DHA supplements are making good news a lot lately. If you haven’t heard of DHA, surely you’ve heard of omega-3 efas. In general, there’s two types of fatty acids inside our bodies, omega-3 and omega-6. We obtain plenty of omega-6’s inside our diets. But not omega-3’s. With industrialized farming methods, as well as with how our bodies naturally lose omega-3’s as we age, it becomes clear that we really need to supplement our intake of omega-3’s, especially of DHA, to maximize our longevity and optimize our health and wellbeing. Let’s take a review of what DHA, or docosahexaenoic acid, does within our bodies, including the benefits we get from it.
One of the more important functions of DHA in our bodies is that it promotes brain health and even brain growth. This is one reason why pregnant mother’s are often given supplements with DHA. (Ask a medical expert, first!) Also, this is the reason why lack of DHA in the body continues to be positively linked to an increased chance of getting Alzheimer’s disease. As well as helping our brains function and grow, DHA aids in the bond between our brains and our bodies. This is called “psychomotor function”, and the healthy development of this is especially essential in small children. Another issue with DHA is the fact that the lack of it has been linked to ADHD and also to academic performance in kids at school.
Scientists and doctors aren’t sure why there is this link between DHA and good thinking processes. One thought is the fact that DHA actually helps reduce inflammation in the body. Inflammation is perceived as one of the big keys in both cancer and heart disease, as well as in many other age-related diseases. Indeed, inflammation is thought to be one of the processes that age us to start with.
Part of the issue is the fact that as we age, our bodies create free radicals. DHA is thought to reduce the instances of free radicals inside our bodies. This results in fewer instances of cancer and in addition heart problems as well as high blood pressure levels and stroke.
Along with all of these benefits, DHA seems to promote the chemicals inside our brains which make us feel good–serotonin, for instance–and also the other chemicals inside our brains that affect memory. Although there’s still a lot more to learn about DHA in the body, it’s pretty clear you need to probably be considering some form of DHA supplementation.
Lee Cole is an enthusiastic health and exercise enthusiast! To find out more about DHA supplements, take a look at Lee’s website, DHA Supplements Guide.