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The role of DHA in children's brain development
2. What effects does DHA have on children?
Decode a duo of nutrients that help preserve DHA in milk from oxidation
DHA is an essential nutrient to help children develop the brain, but this nutrient itself is easily oxidized in formula milk if it is not accompanied by antioxidants like Lutein and natural vitamin E. However, in reality, many parents do not know this, so it is good for the brain that any milk contains DHA.
So what roles do nutrients like natural vitamin E and lutein play for DHA? Why milk with DHA comes with natural vitamin E and lutein will be better for children's brain development than milk with only DHA? Marrybaby will join you in decoding this secret to help parents not to make mistakes in choosing milk that is good for their brain.
DHA has the full name of docosahexaenoic acid. This is a very easily oxidized long-chain omega-3 fat found in nuts, fatty fish, and especially salmon.
DHA accounts for 97% of the omega-3 fatty acids in the brain and 25% of the total brain fat. DHA greatly affects the pathway of neurotransmitters, synaptic transmission and signal transmission.
DHA is an essential nutrient for children to develop brain but is easily oxidized
From birth to 2 years old is considered the main growth stage of the child's brain. In brain structure, the frontal lobe is the place responsible for cognitive activities, planning, problem solving and focusing attention of children. Meanwhile, the frontal lobe is the place with the most DHA. This means that DHA plays an important role in children's cognition, intelligence and behavior. In addition, DHA also helps children develop vision, enhance eyesight and reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases. In addition, this substance also has anti-inflammatory effects and protects the mental health of children.
However, the child's body cannot produce DHA on its own, so mothers need to supplement their baby with DHA in many ways such as mothers loaded with foods rich in DHA to enhance this substance in breast milk or babies drink formula containing DHA.
But not all milk containing DHA is also good for your baby's brain development. Because DHA's nature is easy to oxidize, if not protected, it will not be preserved for children to absorb well.
Therefore, in formula milk, if DHA comes with the two nutrients natural vitamin E and lutein, it will be less oxidized and thus help the child's body absorb more DHA for brain development.
Natural Vitamin E and Lutein help protect DHA from oxidation, thereby helping children absorb DHA optimally for brain development.
You must be wondering why natural vitamin E and lutein can protect DHA from oxidation, right? So let's continue to decode this duo with Marrybaby right now.
What is natural vitamin E?
Vitamin E contains 8 different ingredients, of which alpha-tocopherol is the most active substance in humans. Vitamin E acts against oxidation, helping to protect body cells from damage.
Vitamin E exists in two forms that are natural and synthetic vitamin E. However, synthetic vitamin E absorbed by the body (both in terms of concentration and speed) is only 1/2 of that of natural vitamin E.
Guiding parents to choose formula milk according to science for their comprehensive development . Common psychology of parents when choosing milk is only targeting 1-2 certain criteria such as milk to help their children digest well, milk helps I have good immunity… even though I understand that the formula you choose cannot meet your child's comprehensive developmental needs. This is due to the parental default that all ...
What is the effect of natural vitamin E in protecting DHA?
Natural vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant that can help reduce free radical damage and slow down the aging of cells.
Natural vitamin E properties also help protect DHA from oxidation, which means that natural vitamin E helps to protect your baby's brain from free radical damage.
In addition, natural vitamin E also helps to protect nerve cells to ensure healthy brain function of the baby.
According to research, natural vitamin E has two times higher antioxidant capacity than synthetic vitamin E. This means that formula with natural vitamin E will preserve DHA twice as much as milk with synthetic vitamin E. Accordingly, the baby will absorb DHA in milk with natural vitamin E higher than milk with synthetic vitamin E.
Natural vitamin E protects DHA from oxidation twice as much as synthetic vitamin E
The natural vitamin E in formula milk is often listed on labels that begin with an “d” as d-alpha-tocopheryl acetate. Synthetic vitamin E is often labeled with "dl" - alpha - tocopherol. You can rely on these symbols to choose the best DHA milk to help your baby be smart.
What is Lutein?
Lutein, or carotene, is a vitamin (a group of natural pigments found in plants and vegetables) and has powerful antioxidant properties. Lutein is concentrated in the retina of the eye and is involved in key areas involved in children's visual processing, memory, hearing, and language development.
Research published in the American Journal of Pediatric Nutrition and Digestive shows that lutein dominates in the infant's brain, namely brain regions involved in learning and memory.
What effects Lutein?
Lutein can act as an antioxidant and as an anti-inflammatory so it can play a role in protecting the nervous system from oxidative damage. Combined with natural vitamin E, lutein also helps protect DHA (given to babies from formula) from being broken down before being absorbed by the brain by oxidation.
In addition, recent studies in pre-adulthood adults and children show that lutein is correlated with better verbal learning, speaking fluency, memory and information processing.
From the above analysis, the mother knows how to choose the best milk due to the baby's brain development, right? It is milk containing DHA that is preserved by natural vitamin E and lutein. However, the formula that the mother chooses also needs to ensure that her baby has a healthy digestive system. So make sure to check if the milk is using the palm oil-free fat system , and the fiber, nucleotides content - these are nutrients that help your baby digest better.
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