DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) is a long chain
omega-3
fat.
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Together with EPA, they make up the major fat in fish oil. Fish
oil has been shown to have broad health effects. Most fish oil
supplements contain considerably more EPA than DHA, and therefore most
of the beneficial effects have been attributed to EPA. However
according to recently published results, DHA has some potent effects as
well. This study had men supplement with either 7.5 DHA oil (3 g DHA)
or the same amount of olive oil as a placebo for 3 months.
Interestingly the DHA provided in this study was not from fish oil. It
was produced from microalga and contained no EPA. Subjects did not
otherwise change their diet and they maintained their same level of
activity. The DHA group showed a significant decrease of 15% in
C-reactive protein (CRP). CRP provides an index of inflammatory status
and elevated levels have been shown to be a good predictor of future
heart problems. DHA also improved other indicators of inflammation such
as IL-6, and circulating neutrophils, and improved blood lipids. These
findings show that DHA alone produced from plant sources has
anti-inflammatory effects. For those who do not like the taste of fish
or find fish oil capsules not palatable, this study suggest a viable
option is
DHA supplementation from microalga.
Kelley
DS, Siegel D, Fedor DM, Adkins Y, Mackey BE. DHA supplementation
decreases Serum C-reactive protein and other markers of inflammation in
hypertriglyceridemic men. J Nutr. 2009 Mar;139(3):495-501. Epub 2009
Jan 21.
