DHA (Omega-3)

[Music] I'm David Tillman author of nootropics expert comp in this video I'm going to share with you what I know about DHA what it is why we use it the signs behind it the best form of DHA to users in your tropic dosage and possible side effects DHA is an omega-3 fatty acid your brain is made up of 60% fat and much of that fat is DHA your body does not make DHA on its own so you must get it from food or a supplement and if you're a vegan you are at serious risk of a life-threatening DHA deficiency foods that are high in DHA include fish fish oil krill and other crustaceans and algae but contrary to popular belief fish do not make DHA fish and other small marine predators get it from smaller fish and crustaceans that feed on algae it's the algae that have the enzymes to produce DHA that we need to remain healthy DHA from eggs and some dairy products only supply about 20 million milligrams of DHA per day DHA is essential for maintaining brain health memory and learning functions DHA reduces brain inflammation stimulates new nerve growth nerve cell growth and as assistant brain cell repair so how does eha actually work in the brain well your brain is composed of 60% fat 15 to 20% of your cerebral cortex that this part up here is DHA even the retina in your eyes is 30 to 60 percent DHA making DHA the most essential nutrient for eye and brain health the highest level of DHA are found in phosphatidyl serine or PS phosphatidyl ethanolamine or PE and lower levels are found in phosphatidylcholine or PC now the PS makes up about 70% of the neuron tissue mass it helps in the storage release and activity of neurotransmitters and receptors PC also makes up part of the neuron tissue mass and helps in maintaining cell structure fat metabolism neuron signaling and the activation of a number of enzymes and PE is part of an is part of neuron cell membranes PE is involved in cellular signaling now PS PE and PC are all called phospholipids together they alter the fluidity of cell membranes changing the fluid fluidity of cell membranes alters the permeability and protein activity and influences cellular signaling made up largely of DHA these cellular membranes regulate entry into the cell and control neuro receptor function which facilitates cellular communication between and within cells DHA also reduces inflammation by regulating proteins and enzymes within cells and boost the production of anti-inflammation compounds that protect cells DHA maintains the activity of certain enzymes that control electrical signal signaling between cells and it regulates the regulates the brain cell concentration of PS which is vital for cell survival and DHA regulates calcium oscillations which are involved in neurotransmitter release mitochondrial function gene activation oxidative stress and brain development brain cell development and growth like brain derived neurotrophic factor now when you look at a bottle like this you'll often see DHA and EPA so what's the difference between the two well most medical authorities and scientists agree that omega-3 oils are important for good health omega-3s boost brain function decrease inflammation reduce the incident of fatal heart attacks and strokes help autoimmune diseases and improve vision now we have general agreement about the health benefits of omega-3 oils but you appreciate the difference between DHA and EPA the ratio of DHA and EPA varies a lot in commercial omega-3 supplements most of higher concentration is epa to DHA mainly because it's cheaper to manufacture and has less of a fishy odor but studies show that most of the brain health benefits of omega-3s are derived from DHA rather than EPA one study in Chicago followed 815 residents from 1993 to 2000 study subjects were between 65 and 94 years old 131 study participants developed Alzheimer's disease now those who ate fish at least once a week had a 60% less risk of Alzheimer's compared to those who didn't eat fish researchers found that it was the intake of DHA rather than EPA that reduced the risk factor in getting Alzheimer's EPA made no difference whatsoever so DHA makes up much of the gray matter in our brain it's an integral part of cell membranes and making them function remember your brain is 60% fat and a large part of that is DHA now the good news is degenerative conditions can not only be prevented by adding DHA to your nootropic stack they can also be reversed in one study researchers work with 485 elderly subjects with memory problems they saw significant improvement with those taking 900 milligrams of DHA per day for four weeks compared to the control group in another double-blind placebo-controlled trial scientists work with 49 women page 60 to 80 years one group received 80 milligrams per day of DHA for four months researchers found those using DHA had a significant improvement in verbal fluency scores an improvement in memory and learning so how does DHA feel when you take it as a supplement well chances are when you start using DHA you won't feel it there's no profound stimulant feeling but if you suffer from chronic depression within a few weeks you should feel the depression left after supplementing with DHA for a while your cognition will be better you'll think quicker and clearer your memory and ability to learn will improve and you'll likely have more energy and motivation but it's very likely you won't think to attribute these improvements to adding DHA to your stack something else will probably give the credit as for the research DHA is crucial for optimal for an optimally functioning brain the goal of every neuro hacker DHA impacts your brain structures signaling systems neurotransmitters memory learning focus and attention and we've got decades of clinical research verifying the importance of DHA in your nootropic stack and several books have been written on the subject in the last couple of years now I'm not going to tell you about all the scientific studies here if you'd like to see them go to nootropics expert common search for DHA and there we've got a study on how DHA reduces hostility and anger how DHA restores neurotransmitters and memory how DHA improves attention and learning now the recommended dosage for DHA is a thousand milligrams a day fish oil supplements vary and ratios of DHA to EPA salmon naturally contains more DHA than EP a a supplement from algae may contain only DHA krill oil has both epa DHA and epa so read the labels and whatever supplement you get make sure you end up with at least a thousand milligrams of DHA most brands of fish all have been proven to be safe and free of mercury they don't contain unsafe levels of PCBs to further avoid contaminants in an unrefined supplement choose a fish oil supplement that's made from small oily fish like anchovies or sardines or main Hadean and check the labels carefully for purity ideally get one of the few supplements now that are available that are just pure unrefined or too pure refined DHA with no EPA in them as for side effects well fish oil capsules commonly have both DHA and EPA the capsules with EPA are not recommended for infants or small children because they upset the balance between DHA and EPA during early development this also applies to pregnant women fish oil could cause minor side effects like loose stools upset stomach and belching fish oil may lower blood pressure so if you're already taking medication to lower blood pressure make sure you talk to your doctor first you don't want to lower it too much if your supplement can if your supplement contains EPA it could interact with blood thinners it increased bleeding same is true for Aspen but this is not true of DHA DHA only supplements do not clean the blood fish oil supplements may lower blood sugar levels so be careful if you're on diabetes medications and make it 3 fatty acids may reduce some of the side effects of cyclosporine which is used to stop rejection after an organ transplant as for the available forms DHA is available as a supplement in two forms fish oil capsules which usually have both DHA and EPA some makers now offer capsules that are pure refined DHA only and there's DHA from algae which has no EPA and it's vegetarian friendly so my me tropics expert recommendation for DHA is 1,000 milligrams a day so that's my report on DHA if you want to see links to the studies I talked about go to nootropics expert comm and search for DHA or click on the link below this video if you click on the link it will take you through to a full transcript of this video and you'll find dozens of articles and all the well-known nootropics on the tropics expert if you have any questions or want to share your experience using DHA go to my article and leave it in the comments section at the bottom of the article a nootropic is expert if you want to see more videos in all the popular tropics use today subscribe to the channel before you leave I'll be putting up new videos and new topics and optimizing your brain every week I'm David Tillman author of nootropics expert

Channel: NootropicsExpert

Views: 25,382

Rating: 4.9507189 out of 5

Keywords: DHA, DHA benefits, DHA side effects, nootropics expert, nootropicsexpert.com, David Tomen, nootropics review, nootropics 2017, nootropics smart drugs, nootropics for memory, nootropics for studying, nootropics for depression, nootropics for energy, nootropics for motivation

Id: XqGlTyh1Ug8

Length: 12min 24sec (744 seconds)

Published: Wed Apr 19 2017