DHA Benefits and Side Effects for Children

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is an omega-3 fatty acid used to improvebrain和孩子的眼睛健康。天然存在于油性鱼和一些海藻中，DHA也有补充形式提供。

Uses

Since DHA is essential for neurological and visual development, DHA supplements are thought to enhance brain function and vision in children. In addition, DHA supplements are purported to treat certain health problems in children, such as allergies, asthma, andattention deficit-hyperactivity disorder(ADHD).

好处

Here's a look at some key study findings on the benefits of DHA for children:

adhd.

DHA deficiency may be common among children with ADHD, according to a report published in the美国临床营养杂志in 2000. However, it's not known whether DHA supplements can help treat ADHD in children.

例如，在2001年的研究中Journal of Pediatrics, researchers found that four months of DHA supplementation failed to decrease symptoms in a group of children with ADHD. The study involved 63 six- to 12-year-old children, each of whom received 345 milligrams (mg) of DHA or aplacebodaily. An article published in the journal脂质2017年审查了16项随机对照试验。13项研究报告了Adha症状的良好益处，包括在多动，冲动，关注，视觉学习，单词阅读和工作/短期记忆中。

需要更多的研究来看待DHA在该地区的有效性，并且常规推荐DHA补充剂作为辅助治疗，以可能降低所需的标准药物量。

大脑健康

So far, research on DHA's effects on cognitive function in children has yielded mixed results. For example, a 2009 study of 90 healthy children ages 10 to 12 (published inNutritional Neuroscience) found that eight weeks of DHA supplementation did not have a beneficial effect on brain function.

On the other hand, a 2008 study of 175 healthy four-year-old children (published in临床儿科) found that higher blood levels of DHA were linked to higher scores on vocabulary tests. However, this study did not specifically test the use of DHA supplements (and its potential to improve test scores). Therefore, DHA's effectiveness in改善认知功能孩子们仍然不清楚。

Caveats

以鱼油的形式服用DHA可能导致某些副作用，如口臭，胃灼热和恶心。它也是血液稀释剂。

重要的是要记住，许多尚未测试的补充剂尚未用于安全性，膳食补充剂在很大程度上不受管制。在某些情况下，产品可以递送与每种营养素或草药的指定量不同的剂量。在其他情况下，产品可能被其他物质如重金属污染。此外，尚未建立孕妇，哺乳母亲，儿童和医疗病症或服用药物的孕妇，护理母亲和儿童的安全性的安全性。

Before giving your child DHA supplements, consult their pediatrician to determine a safe dosage.

Where to Find DHA

广泛可供在线购买，DHA儿童补充商品在许多自然食品店，杂货店和专业膳食补充剂的商店出售。DHA补充剂通常以味道的胶粘形式提供，以使补充剂适合儿童。

来自粗糙的一个词

由于缺乏研究，它太早推荐DHA作为儿童任何病症的治疗。每周几次吃油性鱼（如鲑鱼，金枪鱼，鲭鱼，鲱鱼和沙丁鱼），可以实现充足的DHA摄入量。与您的儿科医生谈谈是否应该增加油性鱼的数量，或者应该考虑给予他们DHA补充剂。您的儿科医生还可以帮助您确定DHA补充剂的安全有效剂量。