What happens if you take too much dha supplement

In life, everyone knows that DHA is very important for the baby's growth and development. DHA can not only promote the development of the baby's retina, but also has an effect on the development of the baby's brain. Therefore, many women will supplement DHA appropriately when they are pregnant. If the pregnant woman's DHA intake is insufficient, it will affect the baby's development. Many women do not know how to supplement DHA for their children. What effects will excessive DHA supplementation cause?

Is it harmful to take too much DHA?

DHA is essential for the development of the fetal brain and retina. Therefore, many pregnant women will supplement DHA during pregnancy to ensure the healthy growth of the baby. However, the more DHA supplemented, the better. Excessive supplementation can lead to a series of side effects. DHA, like other nutrients, requires a reasonable intake, which means that nutritional balance must be achieved. Excessive intake of DHA can cause a series of side effects such as weakened immunity. In addition, because DHA has the effects of inhibiting platelet aggregation and anti-thrombosis, people with bleeding diseases, cirrhosis, and coagulation dysfunction should appropriately control their DHA intake to avoid causing or aggravating bleeding.

Therefore, pregnant mothers need to pay attention to the reasonable intake of DHA. Pregnant mothers should pay attention to DHA intake starting from the second trimester (13 weeks). According to the 2008 recommendations of the Joint Expert Committee on Fat of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), pregnant women should consume 300 mg of DHA+EPA per day, including at least 200 mg of DHA.

There are many ways for pregnant women to supplement DHA. Nowadays, DHA is added to milk powder for many pregnant women. There are also special DHA nutritional supplements, such as various fish oils and seaweed oils. Some multivitamin and mineral supplements also contain small amounts of DHA. Pregnant mothers can also supplement DHA from their daily diet, such as seafood, nuts, etc.

How to supplement DHA for pregnant women

Intake from food: Fish and seafood are undoubtedly the best and most recommended sources of DHA. Fish and seafood not only contain DHA, but also provide high-quality protein, vitamin A, iron, zinc, iodine and other nutrients, and are an important part of the dietary structure during pregnancy.

Choose suitable milk powder for pregnant women: Generally speaking, in addition to fresh milk, milk powder for pregnant women contains protein (skim milk powder, desalted whey powder, concentrated whey protein powder), carbohydrates (lactose, white sugar, maltodextrin and water-soluble dietary fiber from inulin), DHA, 3 minerals (magnesium, iron, zinc) and 14 vitamins. Its nutritional value is higher than ordinary milk powder or milk. It is generally recommended that pregnant women in the second and third trimesters use milk powder for pregnant women.

Pay attention to the content and time of DHA supplementation: the development of the fetal central nervous system begins in the third week. At 6 months, grooves and convolutions appear on the surface of the brain, and the hierarchical structure of the cerebral cortex has basically taken shape. At 8 months, the cerebral cortex is more developed and the main grooves and convolutions are fully formed. During this period, a large amount of DHA is needed to meet the needs of fetal development. If DHA is lacking during pregnancy, it may affect the number of nerve cells and synapses, slow intellectual development, abnormal retinal potential, and even be related to attention hyperactivity disorder. Eye development begins from the 4th week, so pregnant mothers should start supplementing DHA from the early stages of pregnancy. The World Health Organization recommends that pregnant women consume 300 mg of DHA per day.