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03 JUN

Why must pregnant women and infants take DHA supplements?

  • Health Fitness
  • Lillian
  • Aug 24,2023
  • 95

DHA

What is DHA? What are the supplementation standards?

DHA is an unsaturated fat that is essential for the growth and maintenance of nervous system cells. It is an important component of the brain and retina, making up 35% to 45% of the total unsaturated fat in the human brain and about 50% of the unsaturated fat in the retina of the eye.dha certification It is essential for the intellectual and visual development of fetuses, infants and young children.

Pregnant and lactating women: The recommended average intake of DHA is not less than 200mgday. The need for DHA is higher during pregnancy and postpartum lactation compared to normal because during this stage, mothers have to meet not only their own needs but also the nutritional needs of their babies and newborns. During pregnancy, all of the baby's nutritional needs come from the mother, and this stage is a critical time for the baby's brain development, and DHA is an important component in the development of brain tissue.sialic acid market For breastfeeding mothers, breastmilk is the only source of nutrition for breastfed babies, and the demand for DHA is naturally more robust during this period.

Infants: It is recommended that the appropriate daily intake of DHA for 0-6 months is 0.2-0.36% of total fatty acids, 6-24 months can be based on the weight of infants and young children daily appropriate intake of 10-12 mg / kg. 2-4 years old, EPA + DHA daily needs appropriate intake of 100-150 mg. The first three years of an infant's life is the prime time for brain development.

The magic of DHA

1. Improve problem-solving ability

When infants are supplemented with an appropriate proportion of DHA and ARA, the problem-solving ability of 9-month-old babies is significantly higher than that of babies of the same age.food ingredients asia

2. Improve visual acuity

For the role of DHA in improving visual acuity in infants, infants who were continuously supplemented with DHA and ARA had better visual acuity compared to those who were not supplemented.

3. Intelligence plus

Experiments have shown that babies supplemented with the right proportion of DHA & ARA during infancy had a 7-point higher intelligence score at the 18th month than another group of babies who were not supplemented with DHA & ARA!

4. Higher language ability

Continuous supplementation with the right ratio will really help to improve your baby's verbal IQ.

5. Healthier respiratory system at 1 and 3 years of age

The protective effect of DHA and ARA on the respiratory system can last until 3 years old.

6. Immunity little guardian

In addition to the brain and retina containing a large amount of DHA, immune cells also contain DHA. Continuous supplementation with the right proportion of DHA and ARA can help stimulate the vitality of immune cells, reduce the incidence of respiratory diseases and enhance self-protection.

How can pregnant women and infants get DHA?

1. Breast milk

Breastmilk is the best choice for babies' growth and the best way for children to get DHA. Colostrum is particularly rich in DHA. However, the level of DHA in mother's milk mainly depends on the food structure of the three meals.

2. Sea cucumber

Sea cucumber not only contains high protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron and 18 kinds of amino acids, but also contains a high proportion of DHA. moderate intake of sea cucumber products during pregnancy can help the development of the fetus, and sea cucumber can give DHA to the child through breast milk during breastfeeding, which can help the child's intellectual development and healthy growth.

3. Formula milk powder

In recent years, with the continuous improvement of formula milk powder and production technology by domestic and foreign dairy manufacturers, more and more manufacturers focus on the addition of DHA and ARA, however, the content of DHA in formula milk powder is still very small.

4. Fish

Fish with high DHA content include tuna, bonito, salmon, mackerel, sardines, mackerel, swordfish, tuna, yellow croaker, swordfish, eel, scallop, and crucian carp, etc. The DHA content per 100 grams of fish can reach up to 1,000 mg or more. As far as a certain kind of fish is concerned, the part with high DHA content is the eye socket fat, followed by fish oil.

5. Dried fruits

Walnuts, almonds, peanuts, sesame seeds, etc. Α-linolenic acid can be converted into dHA in the body.

6. Algae

Algae can synthesize DHA through its own fermentation, therefore, with the development of modern technology, people have gradually mastered the technology and method of obtaining DHA from algae, resulting in the birth of a large number of safe, efficient, non-polluting, plant-based high-quality DHA.

7. DHA products

It is recommended that pregnant women consume high-quality fish oil DHA products, and contain an appropriate amount of heart-protecting EPA, of which the content of DHA and EPA must be greater than 4:1.

8. Health products for infants and children

At present, some mother and baby stores in the sale of some algal oil DHA punch, rice powder and other products also contain a certain amount of DHA.