life'sARA

什么是ARA（花生四烯酸）？

花生四烯酸(ARA)是一种存在于人体的多不饱和欧米茄-6脂肪酸(PUFA)。它是大脑中主要的欧米茄-6脂肪酸，约占大脑中所发现欧米茄-6脂肪的48%。^1,2,3,4ARA的膳食来源包括肉类、家禽和蛋类。在婴儿时期，母乳是ARA（以及DHA）的膳食来源⁵，因为母乳始终含有ARA和DHA。有趣的是，无论母亲的饮食如何，母乳中的ARA水平均相对稳定，这表明ARA在婴儿发育期具有重要的生物学意义。^6,7

ARA和DHA被认为是婴儿时期某些条件下的必需营养物质⁸，经科学研究证实，它们在妊娠和婴儿时期对人体组织的结构和功能、免疫功能以及大脑和视网膜发育起着关键作用。^9,10,11由于婴幼儿对脂肪酸前体、亚油酸(LA)和α-亚麻酸(ALA)的转化能力较低，因此需要通过膳食摄取ARA和DHA，以保持其体内的ARA和DHA水平。^12,13,14ARA和DHA在细胞膜上的平衡是影响细胞功能的重要因素。尽管DHA和ARA具有截然不同的功能，但它们的代谢和功能活动相辅相成，共同体现出最佳的健康益处。^15,16

ARA欧米茄-6益处的科学依据

ARA与DHA相结合，有益于身体、大脑和眼睛的生长和功能¹⁵
ARA不仅在所有细胞膜中具有结构和功能作用，作为各种生物学过程的前体和信使，它也是代谢活动中的必需物质¹⁶
ARA是一组重要代谢物的前体，这些代谢物可以发挥的作用有免疫功能¹⁷、炎症¹⁸、生育能力¹⁹和血液循环²⁰的调节

参考文献

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