The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that the makers of food for children are increasingly adding DHA omega-3 fatty acids to their foods in an effort to help boost baby brain and eye development. Stonyfield Farm did this with its YoBaby yogurt products back in 2006 because we, too, thought it was important to give babies all the help they can get with brain development. And, now we have our YoMommy yogurts, which come with DHA built in to give babies a healthy start even before they're born.
You can read all about DHA in our products here, but here's the gist of why we went the DHA route:"A study conducted by the National Institute of Child Health and Development found that infants fed DHA-fortified formula scored about seven points higher on a 100-point scale on a test of mental development when they were toddlers, compared to those fed formula without DHA. The same study showed improved vision equal to about one line on a vision chart."
The Wall Street Journal article points out that DHA is now showing up in baby food, vitamins and beverages as well as yogurt. One source of DHA in the diet is from fish, a food that many pregnant women and children avoid because of concerns over mercury contamination]
There's disagreement on just how much of a boost DHA provides, as you'll see in the Wall Street Journal article. It may just help premature babies, and the boost may not last long in life. Also, some pediatricians say it's not necessary to add DHA to food because our bodies can manufacture it on its own, even without fish--the prime source of DHA--in the diet of mom or baby. Here at Stonyfield, we're thinking it certainly doesn't hurt, and if it helps, all the better!
Is this issue important to you as a parent? Do you look for products with DHA added?
Write us with your coments, by using the "comments" button just below, and please take our mini-poll on DHA. We'll get back to you and discuss the results here at The Baby Babble.