What Exactly are DHA and Prebiotics?

DHA

Chances are you’ve heard about DHA. But beyond knowing it’s something that’s good for you and your children, you may not know much more. It’s not always easy to get the real facts. Here’s a quick introduction to this important nutrient and a few reasons why it’s important during toddlerhood.

DHA is an omega-3 fatty acid and it’s an important building block of the brain and eyes. The name DHA is scientific shorthand for docosahexaenoic acid.

Why is DHA important?

DHA is important for the healthy structure and function of the brain. As a baby develops, it supports not only brain development, but the eyes and nervous system, too. And there’s even more good news. A study in infants have shown DHA helps support respiratory health and contributes to the development of a healthy immune system.

Your toddler’s brain will never grow this fast again

Clinical studies show that DHA helps support cognitive abilities, visual acuity and overall brain development in babies. Because DHA is beneficial both in utero and after a baby is born, this nutrient is found in prenatal supplements and infant formulas. Once a baby outgrows formula, DHA continues to be important during the first three years of life when a child’s brain grows to 85% of its complete size.

DHA may be missing from your toddler’s diet

When deciding whether to increase your child’s intake of DHA, it’s good to remember that on average, toddlers only get about 25% of the DHA many experts recommend in their daily diets. Helping fill the gap is as easy as adding Enfagrow Toddler Transitions or Enfagrow Toddler Next Step to your toddler’s menu.

Where does DHA come from? How much is recommended?

Experts recommend that toddlers have 70-100mg/day of DHA. Yet, on average, a toddler’s daily diet only provides 19mg of DHA, leaving a nutritional gap. And while there are natural food sources for this important nutrient, they are not foods most children regularly eat, such as Atlantic mackerel and salmon. Toddlers also do not regularly eat foods rich in omega-3 fats such as flaxseed and walnuts, which need to be digested and then converted into DHA. In addition, during this conversion process, very little ends up as DHA.

As you see, it can be hard to get DHA from diet alone, even for adults. That’s why Enfagrow toddler products have DHA and can help. Just two servings a day may help fill the nutritional gap. When you serve Enfagrow Toddler Transitions and Enfagrow Toddler Next Step, you can help ensure your child has DHA, a nutrient experts recommend, in their diet.

Prebiotics

Prebiotics are a type of carbohydrate naturally found in foods including some fruits and vegetables. Prebiotics feed the good bacteria found naturally in the digestive tract and are helpful for overall digestive health.

Digestive health is important as your child grows and transitions into toddlerhood. Enfagrow Toddler Transitions and Enfagrow Toddler Next Step both are designed to help support your toddler’s digestive health, and our prebiotic blend helps promote soft stools — yet another benefit of nourishing your toddler with Enfagrow.