afternoon when a friend told him of the mood-boosting properties of a supplement made from the fermented entrails of fish. “It was called Garum Armoricum®.” I said, “That is a funny story and of course that’s impossible.” Then Dr. Dorman tried the extract, felt much calmer, ran out of his supply, and forgot about it. “A lady who worked for me and who’d become a friend over the years said to me one day, “Dorman, what has happened to you? You were so nice to work with and now everything makes you angry.” I realized I’d stopped taking Garum, and I started taking it again. A few weeks later she said, “Dorman, welcome back, your temperament is sunny again.” Now, she had no idea I was taking Garum, at all. I’ve been taking it ever since and I often recommend it to anxious or mildly depressed patients. For those who are chronic worriers, it almost always works. It’s an extraordinarily useful tool, and I’d have no hesitation to recommend it to every practitioner from naturopaths to regular M.D.’s. My own son takes it. He operates a big production line at a factory and his colleagues report he is the coolest, calmest production line engineer they’ve ever had.”

Garum Armoricum® is an extract from a giant blue fish that can only be found in the ocean depths of the Armorican Peninsula in France, as deep as 3000 feet. These unusual fish have developed a unique metabolism well suited to the extreme and stressful conditions in which they live—a dark, cold, high-pressure, oxygen-depleted environment. This nutraceutical was originally discovered by the ancient Celts, thousands of years ago, to improve mood, energy and stamina. It was given to Roman soldiers before long marches into battle, and was also used by children, pregnant women and the elderly. Unlike benzodiazepine drugs, which have a dramatic, short-term, anxiolytic effect, Garum, is gentle and without any known side effects, and its nutritional constituents include proteins, antioxidant nutrients, omega-3 fatty acids, and micropeptides including hypothalamic-releasing factors and opioid peptides. It is a wonderful concentrated whole food supplement.

“I had a private practice physically very close to California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo,” recalls Dr. Dorman, “and was conducting a number of research projects in conjunction with the university. This particular branch requires that pre-med students complete a research project, and I was already guiding a number of groups of students in research on spinal and orthopedic medical issues. I was approached by students who wanted to do a study on nutrition, which coincided with my increasing interest in Garum.”

Dr. Dorman and researchers at California Polytechnic State University carried out a crossover, double-blind study on Garum that was published in 1995 in The Journal of Advancement in Medicine. The study looked at fifty four college students between the ages of 18 and 25 on the assumption that they are an excellent test group because of the anxiety associated with academic stress. Anxiety levels were measured by the Speilberger State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) test, and then the college students were randomly divided into two groups. Group one received three weeks of Garum followed by three weeks of placebo. Group two received three weeks of placebo followed by three weeks of Garum. Each three week treatment period was followed by a week long washout. Garum markedly reduced anxiety. However, as Dr. Dorman notes: “Garum works slowly, you build up to an effective level in about three weeks, and it takes several weeks to wash out. We learned that from our study. Our washout period was not long enough, so that the group who received Garum first continued to have lower anxiety even on the placebo, because of a slowly declining, residual effect of Garum.”

A second crossover, double-blind study followed, to test the effectiveness of Garum on weakness and fatigue-related depression and anxiety, as well as memory and cognitive performance. It was published in The Journal of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology in 1996. This study clearly demonstrated that Garum could enhance memory and mental clarity, as demonstrated by Wechsler’s Test of Memorization, and Rey’s Test. A positive impact on memory and cognition was particularly apparent in the 45-55 age group. Garum was also beneficial in chronic fatigue.

“My patients rave about it,” concludes Dr. Dorman. “Many of my patients come to me with a multitude of health issues, and naturally they worry about these issues. It’s not possible to turn them around and restore their health instantly. My strong clinical impression over the last twenty years is that Garum can help these chronically anxious individuals become people who are able to cope in a rational, calm way with their health issues. Where benzodiazepines have serious side effects, are addicting, and lead to significant withdrawal issues, Garum works better and serves as a useful, safe substitute. I have switched many patients off benzodiazepines successfully by tapering them slowly over six to eight weeks while they take Garum.”

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