Pam Ponders

More and more as our scientists discovers the benefits of omega 3 fats to health and to the development of the growing babies and children we will see a continuation of the recent trend towards adding DHA to foods. It is now entirely possible to source a range of DHA fortified baby foods including such foods as baby cereal with DHA.

DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) is one of the essential omega 3 fatty acids and is now considered to be the most important to our health. EPA is also important and is another omega 3 fatty acid but DHA is essential to a whole range of health benefits to both our brain and heart and also becoming clear that the developing fetus or baby also requires an adequate supply of DHA.

But it’s another matter to extrapolate from this that we should all be using DHA Infant Formula. However a recent event gives us a clue. This was a lecture by a representative of a baby food manufacturer who are making a new DHA baby formula. The lecture included some interesting information, particularly that residents of the US and Canada have some of the lowest levels of DHA of any country in the world. That’s because of our very low levels of fish intake.

Also of interest was the statement made that established benefits to infants and babies from an adequate supply of DHA included better. “cognitive development, improved visual acuity, memory retention and ability to communicate and solve problems as well as psychomotor development”. So you can see there are powerful reasons to ensure that the fetus or baby has an adequate supply of DHA available.

However there is another powerful reason to be sceptical about the benefits of DHA Baby Formula. It has always been accepted for a number of reasons that breastfeeding is better than using infant formula. If there is a sufficient supply of DHA to the mother in her diet then this is also available to the baby through her milk.

This relies of course on the diet of the mother having an adequate intake of DHA

It isn’t clear yet what benefits there are to using DHA in baby formula. And in fact the representative of the infant formula company noted that “No infant formula can ever substitute breast milk. It will take years before anybody can tell us how to add the hormones in breast milk to infant formula”.

It is pretty clear that it is way too early to decide to use DHA infant formula to feed our babies. Provided the mother gets enough DHA in her diet the baby will get sufficient DHA in the milk.

Of course it is always possible to get an adequate supply of DHA in our diet from increasing the amount of oily fish we eat. But sadly fish is contaminated with a range of toxins such as Mercury.

The best DHA supplements are entirely clean and are a very cost-effective way of getting an adequate daily supply of DHA. But not all DHA supplements are good.

Visit my website to find out where to source the best DHA Supplements so that you too can get an adequate supply of DHA to your baby through your milk.

Want to know more about the health benefits of DHA EPA Supplements? Or more about the pros and cons of DHA Baby Formula? Visit Peter’s Website Healthy Omega 3 Fish Oil.