DHA in Baby Food: Pediatrician and Author Dr. Lara Zibners Weighs In

When I first started making Baby K homemade baby food, I scoured the baby food grocery aisle in search of ideas for recipes. Baby food can’t be that hard to “knock-off”, I thought, as most of the products had only a few main ingredients.
I noticed, and I’m sure you have too, that several brands have DHA fortified product lines. So I wondered, like any concerned parent, if by making my own baby food, I was denying baby of “support in brain and eye development”. Currently, The American Academy of Pediatrics does not have a statement concerning DHA additives due to insufficient data and evidence. DHA occurs naturally in algae, fatty fish such as salmon and halibut, organ meat, fish oil, and small amounts in poultry and egg yolks.

I consulted pediatrician Lara Zibners, MD, who is board-certified in both pediatrics and pediatric emergency medicine. Dr. Zibners is also the author of forthcoming parenting book “If Your Kid Eats This Book, Everything Will Still Be Okay: How To Know If Your Child’s Illness or Injury is Really an Emergency.” (Hatchette Book Group, June 17, 2009). Here is her advice regarding DHA-fortified foods:

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