Let's start with a brief introduction to DHA.

Before we talk about DHA, we need to talk about Omega-3. There are two types of fats that we eat, one is the "bad" fat and the other is the "good" fat. If we eat too much bad fat, we are prone to all kinds of diseases. If you eat a lot of good fats, you can not only solve the harm of eating bad fats, but also have additional benefits.

Omega-3 is a collection of good fats, and there are three of them that are important components of the human body. They are: ALA, EPA, and DHA, of which EPA and DHA are very important for human health, especially DHA, which is a major component of our brain and retina.

DHA deficiency puts the brain into an abnormal working state, such as decreased perception, abnormal nerve cell death, and possibly depression. For babies, DHA deficiency can affect the normal development of the nervous system, with mental retardation or decreased perceptual ability.

Although DHA is important for humans, the human body is not capable of synthesizing it. So there's only one way to make up for DHA - by eating it. The most direct and primary source of DHA is seafood, especially those fatty sea fish, such as these:

So why is it that babies don't eat seafood after birth, and that their eyes grow well and their intellect develops normally? It doesn't seem to be a problem if you don't eat seafood!

That's because mothers give their babies DHA, and no matter what the mother eats, whether she eats well or not, there is enough DHA in her breast milk (and in the formula too). No wonder my wife always sighs after giving birth to my daughter, "Being a mom is like being a superman, what the baby wants, what you can make. What calcium ah, DHA ah, and then rare things, as long as the baby needs, when the mother can make it."

But after weaning, and then want to make up for DHA will have to rely on eating seafood. Of course, there are other ways, such as:

1. There are a lot of milk powder, rice powder, children's food are added DHA.

2. Directly eat Omega-3 nutrients. For example, oil fish pills, seaweed pills.

3. Eat some special vegetable oils, such as flaxseed oil. About 20 portions of ALA can be converted into one portion of EPA.

Want to supplement DHA, or to eat fish

The most efficient, the most natural, and in addition to supplementing the DHA in addition to get the delicious and other nutrients, but also to eat sea fish. In China, when we talk about DHA supplementation, the first thing that comes to mind is silver cod. But silver cod is really the best choice?

A lot of authoritative information from abroad shows that it is not necessarily safe to eat large quantities of silver cod on a regular basis.

If you have seen a documentary called "Dolphin Bay", you must know that the fishermen near the Bay of Dolphins in Japan sold dolphins to elementary schools to do the students' lunch ingredients. As a result, the elementary school students suffered from mercury poisoning from eating dolphin meat for a long period of time, their intelligence declined, and they even had kidney problems. In fact, not only dolphins, all fish have mercury in their bodies.

To do a first explanation: the domestic silver cod is not a British dish, fish and chips, inside the kind of cod. They are two completely different varieties, the nutritional composition is completely different. We must not get confused.

The longer the fish live, the more mercury

The water in rivers, lakes, and oceans contains mercury. Mercury enters the bodies of plankton, phytoplankton, fish and shrimp with the water. The smaller fish and shrimp are then eaten by the larger fish, and their mercury is deposited in the larger fish's body. So the longer a fish lives and the more small fish it eats, the greater the amount of mercury in its body.

So which of the fish we usually eat has more mercury in it?

The U.S. environmental authority, EDF, has rated most seafood for mercury content (the mercury screenshots below are from the EDF website). In those scores, I found this: two of the most expensive and DHA-rich fish in the country also had relatively high mercury levels. They are:

Arctic black cod (Sablefish)

Mercury is yellow, which represents moderate mercury toxicity

Recommended for babies up to twice a month

Antarctic silver cod (Patagonian toothfish)

Mercury is red, which represents high mercury toxicity

It is recommended that babies eat it up to once a month

Both types of fish are available in large supermarkets in China for about the same price, about 150-300 RMB for 500 grams.

An explanation is necessary: if you eat them in strict accordance with the recommended amount of EDF, there should be no risk of mercury poisoning.

But if you're really a bit of a clean freak, and from now on invite silver cod and black cod completely out of your basket, what other fish can you choose to supplement your baby's DHA?

List of sea fish with high DHA

There are quite a lot of sea fish with good DHA. Foreign authoritative fisheries organizations give hundreds of seafood DHA content, I found the content of higher, domestic and common varieties from it. The following table lists the content (grams) of Omega-3 and among them ALA, EPA, DHA per 100 grams of fish.

Name of high DHA fish

ALA

EPA

DHA

Omega-3

Mackerel (mackerel, mackerel, horse mackerel) Mackerel, chub

0.3

0.9

1

2.2

Mackerel, Japanese horse

0.1

0.5

1.3

1.9

Herring, Pacific

0.1

1

0.7

1.8

Fallfish Saury

0.1

0.5

0.8

1.4

Salmon, chum

0.1

0.4

0.6

1.1

Mentai Pollock

-

0.1

0.4

0.5

Farmed Salmon Salmon, Chinook

0.1

0.8

0.6

1.5

Farmed Salmon, Atlantic

0.2

0.3

0.9

1.4

Arctic Black Cod Sablefish

0.1

0.7

0.7

1.5

Antarctic silver cod Patagonian toothfish

Not found

Not found

Not found

Not found

1.3

What to look for in the table:

1. Most of the salmon that you buy in China is farmed. The quality of farmed salmon varies greatly depending on its origin and farming techniques: high-quality farmed salmon is more nutritious than wild salmon, but low-quality farmed salmon is less nutritious and may contain more mercury. As a consumer, it is difficult to distinguish the quality of salmon.

2. Black cod and silver cod are more expensive and contain more mercury than other fish, so they come last.

3. salmon in the northeast are wild, but it is difficult to buy, there are also fake, so friends in the south do not want to think about it.

Looking at the list above, you may have noticed some highlights. For example, it's amazing how high the DHA content of okra, which is often found on barbecue stalls, is. Isn't it worth having two more at your next barbecue?

In fact, we just recommended the DHA-supplemented okra baby meal to you last month. Give it a try (click on the image to see the recipe directly)

Pan-seared okra