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DHA And Healthy Brain Function

By Ben Mester

Republish: EasyPublish™
Published: 21Jul2011
Word count: 525
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DHA is an Omega 3 essential fatty acid that's found primarily in fish oil. It stands for Dehydroascorbic Acid, and it plays a huge role in the body, especially for developing fetuses in the womb. Omega 3 essential fatty acids are used in every cell in the human body. They make up the cell membrane that's selectively permeable and allows nutrients and waste in and out. But Omega 3s also have a huge role in brain and nervous system function. Deficiency in DHA has been thought to contribute to a lot of mental conditions like depression, anxiety, and more, and has also been thought to play a large part in postpartum depression in mothers.

During pregnancy, DHA is needed heavily for the brain and central nervous system formation of the unborn baby. Because of this, pregnant mothers are especially at risk for developing a deficiency. But in normal life, DHA deficiency is becoming more and more common. This is due to the fact that Omega 3 essential fatty acids have long been disappearing from the Standard American Diet, and have been replaced by Omega 6 and other oils. Many people who have symptoms of depression, anxiety, chronic fatigue, and more might actually have a DHA deficiency. When the brain doesn't have the right building blocks, it's difficult to have full mental clarity. Though neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin play a large role in brain function as well, generally, when a diet is so poor that a deficiency in DHA arises, a person is most likely at risk of other deficiencies in complex chemicals as well. So a serotonin or dopamine deficiency might compound the problem.

Recent studies have shown that the ratio between Omega 3 and Omega 6 comsumption in the Standard American diet can sometimes be up to 1:20. This is staggering considering that most experts agree that a healthy ratio should be somewhere around 1:4. That means that people are sometimes eating more than five times the amount of Omega 6 fats than they probably need. This not only can contribute to mental conditions, but has also been shown to hugely contribute to dangerous health conditions like heart disease, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. Getting the ratio back to more proper levels is a good idea for everyone.

Though all Omega 3 essential fatty acids are important, DHA is the one your hear about most often because of its role in pregnancy. Getting enough DHA and other Omega 3s can sometimes be a challenge, especially for pregnant women, due to the fact that fish are often on the warning list of foods because of the potential for mercury poisoning. Since fish oil is the most abundant source of DHA on the planet, eating a lot of fish is one of the easiest way to get more Omega 3s and DHA into the diet. But this isn't always possible, since other factors also play in. So if you're a person who needs more Omega 3s in their diet, or if you think you might be suffering from a possible deficiency, you really ought to check out a fish oil of some kind.

Depression and other mental conditions are becoming more common. Sometimes these can be corrected through things like serotonin and dopamine supplements. Other times, a deficiency in DHA is the culprit, as in the case of pregnancy. In these cases, DHA prenatal vitamins might be the right way to go.

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