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For children to develop a comprehensive brain, only DHA is not enough
Behind your baby's lovely moments for the first 1,000 days is a powerful development going on inside the brain. To help their children develop optimal brain, most parents only pay attention to DHA supplementation for their babies without really learning about this nutrient.
Studies have confirmed, DHA is really important for brain development but is very susceptible to oxidation. Therefore, if this nutrient is to be preserved as much as possible, it should be accompanied by some other nutrients such as lutein and natural vitamin E.
DHA - Gold nutrients to help develop the brain comprehensively
The first 1000 days is an extremely important stage of brain development, which is the foundation for the comprehensive development of the child in the first 5 years and his entire life. At this stage, the brain develops at a very rapid rate, from the size of only 25% of adults at birth, by the age of 3, this size has reached 90%. It can be said that this development is the foundation for many functions of the nervous system such as thinking, reasoning, regulating emotions, behaviors, learning and decision making.
DHA is a golden nutrient that helps a child's brain develop optimally in those early years. This nutrient is fully known as Docosahexaenoic Acid, which is a fatty acid of the omega-3 group. According to studies of brain structure, DHA is located in the structural component of nerve cell membranes, accounting for about 25% of fatty acids in the brain and accounting for about 70% in the retina:
For brain development: DHA and the active ingredient HMO in breast milk play an important role in the neurological development of babies and IQ. Specifically, DHA accounts for a high proportion in the gray matter that helps to create intelligence. Not only that, DHA also stimulates the sensitivity of neurons, helping to transmit information quickly and accurately.
For vision development: In young children, the development of the retinal cortex and the visual cortex depends on DHA. Therefore, this nutrient is essential for the development of optic nerve, helping to improve the eye function.
Although DHA is an essential unsaturated fatty acid that helps to perfect the nervous system, enhance intelligence, and develop vision functions for children, the body cannot synthesize it, so it must be supplemented from food. For young children, this nutrient is supplemented through breast milk or drinking DHA-rich formulas.
However, DHA is very susceptible to oxidation by heat, oxygen and sunlight. Therefore, how to help children absorb DHA in the best way is always a question of a headache for nutritionists and parents.
How to preserve DHA from the effects of oxidation?
Many studies have shown that in order to preserve DHA from the effects of oxidants, nutrients that act as antioxidants are needed to protect. Researchers have discovered that the best combination formula to both preserve DHA and best support children's brain development is combined with natural lutein and vitamin E.
Lutein: This nutrient is known as a good eye vitamin because it has benefits for people experiencing macular degeneration, cataracts, and retinitis pigmentosa. Additionally, lutein acts as an antioxidant to flush out oxidizing agents and has anti-inflammatory effects, thus acting as a neuroprotective nutrient. Therefore, it is a very beneficial nutrient for brain and vision development. Experts have shown that lutein can power up DHA and increase brain processing speed by 12%. At the same time, this nutrient also acts as an antioxidant in primitive nerve cell membranes, helping to protect DHA from oxidation when combined with natural vitamin E.
Natural Vitamin E: An important nutrient found only in advanced milk formulas. Vitamin E is naturally found in very large amounts in the frontal, occipital, and hippocampus - the regions of the brain responsible for memory and learning in infants. Not only that, natural vitamin E when combined with lutein also plays a role in preventing DHA from oxidation. However, a special point is that the brain will tolerate natural vitamin E better than synthetic vitamin E, so when choosing formula for your baby, you need to keep this in mind in the composition of the product.
The trio of essential nutrients including: lutein - natural vitamin E - DHA when combined with each other also enhances 81% more nerve connections compared to DHA alone, while providing more nutrients for development. brains in babies. These connections will create brain functions and learning abilities, laying the foundation for your child's intellectual development in the future.
For children to develop a comprehensive brain, it is not enough to choose milk containing only DHA for the baby
Both natural DHA, lutein and vitamin E are substances that cannot be synthesized by the body and must be obtained from food. For young children, this set of 3 nutrients will be provided through breast milk first but the concentration of substances will vary depending on the mother's diet. Therefore, breastfeeding for the first 6 months and continuing in the first years of life is the best way for your baby to have this complete set of 3 essential nutrients.
If for some force majeure you cannot breastfeed or do not have enough milk to meet your baby's needs, you will need to choose a milk with a full set of 3 nutrients to supplement and help your baby grow. overview. DHA is an important nutrient that you need to be concerned about, but it is very volatile and damaged by the effects of oxidation. Therefore, when choosing milk, you should not only pay attention to this ingredient, but also consider the two protective nutrients mentioned above, natural vitamin E and lutein.
In addition, you should also pay attention to some nutrients in breast milk such as HMOs or preferably use palm oil-free formulas to help protect and preserve DHA better.
HMO: A nutrient that strengthens the child's immune system, acts as an essential nutrient for brain development and cognition to increase optimal learning ability. Besides, HMO also acts as a prebiotic to help nourish beneficial microorganisms in the intestine, thereby helping digestion and absorption of nutrients smoothly and effectively.
When choosing milk, you need to carefully read the ingredients on the packaging, consider choosing dairy products with the fat content on the packaging such as soybean oil, sunflower oil, coconut oil ... and avoid products containing oil. palm (often indistinctly labeled as "vegetable oil"). The reason is that consuming palm oil-containing dairy products not only reduces DHA's absorption, but also often aggravates constipation symptoms in children during adulteration.
aFamilyToday Health hopes that with the information shared above, you have updated the useful things around choosing milk for your baby to help your baby develop optimal brain.
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