DHA and Brain Development

Can DHA boost the brain development of preterm baby girl?

It is interesting to know that a research study which appeared in the issue of JAMA for the above subject has revealed that the intake of omega-3 fatty acid (DHA) may boost cognitive development in preterm infant girls.

During the study, lactating mothers that were allocated to the high-DHA group were given DHA-rich tuna oil capsules, while mothers with infants allocated to the standard-DHA group were given a placebo.

What happens was that the researchers who used the Bayley Mental Development Index (MDI) to measure the baby’s neurological development found that the MDI score among girls fed with high-DHA diet was significantly higher than among girls fed with the standard-DHA diet, while the MDI score among boys did not differ between groups.

Babies Prefer Sweet Flavours

Does you baby like sweet flavours? Do you know why?

You may want to know that medical researchers have found that by adding sweet tastes and flavours, it helps kids to swallow liquid medications as they often refuse to take medicines due to its bitter flavour.

The study, which was presented at the 236th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, found that a child's rejection of bitter medicine and bitter-tasting food like spinach and other green vegetables is a reflection of their basic biology. Researchers have noted that children are born with a much stronger preference for sweet flavours, a reason that may also explain why infants are naturally attracted to mother’s milk.

The medical studies also discovered that babies begin developing their unique tasting profile while still in the womb. What a mother eats while pregnant and nursing enhances a newborn's acceptance of food, thus the more fruits a mother eats when she is pregnant, the more a child will accept fruits and vegetables.