Lipids: DHA and ARA
These special nutrients can provide benefits to infant mental and visual development
DHA and ARA occur naturally in breast milk and belong to a class of nutrients called "lipids", or "fats". Lipids are an essential part of a healthy diet because they are important structural components of vital organs, particularly an infant's brain and eyes.
Interest in DHA and ARA has increased following several scientific studies showing that infants fed formula supplemented with DHA and ARA gained intellectual and visual benefits not found in infants fed standard formulas without DHA and ARA.
In addition, recent research has also demonstrated that DHA and ARA's benefits may extend beyond advantages in infant mental and visual development.
Brain & Eye Development
Lipids, in general, are important components of the nervous system and DHA and ARA, in specific, are major constituents of an infant's brain and retinal portion of the eyes. The retina is that part of the eye that transmits images to the brain and is necessary for normal vision. Forty percent of the retina's lipid content is DHA.
Given the important structural role that DHA and ARA play and the rapid growth of the brain in infancy, it is essential that an infant have an ample supply of DHA and ARA.
Sources of DHA
Prior to birth, infants receive maternal DHA and ARA across the placenta. After
birth, breastfed infants continue to receive maternal DHA and ARA from breast
milk. Researchers believe formula-fed infants should receive these nutrients
from lipid-fortified formulas until they start solid foods in the second half of
the first year. (Foods high in DHA include meat, fish and eggs. Consult your
pediatrician about an appropriate age to give solid foods.)
In the United States prior to 2002, DHA and ARA were not added to formulas. It
was thought that infants could synthesize adequate amounts of DHA and ARA from
vegetable oils in formula. However, it is now known that many formula-fed
infants have lower levels of DHA and ARA than breast-fed infants. Researchers
now believe that many infants cannot make sufficient amounts of DHA and ARA from
the vegetable oils and unless DHA and ARA are added directly to formula,
researchers contend, formula-fed infants will not receive adequate amounts of
these lipids.
Bright Beginnings milk-based formula provides DHA and ARA in amounts that have
been proven to produce lipid levels in infants similar to those observed in
breast-fed infants.
The DHA and ARA in Bright Beginnings are from vegetable sources - the only source
which has been recognized as "safe" for inclusion in infant formulas by the Food
and Drug Administration.
Clinical Studies With DHA
Long term benefits of DHA and ARA in breast milk
- In a study published in the journal Pediatrics which examined early diet and
later cognitive performance, researchers found that breastfeeding was associated
with increases in cognitive ability and school performance.
- Researchers attributed these increases to effects of lipids, especially DHA, on
early neurodevelopment. Researchers in England found that women who regularly
ate oily fish (a source of DHA) throughout their pregnancy and during lactation
gave birth to children who had better visual development at the age of three
compared to those children of mothers with similar diets who did not breast
feed.
Long term cognitive and visual benefits of DHA and ARA supplemented infant
formula
- Infants fed formula supplemented with DHA and ARA for the first 4 months of life
had problem-solving skills at 10 months of age that were superior to those of
infants fed a formula without DHA and ARA. Higher problem solving skills in
infancy are associated with higher performance on tests of IQ in childhood.
- In a study funded by the National Institutes of Health comparing lipid-enriched
formula to unsupplemented formula, DHA and ARA-enriched formula fed during the
first 4 months of life was shown to significantly improve IQ scores at the age
of 18 months. Infants fed lipid-enriched formula
also had better visual acuity at 4 months and 1 year as compared to those who
were fed unsupplemented formula. The visual acuity of the supplemented group was
similar to that of breastfed infants.
Expert Opinions On DHA
Numerous groups of nutrition experts have recommended the addition of DHA and
ARA to infant formulas, including:
- A World Health Organization and United
Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (WHO/FAO) panel
- The British Nutrition
Foundation
- A Child Health Foundation-sponsored panel
- A National Institutes of
Health and International Society for the study of Fats and Lipids
(NIH/ISSFAL)-sponsored workshop
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