Dha And Ara In Baby Formula

Studies show that the naturally occurring polyunsaturated fats docosahexaenoic acid dha and arachidonic acid ara found in human milk are beneficial for babies brain neural and eye development.

Dha and ara in baby formula.

In cases where an infant formula is needed to supplement or replace breast milk experts recommend using an infant formula which contains between 0 2 and 0 5 of total fatty acids as dha and at least as much ara as dha koletzko 2008. Almost all brands of formula sold in the u s. The level of dha in breast milk varies significantly based on the mother s diet. Babies can make some of their own dha and ara from the ingredients in the older formulas but the world health organization had already recommended that dha and ara be added into formulas so that babies could get them directly as breast fed babies do.

Carlson 2 johannes b. This was already being done in many countries around the world but not yet in the us. For these reasons some infant formula manufacturers and. Berthold koletzko 1 susan e.

Docosahexaenoic acid dha and arachidonic acid ara are present in breast milk and play important roles in early infant development. Van goudoever 3 1 ludwig maximilians university of munich dr. Should infant formula provide only dha or dha along with arachidonic acid. In addition babies who receive a formula containing dha and ara may have fewer respiratory illnesses.

Posted by pufa april 29 2015 prenatal infant health guest articles invited opinions. A 2014 study found that infants fed formula containing dha and ara had fewer episodes of bronchitis bronchiolitis nasal congestion and diarrhea requiring medical attention than infants fed formula without these supplements. Are now fortified with dha docosahexaenoic acid and ara arachidonic acid synthesized versions of the essential fatty acids that are naturally. Webmd provides information about interactions between infant formula iron dha ara polydextrose gos oral and oral iron supplements selected minerals.

However the synthetic versions of these compounds manufactured under the names dhasco and arasco but commonly referred to as dha and ara in infant formula are a source of great controversy.