DHA supplements are making the news a lot lately. If you haven’t discovered DHA, surely you’ve read about omega-3 essential fatty acids. In general, there’s 2 types of fatty acids in our bodies, omega-3 and omega-6. We obtain lots of omega-6’s within our diets. But not omega-3’s. With industrialized farming methods, and in addition with how our bodies naturally lose omega-3’s as we age, it becomes clear that we should really supplement our intake of omega-3’s, especially of DHA, to maximize our longevity and optimize our health. Let’s take a look at what DHA, or docosahexaenoic acid, does inside our bodies, including the benefits we get from it.
Probably the most important functions of DHA within our bodies is that it promotes brain health and even brain growth. This is one reason why pregnant mother’s in many cases are given supplements with DHA. (Ask your doctor, first!) Also, this is the reason that lack of DHA in the body has become positively linked to an even greater chance of getting Alzheimer’s disease. Besides helping our brains function and grow, DHA aids in the connection between our brains and our bodies. This is known as “psychomotor function”, and the healthy development of this is especially essential in small children. Another issue with DHA is that the lack of it continues to be linked to ADHD as well as to academic performance in kids at school.
Scientists and doctors aren’t sure why there is this link between DHA and good brain function. One thought is that DHA helps reduce inflammation in the body. Inflammation is thought to be one of the big keys in both cancer and heart disease, as well as in many other age related diseases. Indeed, inflammation is considered to be one of the processes that age us in the first place.
Part of the issue is the fact that as our bodies age, our bodies create ” free radicals “. DHA is thought to reduce the cases of free radicals inside our bodies. This results in a fewer cases of cancer and in addition coronary disease as well as high blood pressure levels and stroke.
In addition to all of these benefits, DHA also seems to promote the chemicals in our brains that 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 understand about DHA in the body, it’s pretty clear you should probably be considering some sort of DHA supplementation.
Lee Cole is an eager health and exercise enthusiast! To learn more about DHA supplements, take a look at Lee’s website, DHA Supplements Guide.