By: Lee Cole
DHA supplements are something loads of health conscious people are taking. DHA, called docosahexaenoic acid, is amongst the all important omega-3 fatty acids. You need to have omega-3's in your diet for good health. Unfortunately, you can't make omega-3 essential fatty acids in your body from other chemicals. You need to eat omega-3's. Cold water fish and free-range fowl and other animals are some good sources of DHA and of omega-3's in general. But there's a problem with eating all of that fish and free-range game. So far as the fish is concerned, there's the problem with mercury. And free-range fowl and other animal proteins cost a lot. Also, there's the challenge of being a vegetarian. Wouldn't it be great if you could get to the source, if you could just eat whatever the fish eat to get your essential fatty acids that way? Well, now there is.
You see our biggest method of obtaining omega-3 essential fatty acids is big, cold-water fish like tuna. The tuna obtain the omega-3's from smaller fish they eat. Eventually, farther down the food chain, the original method of obtaining omega-3 fatty acids is algae that grows in the sea. If you could potentially just obtain the fatty acids directly from the algae, you could possibly skip the fish part. That works well for vegetarians. One more reason why this might be a really great idea is the big ocean fish frequently have mercury and other toxins accumulated in their bodies.
There's one special group of people that this all affects more than others. That's expectant mothers. You see, DHA is recommended for brain health in fetuses and also in young kids. But expectant women are not recommended to eat plenty of seafood, or even to take omega-3 fatty acid supplements, because of the issue with toxins.
Some companies make DHA supplements straight from algae. This is just the thing for expectant mothers, mainly because they know they can't get toxins that might hurt their children this way. There are even some infant formulas out now that had DHA supplements.
Should you be not pregnant, or even female, there are some other ways to obtain omega-3's without eating seafood or other types of meats. They come through walnuts and flax seeds. Eggs have some DHA. Probably the best way, however, is to have a vitamin or other pill which includes DHA supplements.
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To learn more about Dr. Scott Doughman see Pure One - A New Way to Eat Your Veggies
Article Courtesy of Health Hub Articles