DHA supplement question

[rach03]

At my first appointment, I got a lot of vitamin samples and one of the samples was the DHA supplement called Expecta that you can get at the local store.

Does anyone have any info on this? I know it's not organic, and that it is a plant-based DHA as opposed to a fish-based.

Would this be an okay supplement for me to take, or would it be better to find an organic one? I'm a little leery of the fish-based DHA supplements due to the mercury, but I'm also not very educated on this so that may not matter.

Thanks for any advice :)

[baybemama]

I wondered this too. I take Expecta and recognize that it's not organic but would rather have it than fish oil. I'd be interested to know of any reason NOT to take expecta...

[rach03]

Oh and I forgot to add...I took it throughout my entire last pregnancy and the first 6 months I was nursing DS. But since finding this site I see a lot of helpful people and good info on here, so I was just wondering if anyone gave it the thumbs up or not before I started taking it again :)

[13Sandals]

just a side related note on the fish oil supplements...
my son is scheduled for surgery in a few weeks and the dr asked about any supplements he was taking. I told him that he took a multi, probiotics and a DHA supplement. He said that he had to stop the DHA supplement at least 10 days before surgery - because it can cause an increase in blood loss - it apparently thins the blood.

I decided to stop taking my DHA supplement during the last trimester because of this info. I haven't had a chance to do my own research yet - but just thought I'd mention it...

[alegna]

IMO it's crap and I would never touch it. It's not organic. It's mercury content isn't known. And most of all- it's made by a formula company.

-Angela

[rach03]

So does anyone have any other recommendations for a DHA/Omega 3 supplement?

I'd rather not do fish oil, like I said the mercury thing bothers me...not to mention I don't want to take fish oil orally.

Any suggestions?

[mercy589]

I just asked this same thing.... I'd love to know the alternative as well, I'm not happy about giving my $ to Enfamil, and I'm not completely sold on the DHA thing, seems like the latest craze to me...

[ciar_aurora]

Hi, I am new to the boards but I thought I might be able to help on this one. I tried the Expecta and I couldn't stand it, kept burping op the oily taste. Yuck.

My alternative, it's not a supplement but....Kashi now has a cereal that has 500 mg of Omega 3 per serving which comes from nuts & seeds rather than a fish oil. It tastes good too. It is the Kashi Go Lean Crunch Honey Almond Flax.

Hope this helps.
~Aurora

[Shenandoah]

So does anyone have any other recommendations for a DHA/Omega 3 supplement?

I'd rather not do fish oil, like I said the mercury thing bothers me...not to mention I don't want to take fish oil orally.

Any suggestions?

I take Omega-Zen3. Available here. http://www.veganstore.com/body-care-and-vitamins/all-vitamins-and-supplements/nutru-omega-zen_dash_3-supplement/Page_5/642.html

[baybemama]

DHA does help to thin the blood which isn't really a bad thing. It can help to lower blood pressure and improve circulation...it is recommended that people who are on blood thinning medications do not take DHA supplements...or in a previous poster's case, those preparing for surgery since their blood needs to clot.

There is no reason Expecta would contain mercury since it's not from fish sources, but from plants.

:)

[lrlittle]

I take this (http://www.drfuhrman.com/shop/DHA.aspx)one. It's from algae, not fish oil.

[2sweetboysmom]

IMO it's crap and I would never touch it. It's not organic. It's mercury content isn't known. And most of all- it's made by a formula company.

-Angela

ITA

I take Nordic Naturals. It is from fish. Their purification standards cannot be beat. I don't get fishy burp back either.:wink

[AMJ]

Hi...just learned that I was expecting and am dealing with this too. My midwife had prescribed Duet DHA which is a fish oil based DHA. Not cool since I'm a vegetarian. I talked to them about this and asked if I could just take a tbsp of flax seed oil each day instead and they seemed to think that was fine. This is actually what I did when I was pregnant with my DD back before the DHA craze. The flax seed oil I buy (can't remember the brand and I'm too lazy to get up and look in the fridge), but it's organic.

