A new study suggests a natural alternative to antipsychotic drug therapy for individuals at risk of developing psychotic disorders.

The study, appearing in the Archives of General Psychiatry,found that taking 12 weeks of fish oil supplements helped people at high risk of developing schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders lower their risk.

Researchers enrolled 81 teenagers believed to be at a high risk for developing psychotic disorders in the study. Half were assigned to take daily fish oil supplements and half took a placebo for a period of three months.

A year after entering the study, 28 percent more teens who took the placebo developed psychotic disorders than those who took the omega-3 fish oil capsules.

"Long-chain omega-3 fatty polyunsaturated fatty acids reduce the risk of progression to psychotic disorder and may offer a safe and efficacious strategy for indicated prevention in young people with subthreshold psychotic states," the study’s authors said.

The authors note that more research is needed to confirm whether fish oil supplements prove to be an effective preventative treatment for psychotic disorders. However, they say that the findings are encouraging since the supplements don’t pose the risk of any serious side effects like traditional drug therapies.