DHA history
We are all familiar with DHA. People always say don’t forget to take more DHA to the pregnant woman and baby.
Most of us believe taking a DHA supplement can make a baby smarter.
Even DHA is not the only ingredients for baby’s brain development, China’s authoritative journal of pediatrics – “Clinical Pediatrics” has listed eight major nutrients necessary for children’s brain development, namely protein, taurine, fatty acid, iron, zinc, iodine, selenium, and B vitamins.
Protein, iron, iodine, selenium, and B vitamins are relatively easy to obtain in our diet. Taurine, fatty acids, and zinc are relatively ingested relatively. (Of course, our body needs more unsaturated fatty acids, including DHA, ARA, etc.).
What is DHA?
Docosahexaenoic acid or DHA, popular known as Brian Gold, is one of the most essential members in Omega-3 fatty acid family.
Like other Omega-3 members, DHA plays vital roles in our body. Mostly works on Nervous system cells growth and maintenance.
DHA is an important component in your brain and retina. Up to 20% in the human cerebral cortex, and the largest compound in the retina of the eye, around 50%.
So DHA is pretty essential in Infant Intelligence and Vision development.
Omega 3 family
Omega 3 fatty acid is a class of unsaturated fatty acids. A type of fatty acid.
The three most crucial member are ALA(α-Linolenic acid), EPA( Eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA(Docosahexaenoic acid).
DHA(Docosahexaenoic acid) sources
The DHA(Docosahexaenoic acid) on the market is mainly divided into Fish oil Resource DHA and Algal oil resource DHA.
Fish oil DHA is mostly from deep-sea fish with a long history.
Algal oil DHA is mainly derived from marine microalgae. In recent years, the scale of the algal oil DHA market has shown a rapid growth trend.
Fish oil Resource DHA Vs Algal oil Resource DHA
| Item | Fish oil Resource DHA | Algal oil Resource DHA |
| Appearance | Light Yellow to Yellow liquid | Light Yellow transparent liquid |
| Odor | Fishy smell | Seaweed smell |
| Cholesterol | Yes | No |
| EPA | Yes (DHA: EPA: 4~5:1) | Virtually No(DHA:EPA=20:1) |
| Manufacture process | 100% Fermented | |
| Suitable for Vegan | No | Yes |
| Suitable for Adult | Yes | Yes |
| Suitable for Old | Yes | Yes |
| Suitable for pregnant women | No | Yes |
| Suitable for Children | No | Yes |
| Other dangerous | May have no cholesterol and heavy metal element pollution such as Dioxin, PCBs, Hg, Pb | No |
EPA in fish oil is harmful to pregnant women and children, which can lead to prolonged bleeding time, suppression of immune response, and sexual precocity in children.
Is there any food resource DHA(Docosahexaenoic acid)?
It is mainly found in Seafood like fish(Salmon and anchovies), fish oil and shellfish, also some Algae product.
Eggs also contain small amount DHA, and the new marketed DHA enriched egg contains around 57mg DHA per egg.
Some fish oil like cod liver oil can provide 1g DHA per 15ml.
If you don’t eat seafood regularly, please take DHA supplement since DHA is essential for your skin, brain, and eyes.
DHA safety
GRAS
Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) rich oil was approved GRAS Ingredients as a food ingredient for General food applications.
EU Novel food
The use of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) rich algal oil from Schizochytrium has been authorized for use as a novel food ingredient in a range of foodstuffs by the United Kingdom in accordance with Article 4(2) of Regulation (EC) No 258/97.
New Resource food
Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) from Algal oil was approved as a new resource food ingredient.
