Abstract

While breast-feeding provides optimal nutrition for healthy infants, maternal health, social, and/or economic factors may constrain a mother's ability to provide human milk. Formula feeding provides a safe and effective alternative source of nutrition. In response to ongoing research, formula composition is revised to more closely mimic human milk in providing essential nutrients to support optimal growth and development. During the last decade, supplementation of infant formula with ω3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs) has been a major focus of infant nutrition research. ω3 LCPUFAs, particularly docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), are found in extremely high concentration in photoreceptor outer segments and in cerebral cortex.

© 1996 Optical Society of America