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.