EasyNetWorld

What exactly is DHA, and do babies need to supplement it? You will understand after reading this

Speaking of DHA, parents should be familiar with it. Many milk powders in supermarkets will be marked on the outer packaging: rich in DHA. Many advertisements also claim that DHA can make babies smarter, so what exactly is DHA?

The full name of DHA is docosahexaenoic acid, which belongs to n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids. Studies have shown that DHA is beneficial to the development of the baby's brain and vision, and infants and young children should consume 100 mg of DHA every day.

Do babies need to supplement DHA?

Breastfeeding babies

If mothers eat more foods rich in DHA, breast milk will provide the baby with enough DHA, and the baby does not need additional supplements.

Research has shown that as long as breastfeeding mothers consume an average of no less than 200 mg of DHA per day, the baby can get enough DHA through breast milk.

Egg yolks and deep-sea fish are rich in DHA.dha algal oil powder If a mother eats one egg a day and 2-3 meals of fish a week (a total of about 226-340 grams, about half a pound), and it is best to have one meal of low-mercury marine fish with high fat content, she can take in no less than 200 mg of DHA.

Babies fed with milk powder

Try to choose milk powder containing DHA.

You can calculate the baby's daily DHA intake based on the nutrition label of the milk powder and the baby's daily milk intake to determine whether it needs to be supplemented.

For example, the nutritional composition table of the following milk powder shows that the DHA content of the milk powder is 5.4mg/100ml. If the baby drinks 1000ml of milk a day, then the DHA he eats a day is 54 mg. Insufficient DHA intake requires additional supplementation.

Babies who have already eaten complementary foods

Supplement DHA through a balanced diet.

After starting to add complementary foods, if the frequency of DHA-rich foods in the complementary foods is high, there is no need to supplement DHA. So which foods contain DHA?

Many seafood products are rich in DHA, such as deep-sea fish.

Type DHA content Pollution Remarks Salmon High Low First recommendation Yellow croaker Generally low recommendation Sea bass Generally low recommendation Cod Generally low recommendation Hairtail Higher Slightly higher Not recommended

Shrimp and seaweed are also rich in DHA, and egg yolks also contain DHA, which are all very good DHA supplements.

When starting to eat complementary foods, you can add some egg yolk to rice flour every day, gradually increasing from half to one egg yolk. When the baby can eat a whole egg, you can give him an egg every day. In addition, eat deep-sea fish 2 to 3 times a week (a total of 113 to 170 grams, about 3 taels).

How to choose DHA supplements?

If the baby is allergic to seafood, or has a picky eating phenomenon, then it is necessary to supplement it with DHA supplements.

Fish oil or algae oil?

DHA supplements can be divided into fish oil DHA and algae oil DHA due to different sources. Parents are generally recommended to choose algae oil.

Because fish oil contains EPA, a long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid that dilates blood vessels and inhibits blood coagulation, it has a certain health care effect on the elderly.

However, EPA is not necessary for infants and young children, and it may also affect the synthesis of ARA (a substance that is an essential fatty acid for babies), so it is not recommended.