DHA for the Human Body

After publishing last week’s post, I still rasa tak puas hati on this DHA matter. Could the study have just proven only for preggy moms & babies? Or could it also have had a similar result if a new study being conducted for the overall benefits of DHA to all age and gender?

So to get it out of my system, I decided to do some reading on DHA. Lemme share my findings.....

As we all know, DHA cannot be produced by our body on its own, we need to get DHA from our diet.

DHA is a major structural component of our retinal membranes, the nerves and the brain. Prior to the recent study being done on preggy ladies by the Women's and Children's Health Research Institute, Adelaide (Australia), studies have proven that fish oil helps the brain to repair damage by promoting neuronal growth and for the past decade of n−3 fatty acid research has procured some Western interest in n−3 fatty acids as being a legitimate 'brain food.'

DHA has also been promoted as having the properties of anti-cancer(the fatty acid kurangkan risk of tumor growth), avoiding cardiovascular disease (the good cholesterol in the fish oil flushes out the bad cholesterol), boost of immune function, reduces inflammation (e.g. headache, migraine, sakit sendi & sengal-sengal badan).

And in regards to DHA and pregnancy, once a study have been done on nearly 9,000 pregnant women, researchers found women who ate fish once a week during their first trimester had 3.6 times less risk of low birth weight and premature birth than those who ate no fish. Low consumption of fish was a strong risk factor for preterm delivery and low birth weight. However, there have been attempts by other groups of researcher to replicate the study and do a further discovery on this area, tapi many unsuccessful. Therefore, it is safe for me to say that it is a questionable recommendation for DHA to be promoted to preggy ladies as something that has important contribution to the growth of the unborn child.

Moreover, there are also risks related to the consumption of DHA supplement and among them are:

· Increased incidence of bleeding.

· Hemorrhagic stroke.

· Oxidation of omega-3 fatty acids forming biologically active oxidation products.

· Increased levels of low density lipoproteins (LDL) cholesterol or apoproteins associated with LDL cholesterol among diabetics and hyperlipidemics.

· Reduced glycemic control among diabetics.

· Heart health and cardiac risk (for people with existing condition).

These are the known or suspected risks of EPA and DHA n−3 fatty acids if consumed in excess of 3 grams per day.

So...... from the benefits and information I’ve listed here, many health institution and association recommends for us to eat fatty fish rich with DHA or to consume vegetable oils primarily flaxseed, soy, and canola (for the vegan/vegetarian) for at least twice a week, which is a better choice than taking supplements.

Tapi, sebabkan kita ni selalu tak makan a well balanced diet nor do we always consume food from the freshest ingredient, the capitalist world took the advantage to promote and market fish oil capsules as a safe source for DHA as the better option.

Now, do you agree with my findings on DHA?