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.
Studies have also shown long-term benefits from DHA and ARA-supplemented formulas.
1. Horwood, LJ and Ferguson, DM. Breastfeeding and Later Cognitive and Academic Outcomes, Pediatrics 101(1):1-7, 1998.
2. Williams, C, Birch EE, Emmett, PM et al. Stereoacuity at Age 3.5 Years in Children Born Full Term is Associated with Prenatal and Postnatal Dietary Factors: A Report From a Population Based Cohort Study, Am J Clin Nutr 73:316-322, 2001
3. Willatts, P, Forstyh, JS, DiModugno, MK et al. Effects of Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Infant Formula on Problem Solving at 10 Months of Age, Lancet 352:688-691, 1998.
4. Birch, EE, Garfield, S, Hoffman, DR et al. A Randomized Controlled Trail of Early Dietary Supply of Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids and Mental Development in Term Infants, Develop Med Child Neurol 42: 174-181, 2000
5. Birch, EE, Hoffman, DR, Uauy, R et al. Visual Acuity and the Essentiality of Docosahexanoic Acid and Arachidonic Acid in the Diets of Term infants, Pediatr Res 44:201-209, 1998.
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