DHA by Jolie Martin Root

DOCOSAHEXAENOIC ACID, DHA, is the primary structural fatty acid found in the brain and the retina. It is the omega-3 acid, one of two principle types of unsaturated fats found in the diet. DHA is obtained from fish, egg yolks and marine algae. Omega-3 oils can help reduce the risk of heart disease, reduce inflammation in the body and have a crucial role in nerve function, brain structure and function. DHA is critical for brain development during pregnancy and early childhood and is now the focus of intense research regarding its role in supporting optimal IQ and brain function through out life.

DHA is obtained from breast milk, and a child’s progressive increases in mental acuity, visual acuity and fine motor responses may be correlated to either the presence or absence of DHA in the diet. DHA, however in not included in infant formula in the United States. Some research indicates that the high incidence of learning disabilities in this country may be linked to a shortage of DHA in a child’s diet. Infants who have been deprived of essential fatty acids such as DHA have performance changes in the brain that can last into adulthood.

Brain Function

The brain is about 60 percent fat. New research indicates that the brain is not insulated against fatty acid and is heavily dependent upon dietary sources of fatty acids that were once considered non-essential. Deficiencies of long-chain fatty acids such as DHA may increase our risk of depression alcoholism, multiple sclerosis and post-partum depression. A recent study showed that patients with Alzheimer’s disease had lower brain levels of DHA than healthy adults of the same age.

Diets lack DHA

Our cultural attitudes about obesity and our obsession with having ideal cholesterol levels have led many to a low-fat diet. Further dietary depletion of DHA has occurred due to our heavy consumption of margarine made from corn oil and other vegetable oils that increase harmful trans-fats in the diet. Eliminating fats or the poor quality of dietary fats has placed us at risk for essential fatty acid deficiencies.

Laboratory studies have demonstrated that the particular fats present in the diet at any given time are associated with changes in mood, behavior and mental and physical ability. One such study showed that restriction of DHA produced aggression and violent behavior that went as far as self-mutilation in primates.

Retinal diseases are directly connected to this decline in dietary DHA, too. The lipid structure of the photoreceptor cells in the retina requires DHA exclusively. The risk of diabetic retinopathy and retinitis pigmentosa may be reduced by supplemental DHA.

Renewing DHA

Many people are looking at supplements to acquire ideal levels of DHA. Omega-3 fish oil supplements are one source but are usually a richer source of EPA, which is not as desirable for young children. A new source of DHA is marine algae, which gives a higher concentration of DHA to EPA. It appears that in every stage of life we can benefit by maintaining optimal levels of this beneficial fatty acid.

Jolie Martin Root is a Florida licensed nutrition counselor in Boca Raton, Fla. Her weekly radio program, Food for Thought, is heard on WWNN in South Florida and WEVD in New York.

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Dr. C....when we are talking about a fatty acid that we know we have accessible to us that our body absolutely demands especially given that it makes up 50-60% of all the essential fatty acids in the central nervous system, it becomes extremely important. It also becomes important given the fact that we know that mother’s milk contains it and that the formula producers of this nation don’t even put it in, don’t even consider it essential; and what’s more important, it is the very first time that we have ever been pointed in the direction that we might have some in-roads into handling disorders like retinitis pigmentosa, a disease that has alluded us completely.

Also joining the interview is a man with a Ph.D. in biochemistry, best known for his research on 2 essential fatty acids, DHA and ARA (aracadonic acid) in infant and adult nutrition; he has published over 50 scientific articles in the area of lipid biochemistry, edited several books on the subject with 16 US patents and is senior vice president for research and development of Martech Bio Sciences Foundation, Dr. David Kyle

.Dr. K...yes, we have heard about the omega 3 fatty acids in general and DHA is one of the omega 3 fatty acids, a very key one in neuralgic function.

Dr. C...does our body as we begin to beat it to death lose some of the ability to convert some of the omega 3, essential fatty acid or the alphalanolinoleic acid into the DHA also?

Dr. K...that’s an interesting phenomena...we do have the ability to convert that essential fatty acid precursor, into the active component DHA but we’re very deficient in that ability early on in life and late in life...at both ends of the age spectrum.

What is meant by the term “essential fatty acids”?

