what is DHA?

DHA is a fatty substance. For the human body, this fat is not the same as the fat around our waist that we hate. It is a good fat, and this good fat is found primarily in the human brain and retina.dha certification

DHA accounts for 25-33% of the fatty acids in the brain, 50% of the cell membranes and 50% of the fat, and the content of DHA in the optic nerve cells and retinal tissue can be as high as 40-47%.

Therefore, DHA is very important for human vision and brain development.sialic acid market A large number of studies have also proved the important role of DHA in brain and vision development.

How much DHA do we need?

Because DHA is important for the human brain and retina, both men and women need it, so how much do we need?

Teenagers aged 4 to 18 years old need 90-160mg per day, adults need 160mg per day, and pregnant women need 200mg per day.food ingredients asia

From early pregnancy to breastfeeding, 200mg of DHA per day is recommended.

From 0-3 years old, it is recommended to consume 100mg of DHA per day.

This means that we need the highest amount of DHA when we are pregnant and breastfeeding. This is because pregnancy is also an important time for fetal brain development and vision development.

Supplementation of 200mg of DHA per day for breastfeeding women ensures that the baby will receive enough DHA through breast milk, and that the baby's visual and language development indexes will be significantly higher than those of other children.

Moreover, DHA can pass through the placenta and replenish the brain of the fetus with sufficient amount of DHA to improve the brain cells of the fetus.

Which foods in our daily life contain DHA and how much?

1. Vegetable oil

For example, linolenic acid-rich perilla seed oil, flaxseed oil, walnut oil, canola oil contains DHA, that is, alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) in the body through the growth of carbon bonds and the role of the enzyme desaturase will generate DHA, but the conversion rate is not too high, generally less than 4%.

2. Deep-sea fish oil:

The content is relatively high, some of the higher content of 100 grams of marine fish is 1100 mg DHA, eat 20 grams of DHA is enough to meet the needs of pregnancy and breastfeeding.

3. Freshwater fish

If you don't have the condition to eat sea fish, or are afraid of the heavy metals in sea fish, you can consider eating freshwater fish every day.

4. Infant formula or maternal milk powder

Infant milk powder will state how many milligrams of DHA per 100 grams of milk powder in the optional ingredients.