DHA deficiency affects the brain of children like?

Until now, DHA has always been an important substance for young children. Why is that? Through this article, mothers can better understand the importance of DHA, how the lack of DHA affects the child's brain, thereby ensuring the health of themselves and the baby.

DHA is an unsaturated fatty acid that belongs to the omega-3 group. This is an important component in the structure of the meninges, directly affects the exchange of signals between nerve cells. DHA is found in almost all organs, but mainly in the retinal nerve tissue and cardiovascular system.

According to scientists, DHA accounts for 20% of brain mass. DHA is also important for retinal nerves and vision in infants. This fatty acid supports the development of the nervous system and brain in children.

In addition, DHA helps reduce cholesterol , fight atherosclerosis, myocardial infarction and depression in pregnant women.

Above all, DHA also enhances intelligence (IQ) for children, prevents behavioral diseases and disabilities or autism.

Low DHA levels can affect children's reading skills, memory and behavior

Scientists conducted a study in 7–9-year-old children whose reading scores were below average. These children, with low levels of DHA and omega-3 fatty acids , lead to weak reading, memory skills and behavioral problems. According to previous research, children with ADHD syndrome (hyperactivity syndrome, decreased attention) or learning problems, behavioral behavior often have lower levels of saturated omega-3 fats often.

Recently, scientists have added that children who look healthy, have no health problems, but have poor reading skills are associated with low omega-3 levels.

As suggested by WHO, pregnant or lactating women need to ensure adequate intake of DHA (200mg / day). However, the fact that pregnant women absorb DHA daily is only half of the recommended dose. If a woman does not get enough DHA during pregnancy, she may experience mental retardation and slowdown.

Research on the learning process from 9-year-old children shows that children who are breastfed and supplemented with enough DHA will be smarter than normal children and less likely to suffer from depression , inactivity, autism, and pronunciation ambiguity or behavioral disorder.

In addition, the lack of DHA will increase the risk of fetal eye diseases such as eye refraction, eye diseases, bad eyes ...

Newborn babies can suffer from respiratory, digestive and allergic diseases if DHA is deficient.

Experiments

One study of a 9-week-old baby with a mother used to absorb approximately 214 mg of DHA per day during pregnancy. When hiding a child's toy in a towel and then placing it on the table, the child does not have difficulty pulling the table towel and then grabbing the towel to find his toy. With the mother not having enough DHA, with the same experiment but the baby cannot solve the problem.

Not only that, the study says, active children who are not focused on learning can improve their situation by consuming foods containing DHA.

Symptoms of DHA deficiency

If children lack DHA, they will be mentally retarded, have less intelligence, have difficulty concentrating, have language problems (stuttering, unclear pronunciation), often suffer from respiratory or allergic diseases. . In pregnant women, DHA problems can be manifested by depression, forgetfulness, easy anger, and irritability.

DHA supply during pregnancy is extremely important for the health of the mother as well as the development of the baby in the future. To avoid problems and dangers, mothers need to provide a sufficient amount of DHA.

Through the above article, we hope to bring you useful information about DHA, thereby helping you balance your diet to have a good health as well as ensure the development of your baby in the future.