Dr. K...there are essential fats; there are good fats and bad fats and the good ones are the essential ones and alphalinolenic acid is an essential fat in the diet because it is the precursor to the major active fats which are EPA and DHA, both of which are omega 3’s, long chain, poly unsaturated fats. EPA has an important role in circulating hormones, prostaglandin and DHA is referred to as the brain fat; it’s the key fatty building block of brain structure. ...the brain is a fatty organ, 60% fatty material and I think we’re entering a new paradigm in nutrition ....as we’re fully aware of the bones, muscles, calcium, proteins etc. but we’ve kind of neglected the essential nutrition for the central nervous system which is a fatty organ and fats are a very important part of that nutrition. Of that 60% fat in the brain tissue, a full 5-30% of it is the rather unusual fat called DHA.

Dr. C...it’s quite interesting to me.... given the way I was trained back in the ‘60’s and ‘70’s, we gave almost no significance what so ever to essential fatty oils, we gave come credence to the mother name “lipids” meaning all fats collectively....what’s happened between then and now?

Dr. K...I think actually we’ve gotten much smarter...as biochemists and researchers we’ve been able to tease apart all the different components of fatty material and general lipids going into our diet and we find our very specific target organ for different types of fat in our diet; a lot of the more saturated fats for example are mostly burned to give us fuel and energy...they are very good sources of energy...many of the poly unsaturated fatty acids have very important roles in structural elements in membranes in the cells and DHA is particularly key in nervous system function which includes visual function, which is all part of the central nervous system.

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What about attention deficit disorder, schizophrenia?

Dr. K...we first started getting involved in DHA around infant nutrition...the most important period in brain development is the last trimester in utero and the first 12 months or so of post natal life; the mother is rapid partitioning out her own DHA across the placenta or through her breast milk; we find that DHA is one of the main fat components of human breast milk for the infant’s growing and developing brain structure. And there is a lot of clinical work looking at the neurological out come of breast fed versus formula fed babies; we all know that breast fed babies perform on the average 3-5 IQ points better than formula fed babies....and when we compared 2 infant formulas, one with and one without DHA, we find in fact that there is neurological benefit by adding DHA into the infant formulas and the World Health Organization recommended in 1995, that all babies should get supplementation with DHA..

Dr. C...going back to my generation when me and my brothers were given canned diluted carnation milk...do cows themselves produce DHA.?....

Dr. K.....the answer is that cows do not produce much DHA in the milk for their calves; ...humans amongst mammals are rather unique in the amount of post natal brain development that takes place....where as with many other mammals virtually all the brain development takes place in utero so there is not requirement for additional supplementation post natally.....

Dr. C...then how did we get into the area of using cows milk and mechanically designed formulas to feed our babies ?

Dr. K...in Europe most of the infant formula manufacturers do add DHA to at least the preterm infant formulas. ..it is not yet added here in the US; ...there are a lot of clinical trials on going and we’re of the opinion that until we can prove absolute benefit, we shouldn’t put it in even though it’s already there in breast milk...a kind of funny way to do science where we’re actually saying that Mother Nature put it there by mistake and until we can prove that it has utility, we shouldn’t add it....we should be doing it the other way around.

Dr. C...we can’t mess with Mother Nature....

Dr. K...exactly...let’s assume as our first premises that Mother Nature is right and we as scientists should figure that it is there for a reason...

Dr. C...there is quite a bit we should be bringing out about DHA...this bit about retinitis pigmentosa has got to have your brain really stimulated as to how to prove or disprove, implement, etc....

Dr. K...this material is a natural food, a natural oil, it’s very easy to undertake clinical trials as we very carefully undergo double blind clinical trials in many different areas...there has been some data already reported with respect to visual function which has gone well beyond the infant data; of course, there is lots of data of infants showing improved visual function; there is a study published just last year on the improvement of night vision which is associated with dyslexia after DHA supplementation. So we know exactly what DHA is doing in the outer segments of the retina of the eye; we know that if we increase the concentration of DHA we improve light perception;

Dr. C...I’ve seen that in my own patients.... I’ve found the vast majority of them get at least some improvement in vision.

Dr. K...there’s certainly an effect on vision; what we’re talking about here is adequate omega 3 nutrition as well....the big advantage of taking the actual material itself, DHA , the preformed product that the body uses is that one can actually supplement with a lot lower doses..where as normally we take 15 grams of flax seed oil , the equivalent amount of DHA is in 500 mg...it’s bio magnification that is important, I think...

Dr. C....how does omega 6 or omega 3 play a role in many of the neuralgic disorders like cerebral palsy and many others that we’re seeing in our young in this country?

