Keeping with the whole baseball theme we have going here, I’m calling Novus International’s DHA Gold “Rookie of the Year” because they have only recently begun to market this product which was developed by Martek Biosciences.

DHA is docosahexaenoic acid – which is way too hard for normal, non-scientific types to say, so DHA works for me! It’s an omega-3 fatty acid normally found in cold water fatty fish and in fish oil that is very healthy for us in a number of ways. So, what Martek did was find a way to get the DHA out of an algae and harvest it like an oilseed so they can put that beneficial omega-3 fatty acid, or “Life’s DHA,” into other foods besides fish – which are called “functional foods.”

I talked with two guys who know all about this product – Jared Hux of Novus (left) and Todd Willis of Martek.

According to Todd, DHA has numerous health benefits, including brain development, visual acuity and cardio-vascular health. “Life’s DHA can already be found in many different products such as functional beverages, milk, yogurts, and baked goods from companies like Coca-Cola, General Mills and Dean Foods,” he said. In addition, almost all infant formula sold in the United States contains Life’s DHA.

Jared says Novus saw the potential for Life’s DHA to be marketed to poultry producers under the DHA Gold brand to create value-added eggs and meat that have additional health benefits for consumers. “Last year, Novus and Martek entered into an exclusive global distribution agreement,” Jared says. “It’s an opportunity for the egg and protein community to expand into functional foods.”

This is really an interesting story and you can listen to that interview here: ipe-09-dha.mp3

You can also download the interview here: DHA Interview (mp3).

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