How to keep a healthy digestive system
How to keep a healthy digestive system
By Maria Endah Hulupi
JAKARTA (JP): Maintaining a healthy digestive system is
especially crucial for children aged one year and above to
develop their immune system and to ensure optimum nutrient
absorption, necessary for growth and brain development.
"It's their growth period so optimal absorption for all
nutrition is important to support their development," said Betty
Sri Laksmi Jenie, a professor from the school of Food Technology
and Nutrition at the Bogor Agricultural Institute.
The digestive system, especially the colon is the living
environment for billions of micro-organisms, comprising disease-
causing pathogenic bacteria and good bacteria, called probiotic,
which include species of bifidobacteria and lactobasillus.
Probiotic bacteria control the harmful growth of pathogenic
bacteria by producing acetate and lactate, Betty said during the
launching of Dancow milk enriched with Prebio1 for children under
five years.
Infants are exposed to bacteria: on the floor, covering their
toys, and in their efforts to explore things in their
surroundings with their hands and mouth.
"In their early years, a child's immune system has not yet
fully developed and this makes them prone to health problems,"
she said.
Once the pathogenic bacteria find their way to the colon and
proliferate, they create digestive problems, like diarrhea, which
further reduces the number of probiotic bacteria due to fluid
loss.
"This problem will, in turn, hamper a child's growth and brain
development. It can be fatal if left untreated," Betty cautioned.
To maintain a healthy digestive system, children need a
balanced nutritional diet which contains oligosaccharide. This
nutrient, called prebiotic, provides nutrition for probiotic
bacteria. It is not ingested and absorbed before reaching the
colon so as to nourish and promote the growth of probiotic
bacteria in the colon.
Breast milk is the best nutrition for babies and naturally
contains prebiotic nutrients called galactoligosaccharide.
Properly breast-fed children have a higher number of good
bacteria in their colon compared to those who receive formulated
milk, said Jose M. Saavedra, an associate professor of pediatrics
with the John Hopkins University School of Medicine and School of
Hygiene and Public Health.
Children, entering their first year will need a balanced daily
diet, containing another type of probiotic booster called
fructoligosaccharide to maintain a healthy digestive system.
Banana, garlic, honey, onion, brown sugar, tomatoes,
asparagus, artichoke and cereals are sources of
fructoligosaccharide.
Daily consumption required for children under the age of five
years weighing 10 kilograms is 1.7 grams and 10 grams for adults
weighing 60 kilograms.
Saavedra, who is also medical and scientific director of the
nutrition division with Nestle USA, said that boosting the growth
of good bacteria will also help develop a child's immune system
and give them a better chance to protect themselves against bad
bacteria.
"With the presence of good bacteria, a child's immune system
will respond better to infection," he said.
He quoted medical research showing that children who consume
foods, containing lactobasillus recover faster from diarrhea
compared to those who do not receive the treatment.
Aside from ensuring a healthy digestive system and boosting
the immune system, bifidobacteria help ease the problem of
lactose intolerance by breaking down the lactose, making it
easier to absorb. In adults, this good bacteria can help restore
flora in the colon after antibiotic therapy as well as reduce the
level of ammonia and cholesterol in blood.