Dr. K....it’s important to note that aracadonic acid which many considered a bad guy is actually the second most important component in brain tissue....so it’s important to have the omega 6’s as well as the omega 3’s...the balance is the key issue....

Caller....I started taking the DHA and it seems my eyes aren’t so dry....but now I have this fish taste in my mouth...

Dr. K...it turns out that fish can’t make DHA any better than we can; they get it from their diet which is the phytoplankton in the ocean and we have tapped into that resource to come up with a new single nutrient source of DHA which I don’t think will give you the fishy flavor at all....this single nutrient source will alleviate the problem of the fishy taste...

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Caller...I’m calling about the macular degeneration in my 90 yr. old mother’s eyes...

Dr. K...we’re looking into this now in terms of clinical assessment of macular degeneration and there is very little in the literature; what we do know is that DHA is an absolutely functional component within the retina of the eye and the first hints are coming out that it looks like it is important in maintaining an appropriate macula ....

Dr. C....Dr. K is tied into research; I’m not and every single one of my patients with macular degeneration is reporting an improvement in vision on DHA...both wet and dry macular degeneration are felt to be vascular disease as is retinitis pigmentosa though it’s thought to be a hereditary disorder...

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Dr. C...How to we get this DHA to small children?

Dr. K...there is a powdered form or there is a capsule which one can break open .....we just completed a trial where we actually provided the DHA supplement to the mothers who were nursing their babies to increase the DHA content of their own breast milk and we find that we can easily increase the content of the breast milk and the outcome of the babies nursed by those mothers that have been supplemented is significantly better in terms of mental development after one year than those from the mothers who weren’t taking the DHA....So we can deliver it to the babies naturally also.

Caller....Do you think that DHA will help a tremor, as with Katherine Hepburn, who had the tremor?

Dr. C..I couldn’t answer that...I have so many neuralgic disorders, I haven’t thought to give DHA an opportunity.....since you mention it I probably will do it, possibly in combination with other approaches.....and I’ll bet that I’ll get a lot of mileage out of it....so many have essential tremor of the hands and the head.

Dr. K...as a general prophylactic as an important component in our diet, which used to be in our diet, it’s gone out of our diet; we certainly are seeing increasing incidents of things like tremor and it could be simply because of a lack of a particular component in our diet. As a general food supplement and dietary supplement, it certainly can’t hurt.

Dr. C...I would encourage everyone to use it because I agree that it’s something that is totally devoid in our diet any more and it’s clearly obvious that it is a major component in neuralgic tissue; it’s got to have a major function.

Dr. K....it’s interesting because it’s leaked out of our diet as our diet has changed in the last 50 years; you used to be able to eat quite a lot of components rich in DHA, as brain itself and organ meats...and there is an interesting correlation to increased incidents of Alzheimer’s, for example, and chronic depression, both of which have been shown to have low levels of circulating DHA. We just completed some work with Professor Schaffer at Tufts who is now of the belief that low levels of DHA is a significant risk factor for the onset of Alzheimer’s dementia..

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Dr. C...I’m willing to wager that you will find that low levels of DHA are contributory to many neuralgic disorders....

Caller...should I continue taking 200 mg/day, don’t think it will hurt....I mean I probably could take more..

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Dr. C....in your particular situation I’d probably put you on 100mg in the morning, 100mg at night and add to it a little bit of mysoline...

Caller...can I get that over the counter?

Dr. C...no, you have to have a doctor...

Caller...I don’t have a doctor...well get one and trick him into it....tell him you read it in Readers Digest, he’ll buy that; tell him you read that a little bit of this seizure medicine, mysoline, combined with some of the fatty acid oils have been effective in treating tremors....it’s all right just do it ...they believe that stuff....

Caller....I’ll do it!

Interviewer...Dr. Kyle, please comment on the article in the British Journal of Psychiatry, Schizophrenia and DHA.

Dr. K. Well, there is some history of this; for the last 5-6 yrs. it’s been known that schizophrenics have very low levels of DHA and this latest article indicates that individuals who were breast fed, had a good source of nutritional DHA early in infancy were much less likely to get schizophrenia than otherwise. ....hence the importance of DHA right from infancy is crucial but as we go on through our life, adequate DHA levels are going to be profoundly important in areas such as schizophrenia and depression.....some data out of NIH shows it’s looking like DHA is used specifically to modulate concentrations of seratonin....melatonin, triptophane...the loop....it may be a natural prozac in other words....

Interviewer....cutting edge information; the research goes on; thanks so much for joining us today.

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