[Crunchie]

If you're going to take a fish-based DHA, Nordic Naturals is the only way to go, in my opinion. Very pure, very good standards. If you can't find them or don't want to do fish, do a plant-based DHA.

I'm a vegetarian, and I wanted to take DHA, so I take an algae-based one from Source Naturals. It's still in a gelatin cap, but I decided to pick my battles on this one (I know there's a veg one out there but it was soooo expensive...and my health food store couldn't get it). I really think DHA is important, latest craze or not. There are only a handful of companies that make DHA that is actually approved for pregnant women...I wish I could remember the name of the manufacturer, but I can't! Anyway, Source Naturals uses that particular kind of algae-oil for their DHA, and they make high-quality natural supplements, so I think it's a good choice. I wouldn't take the Expecta because it is made by a formula company and I doubt most of us want to give them any money...also, it has the same algae-oil DHA as a lot of the better brands, but I have doubts as to the quality of the overall product--read the label, there's a bunch of funky additives in the capsules.

There are other good brands of natural plant-based DHA. Check out a good health food store, don't go to the drugstore or GNC!

All of the research I've read says your body can't effectively convert the fatty acids from flax into DHA. I know it's a huge debate, and I'm no scientist, but I really think you don't get any DHA benefit from flax oil. Flax is great, and you'll get great omega-3 benefits if you take the oil--but probably very little DHA. Same with the Kashi cereal (which uses whole flax, which pretty much just passes through your body whole...so you don't really get the benefit of even the omega-3s from that...but I love that cereal anyway it's yummy and has lots of fiber and a good amount of protein!!)

[ccohenou]

Fish oil doesn't have mercury in it. It's molecularly distilled, and tested to be free from mercury, PCBs, etc, whether you buy Nordic Naturals or Costco brand. You'd have to look hard for one that wasn't purified.
http://www.consumerlab.com/results/omega3.asp

[rach03]

Where would I find Nordic Naturals? Would it be available at a local health food store, or somewhere like Whole Foods? And is it a gel capsule?

Thanks! :)

[Crunchie]

Plenty of brands might have "safe" levels of mercury/PCBs, but as far as I know very few actually go through a molecular distillation process (which ensures that basically there is no mercury or PCBs) And very few actually take the appropriate measures to ensure that the oil isn't rancid when it's encapsulated. Granted, I will totally admit that the last time I had access to this information was a year or more ago--maybe things have changed? (I used to manage a health food store, so I know wwaaaayyyy too much about supplement brands :lol but I haven't worked in that industry for over 6 months now) Anyway, I do know that out of all of the brands of fish oil we researched, Nordic Naturals was absolutely the only one we would sell in the store.

I would suggest trying to find it at a local health food store if you can, to support your local small businesses--but if they don't carry it/can't get it for you, I've seen the brand at Whole Foods.

And, I could be wrong here, so someone please chime in if they know--but too much vitamin A can be a concern during pregnancy, right? Fish oil can have a high amount of naturally occuring vitamin A. I think maybe that a DHA supplement from fish may not--again, not sure, so do your own research--because it is mostly concentrated DHA from fish oil, not just straight-up fish oil. So I would check into that, and ask my OB/midwife before I started taking any fish supplements.

ETA: yes, the Nordic Naturals DHA is in a gelatin capsule. They may have a liquid also, but something makes me think they don't for their DHA product...

[rach03]

I would love to find a small health food store, but I've looked and looked on the internet and can't find one here...Central Texas doesn't seem to be all that concerned with organic I guess :p

I really don't know what to choose...I'm sorry for all my questions, I just want to do what is best for my baby. Like I said, I took Expecta last time just because it was readily available at the grocery store and I know nothing about supplements. :dizzy:

[Skrimpy]

wanted to give this thread a little bump with a link to another thread you mamas may find helpful:

http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=408632