Why do the elderly need to take DHA?

However, due to oxidative damage and malnutrition, synapses, dendrites, axons, myelin sheath and so on. , similar to the lush branches and leaves of a single nerve cell, first damaged and disappeared, and the connection between nerve cells became less. After entering the middle-aged and elderly people, the number of healthy brain cells is greatly reduced due to insufficient nutrition of brain cells, and the damaged brain cells cannot be repaired in time. The old man will be slow-witted, slow-moving, and even suffer from Alzheimer's disease. DHA is an essential nutrient for brain nerve cells. DHA mainly exists in the cell membrane, which contributes to the proliferation and reproduction of brain cells in the fetal period. The more brain cells, the better the brain development. In infancy, DHA is called "brain gold" because it helps to increase synaptic connections between brain nerve cells. In the old age, DHA will provide sufficient nutrition for brain nerve cells, make the damaged brain nerve cells grow new synapses, dendrites, axons and myelin sheath again, and help to increase the connection between brain nerve cells, thus preventing Alzheimer's disease, delaying brain atrophy and improving memory loss. DHA contributes to the communication between brain nerve cells, which is similar to the phenomenon during brain development and memory improvement. Brain nerve cells regenerate more synapses and other structures, and there are more connections between cells, which greatly increases the speed and frequency of information transmission, making brain nerve activities smoother and restoring flexible thinking. DHA supplementation promotes the transmission of neurotransmitters. Millions of signals are transmitted from synapses of several nerve cells to other nerve cells every moment in the brain, thus forming our thoughts, behaviors and emotions. In the process of transmitting information between two nerve cells, the neurotransmitter (acetylcholine) is released from the synapse of one nerve cell and received by the receptor of the other nerve cell. Two aspects determine the smooth progress of this process. On the one hand, there are enough nutrients (such as choline) to produce a large number of neurotransmitters (acetylcholine) quickly, and on the other hand, whether the nerve cells receiving information can receive neurotransmitters with high quality. DHA can greatly improve the ability of nerve cells to receive neurotransmitters. If DHA is insufficient, it will be difficult to exchange information between cells, leading to short circuit, information error or interruption. DHA supplementation can ensure the smooth transmission and reception of information between nerve cells, and the process is smoother. The smoother the information exchange between nerve cells, the smoother the thinking activity of the brain, and the better the memory and reaction speed. Supplement DHA to help the brain resist the attack of free radicals. With the increase of age, a large number of free radicals produced by various physiological reactions in the brain and body accumulate, and too many free radicals will destroy cells. Phospholipids and myelin, which constitute the cell membrane, have a large number of unsaturated bonds, so they are very sensitive to free radicals, especially oxygen free radicals. The acyl chain of highly unsaturated fatty acid DHA can neutralize free radicals, thus protecting the unsaturated bonds in the cell membrane from oxidation and maintaining the normal function of the cell membrane. Supplementing DHA can maintain cerebrovascular health and improve cerebral hypoxia, which can significantly regulate blood lipid, lower blood pressure and prevent atherosclerosis. Moreover, DHA can inhibit platelet aggregation, prevent thromboxane synthesis, increase blood fluidity and prevent cerebral thrombosis, thereby improving cerebrovascular function and blood supply to the brain, improving the self-nutrition system of the brain, increasing the oxygen concentration in the blood, improving the oxygen carrying capacity of hemoglobin, and enabling the brain to get sufficient blood supply and oxygen supply, which is helpful for learning. 2. How much DHA do the elderly need every day? The National Institutes of Health and the International Association for Fatty Acids and Lipids Research suggest that healthy adults should consume at least 220 mg of DHA every day. Older people need more DHA due to brain aging, and should take at least 300mgDHA every day to keep their brains healthy and prevent Alzheimer's Harmo's disease. However, according to the dietary survey, China people get only 43.6mg of DHA directly from their diet every day. Even if other nutritional supplements are added, it is only 122.4mg. In other words, our intake of DHA is far from meeting the requirements! 3. How to scientifically supplement DHA? At present, there are two common DHA products on the market, one is extracted from deep-sea fish oil and comes from fish fat; The other is extracted from algae and comes from pure plant DHA raw materials. Fish is often mistaken for the main source of DHA. In fact, fish become the source of DHA because fish eat algae rich in DHA and enrich it in the body, and algae DHA has many advantages compared with fish oil DHA. In the process of (1) extraction, the purity of DHA in seaweed oil is higher and there is no pollution. Molecular distillation is often used to extract DHA from fish oil, that is, DHA, EPA and other fatty acids in fish oil are hydrolyzed, separated and purified, and finally ethyl DHA is obtained. This process will destroy the natural structure of DHA. The DHA extracted in this way is impure and may be mixed with other impurities that cause cancer and damage the nervous system. DHA in seaweed is extracted by fermentation, which completely eliminates all kinds of pollution risks in the production process. The obtained DHA is a natural triglyceride type, which is easily absorbed by human body. (2) The content and purity of DHA in seaweed oil is higher than that in fish oil. The content of EPA in fish oil is high, but the content of DHA is low. EPA has no effect on enhancing brain function and improving memory, so DHA, not EPA, has a health care effect on the brain. The purity of DHA extracted from seaweed is much higher than that of fish oil extract, and its content is above 35%. The ratio of DHA to EPA is 20: 1, while the content of DHA in fish oil is only 3.6%~ 12.5%, and the ratio of DHA to EPA is 4~5: 1. (3) Seaweed oil DHA has no fishy smell of fish oil DHA. DHA extracted from deep-sea fish oil is active in nature, and it is easy to oxidize and turn fishy during fish fishing and fish oil extraction, thus affecting the taste and flavor of the final product. Seaweed extract is pure natural, botanical and has strong antioxidant capacity. The whole production process is oxygen-proof and light-proof, sterile, cold chain during transportation, not easy to stink, and strong sensory quality. (4) Seaweed oil DHA, extracted from the source of the food chain, is safer than fish oil. Heavy metals and other harmful substances in the ocean are seriously polluted, and fish are polluted by harmful substances such as mercury, lead and arsenic to varying degrees. These substances are enriched in fish through the food chain, resulting in concentrated fish oil containing heavy metals and organic pollutants. When people eat food containing fish oil, they will accumulate organic pollutants in the body and cause chronic poisoning.