Children's DHA needs

The article was consulted professionally by Dr. Le Thi Hong Anh – Pediatrician – Pediatrics – Newborn Department, Share99 Central Park International Health Hub.

DHA is essential for the comprehensive development of brain and eye function in children. DHA is replenished early and continuously will bring long-term benefits to the development of children, so DHA supplementation is always recommended in children, especially babies and young children.

DHA is fully named DocosaHexaenoic Acid – this is an unsaturated fatty acid belonging to the group of Omega-3 fatty acids (unsaturated fatty acids with 22 carbon, 6 paired, the first pairing at the position of carbon no. 3). DHA is necessary for brain development, vision, increased immunity, reduced risk of developing allergies of young children.

These essential unsaturating fatty acids our body does not synthesize on its own, but must be introduced from food sources.

Supplementing the baby with DHA will help the baby develop the complete vision function of the eyes, because DHA accounts for a very high proportion in the retina, this is where the total eye vision is commanded. DHA is essential for brain development because DHA accounts for a very high proportion of gray matter to create intelligence in children and create sensitivity of neurons, which helps to transmit information quickly and accurately.

DHA is closely related to the infant's head ring, weight and length. Adequate supply of this substance can help reduce the rate of debilitating after birth. Being in the uterus, the fetus requires a large amount of increased absorption of DHA to correspond to the increased amount of DHA of the brain during pregnancy and in the months after birth. This is demonstrated as soon as birth, the brain weight of the baby is about 70% of the brain weight of adults.

In the process of development, if the need for DHA supplements for children is lacking, the child will have a low IQ intelligence index: The study followed until the child was 8-9 years old it was found that the child was breastfed, and the DHA diet had an IQ higher than 8.3 points and a lower rate of nervous system retness made sense.

DHA needs for children start from the very beginning in the womb. Therefore, during pregnancy from about the 5th month, the brain and visual function of the fetus have developed, so it is necessary to provide DHA to the child right during pregnancy, that is, the pregnant woman needs to eat a lot of food or drink milk with a high DHA content.

For premature babies, the higher the need for DHA supplements for babies to help the brain and vision develop well. When babies are born, the demand for DHA increases very high, which is the period when the central nervous system develops the most, the need to provide DHA is even more important.

During pregnancy, pregnant women need to supplement powdered milk with DHA content of about 200mg/day to be able to provide enough DHA for the baby right from the womb. Especially in the last 3 months an average of 1 day the fetus needs 2.2g of EFAs/day for the development of the nervous system and blood vessels.

For premature babies and babies under 12 months of age, the DHA demand for babies at 0.32% of total fatty acids, equivalent to 17mg/100kcal is optimal. The best way to add DHA to your baby is breast milk, so you have to breastfeed your baby completely in the first 6 months of life to ensure sufficient DHA supply. If you do not have enough milk, you need to give your child additional formula to support nutrition with DHA according to the recommended daily dosage is enough.

For children from 1 to 6 years old, this is a very necessary stage of DHA, since DHA plays an important role in the process of stimulating brain development. In addition, DHA also helps children improve cardiovascular health. Therefore, parents should feed their children a variety of foods containing DHA so that they can develop in the best way. Every day should supplement DHA for babies with content from 75mg / day.

Children 6 years and older are the time to start learning, their brain needs to be active to absorb new sources of knowledge. To enhance memory, information processing ability and high concentration when learning for children. Parents should regularly supplement the necessary DHA for the child.

Supplementing your child with DHA through daily food is the best way to do it. DHA is abundant in fish oil, fish and aquatic products. Therefore, it is recommended to eat a variety of fish and seafood to load enough DHA for the body.

DHA is also abundant in vegetable oils such as coconut oil, corn oil, olive oil, palm oil, peanut oil, cane oil, soybean oil…. In addition, parents can also supplement their children's DHA with other supplements. Or take DHA supplements from vitamin nougat to ensure food safety.

As a key area of Share99 Health System, Pediatrics always brings satisfaction to customers and is highly appreciated by industry experts with:

• Gathering a team of leading doctors in Pediatrics:including leading experts, highly specialized (professors, associate professors, doctors, masters), experienced, used to work at large hospitals such as Bach Mai, 108.. The doctors are well-trained, professional, mind-centered, knowledgeable about the child's psychology. In addition to domestic pediatricians, pediatrics also has the participation of foreign experts (Japan, Singapore, Australia, USA) always pioneering the application of the latest and most effective treatment regimens.
• Comprehensive services:In the field of Pediatrics, Share99 provides a chain of continuous medical examination and treatment services from Newborn to Pediatrics and Vaccines,… according to international standards to take care of your baby's health with parents from birth to adulthood
• Intensive techniques:Share99 has successfully implemented many specialized techniques to make the treatment of difficult diseases in Pediatrics more effective: neurosurgery – skull, hematoma stem cell transplantation in cancer treatment.
• Professional care:In addition to understanding the young psychology, Share99 also pay special attention to the children's play space, help them play comfortably and get acquainted with the hospital environment, cooperate in treatment, improve the efficiency of medical examination and treatment.