Is DHA supplementation necessary and is this a new trend?

Today I will talk to you about DHA from the process of brain development.

1. The developmental process of the brain

The brain, as the most advanced part of the nervous system, develops differently from many parts of the body and has a very narrow window period, and once you miss this window period, it is basically difficult to catch up with the brain development.

When a baby is born, the brain is basically only about a quarter of an adult's size; it maintains a high rate of growth after birth, doubling its brain capacity in just one year of life; it then grows to 80% of its adult brain capacity by the age of 3, and reaches 90% by the age of 5, after which it slows down through the process of functional brain development.dha certification

For such a rapidly developing brain, the nutrients it needs must be replenished in a timely manner, and DHA is one such substance.

DHA, which is a major component of the mammalian brain.sialic acid market The abundance of DHA is important for neurodevelopment and cognitive ability, which makes it a common ingredient in children's dietary supplements.

2. Where is DHA predominantly found in the brain?

Gray matter The main area of the brain where DHA is found is the gray matter of the brain.

When a large number of neuronal cells and dendrites are clustered together, making them gray in color, they are called gray matter. On the other hand, when a large number of nerve fibers come together, the myelin sheaths on the surface of the nerve fibers contain lipids, so they are bright white in color and are called white matter.food ingredients asia It can be said that white matter and gray matter together form the solid part of the brain, and both are very crucial to the central nervous system.

Most of the time, we are more familiar with the role of gray matter, which is the main component of the cerebral cortex and the information processing center of the brain, responding to a variety of stimuli, while the role of white matter is often overlooked. However, recent studies have found that white matter is equally critical. It has been found that once the white matter of the brain is diseased, it may cause cognitive impairment, such as traumatic brain injury, multiple sclerosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, normal-pressure hydrocephalus and a series of other diseases have been associated with white matter lesions of the brain.

White matter makes up half of the brain's volume, plays a key role in connections throughout the brain, and is responsible for transmitting information through neural networks that are important for cognition and emotion. Because of this, the role of white matter cannot be ignored.

3. What are the important components of brain white matter?

Since DHA is an important component of the gray matter of the brain, what is it for the white matter of the brain? The answer is nervonic acid.

Nervonic acid is also a fatty acid. Nervonic acid can first be found in the neural network tissue of sharks, and later studies have found that the human brain also has some neuronic acid, which is an indispensable component of the brain's white matter. It can effectively promote the repair and regeneration of damaged nervous system tissues, and is an essential nutrient for the growth, redevelopment and maintenance of brain cells, optic nerve cells and peripheral nerve cells. Therefore, it is indispensable for babies to develop without neuronic acid, otherwise it will easily cause defects affecting brain development.

In any case, as you can see, DHA supplementation is not useless, it is necessary for brain development, and it may be possible to combine DHA and NA neurotic acid at a later stage, so that the gray matter and white matter of the brain can be supplemented at the same time.

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