What would be your reaction if you heard someone state that DHA, the omega 3 essential fatty acid (pronounced do-co-sa-hexa-e-no-ic acid) is more important than DNA itself?
This is exactly what Michael Crawford Ph.D., states, who is a professor and researcher at the Imperial College of London and is the Director of the Institute of Brain Chemistry and Human Nutrition.
His work on unsaturated fatty acids in early human brain development and health won him the International Award for Modern Nutrition and in 2012, published an illuminating research paper titled, ““A quantum theory for the irreplaceable role of docosahexaenoic acid in neural cell signaling throughout evolution.” (1)
Most molecules in nature have changed over the course of a very long “time”, perhaps millions or billions of years to adapt its ability to function in the most energy-efficient and optimal way.
But the omega-3 fatty acid known as DHA is actually one of only a few that have maintained its structure and function because of its energy efficiency.
In other words, DHA has remained unchanged because it has played its role so well and so efficiently within the brain, nervous system eyes, mitochondria, cardiovascular system, sperm and every cell throughout the human body.
In his paper, Crawford states:
“While amino acids could be synthesized over 4 billion years ago, only oxidative metabolism allows for the synthesis of highly unsaturated fatty acids, thus producing novel lipid molecular species for specialized cell membranes. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) provided the core for the development of the photoreceptor, and conversion of photons into electricity stimulated the evolution of the nervous system and brain.
Since then, DHA has been conserved as the principal acyl component of photoreceptor synaptic and neuronal signaling membranes in the cephalopods, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals and humans. This extreme conservation in electrical signaling membranes despite great genomic change suggests it was DHA dictating to DNA rather than the generally accepted other way around.”
In the eye, there exists an astonishing 91 million rods and 4.5 million cones, all of which have DHA-loaded membranes that act as photoreceptors and capture the visible spectrum of light. (2)
These photoreceptors in the eye convert the energy from photons (light) from the Sun into electricity, which then is relayed throughout the nervous system. In the retina of the eye, 93% of the fatty acids are DHA.
This conversion of light energy (photons) to create an electrical signal is what gives DHA possible quantum mechanical properties as it relates to the tunneling of pi-electrons, which will be discussed more shortly.
Given how fundamental DHA is for animal and human biology, its needs for the development of life is not surprising. A developing baby is especially dependent on DHA, because of it being an actual component in all neurons, the eyes, the nervous system and every cellular membrane in the body.
This is why during the last trimester of pregnancy, a women’s needs for DHA rises as the baby’s uptake of DHA reaches peak levels.
Harvard researchers state that a developing human baby’s brain will produce up to 1 million synapses every second and it is commonly known that a baby’s brain will triple in size by the time the baby reaches 1 year in age. (3)
Studies have even shown that when adequate amounts of DHA are present, IQ scores can be improved. (4)
This coincides with what is known about DHA and its ability to stimulate the process of neurogenesis in the brain and nervous system. Neurogenesis is important for both a baby and a mature adult, given that this special process helps neurons to repair themselves, strengthen the connections between other neurons and even stimulate the production of new neurons.
DHA has the unique ability to up regulate the production of NGF (nerve growth factor), BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) and Synaptamide, which are compounds that all play a role in the process of neurogenesis. (5, 6, 7)
What’s interesting is that it also helps support the healthy expression of different genes that relate to the hypothalamus and the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), which helps to regulate hormones in conjunction with the cycles of light and darkness. This means that it is known that the SCN helps to balance the human circadian rhythm. (8)
Neurons found within the sacred pineal gland are also loaded with DHA and it isn’t a surprise that healthy DHA levels are correlated with the proper functioning of the pineal gland and healthy melatonin production. (9)
This ties directly into the fact that DHA supports the integrity of the myelin sheath, which is the fatty substance that lines and acts as insulation to neurons. Similar to how insulation on electrical wires prevents energy loss, myelin helps to protect energy loss when electrical signals travel throughout the brain at faster than light speed and precision. (10)
Because of the 86 billions neurons and 150 trillion plus synapses that exist in the average human brain, there is an enormous amount of voltage that needs to be conducted within the nervous system. (11)
Neuronal membranes are loaded with DHA and help to generate this electrostatic potential across the lipid bilayer of the neuron and gives rise to the electricity in the brain and nervous system.
In fact, it is in large part due to DHA that we can listen, think, speak, interpret and interact with each other and the with words and images in this video.
As stated earlier, it is believed that DHA has remained selected by Nature to help maximize the speed of communication between neurons and is responsible for brain and nervous system development.
In Dr. Crawford’s 2012 paper, he proposed the possibility of pi-electrons moving through an action known as quantum tunneling and DHA having properties similar to semiconductors.
Dr. Crawford’s paper states:
“In this theory, the energy released in the signaling would be absolutely and precisely quantised by tunnelling, giving us the clear vision, high acuity necessary for reading, fine motor skills, and three- dimensional vision; together with smooth mental processing of our external environment upon which we depend. A similar process might take place in the synapse where the DHA is also densely packed. There DHA might act as a quantum gate controlling the signal in a fashion reminiscent of semi-conduction.” (12)
Regardless of the quantum possibilities, it is known how important DHA is in the physical world with respect to the brain, eyes, mitochondria, telomeres and the proper functioning of every cell.
Studies have shown that the average human is at around 4% for their omega 3 index percentage, while optimal percentages around between 8-12%. (13) In another study, even 95% of college athletes across 34 different sports were deficient in their DHA intake levels. (14)
This deficiency in humanity is alarming, given how critical this omega 3 fatty acid is for overall functioning of the human being, but studies have shown that the omega 3 index percentage can be raised by consuming 1,000-2,000 mg of DHA and EPA per day. (15, 16)
In order to get to these levels, one would need to consume about 5-10 servings per week of salmon over a period of months.
The consumption of salmon and other fish that contain DHA comes with its own challenges though, as the world’s waters have been so heavily contaminated with pesticides, heavy metals, plastics and other pollutants, that consuming this amount of seafood isn’t realistic for most people and many people also choose to not eat fish.
Fortunately, nature’s source of DHA, EPA and other fatty acids actually come from algae. This means that the fish eat the algae and become the second step in the chain.
Obviously, algae grown in contaminated waters carries with it the same environmental pollution concerns, as well as extraction methods using hexane that most algae oil companies use.
There is a source of these potent Omega 3 fatty acids though that utilizes an ancient, wild-type strain of algae that is grown in hermetically sealed tanks and is tested to be free of heavy metals, harmful microbial content and other pollutants.
It is also unique in that it uses a clean water-extracted process to produce nature’s pure, original source of DHA, EPA and many other fatty acids in the ratio that most closely matches our human biological needs.
If you’re interested in this original oil source of these crucial fatty acids for yourself as well as your pets, please, click the link in the description below.
Click here for Algae Oil DHA
(Use discount code ZANE10 for 10% off your entire order at Ascent Nutrition!)
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References:
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23206328/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK10848/
- https://developingchild.harvard.edu/science/key-concepts/brain-architecture/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16242603/
- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13880200902902497
- https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-67868-9
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3775276/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25144192/
- https://academic.oup.com/jn/article/129/11/2074/4721869
- https://www.nature.com/articles/srep07458
- https://www.nature.com/scitable/blog/brain-metrics/are_there_really_as_many/
- https://www.ars.usda.gov/ARSUserFiles/4986/set4/Final%20DHA%202012.pdf
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0091743504000878
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7190167/
- https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/110/4/1034/5545309?
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16296399/
