When good digestion is key to keeping kids healthy and strong

MANILA, Philippines — From their birth to their early development and all throughout their growing up years, children are loved and cared for by their parents no matter how and no matter what. Parents just want to see their child become healthy and strong so that they may face a bright future ahead of them.

One way parents do this is by providing their children with proper nutrition. But have they ever wondered how their kids will fully benefit from proper nutrition if they don’t have good digestion?

Dr. Maria Cecilia Alinea, a pediatrician, shares the equal importance of assuring that children have good digestion too.

Overall, optimum development

The digestive system, or gastrointestinal track (GIT), is a specialized group of organs in the body that is responsible for turning food and fluids into sources of energy and nutrients to help the body function. It is also the one responsible for removing unnecessary waste from what has been previously taken in.

“This whole process is called digestion. It begins with the food being chewed till the time it is expelled as body waste,” says Dr. Alinea, who is also clinical associate professor at the Department of Pediatrics of the University of the Philippines.

This is why digestion plays an important role in a child’s overall and optimum development.

“If the GIT functions well, it allows nutrients to be adequately and properly absorbed and used by other parts of the body for energy, growth and cell repair,” Dr. Alinea says. “In a growing child, a well-functioning digestive system will help sustain an active life, fulfill physical growth and development requirements.”

Strengthens the immunity

Digestion is also key to strengthening a child’s immunity. This is because 60 to 80 percent of the immune system is located at the digestive system. In this system lives the gut flora (microbiome or microbiota).

“These microorganisms line the GIT’s epithelial cells, allowing them to communicate (cell signaling) to provide a physical barrier against potential pathogens. It also keeps the gut environment acidic, acting as chemical barrier to these pathogens,” the pediatrician says.

The gut flora or bacteria also helps the immune system’s T cell to develop, enabling them to differentiate between a foreign substance and the body’s own tissues; and then determine how to respond.

“If there is an overgrowth of bad bacteria, it can lead the body’s immune system to start attacking its own cells, the hallmark of autoimmune disorders. Having ahealthy digestion prevents this from happening,” she says.

Keeping the good bacteria

In knowing the role and importance of good digestion, parents would need to keep their children’s tummies healthy. One advice Dr. Alinea gives is by keeping the good bacteria or probiotics.

According to the World Health Organization, probiotics are “live microorganisms which, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host.”

Probiotics are the same beneficial bacteria that are found in the gut microflora. “The gut microflora consists of billions of microorganisms that play a very important role in protecting our body from diseases,” Dr. Alinea says.

Good thing there’s a new probiotics-enriched supplement in the market. Launched last June, Erceflora Probibears is an easy to take probiotic that is packed with not just Lactobacillus but also Bifidobacterium.

Lactobacilli help the immune system modulate the response system. It also protects against pathogens by limiting their ability to colonize the intestine[1], while Bifidobacteria are broadly recognized for their key role in the human intestinal microbiota throughout life. A high proportion of Bifidobacteria in the intestinal tract is considered beneficial to health.[2]

From the most prescribed probiotic brand by doctors in the Philippines, Erceflora Probibears is a food supplement for kids with the two-in-one probiotic combination of Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria.

To make the experience fun and easy for parents and their kids, Erceflora Probibears also comes in chewable tablets shaped like bears! More importantly, it tastes good to kids.

With a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle, Erceflora Probibears can help children get the good digestion needed to grow up strong and healthy.

To learn more, visit https://www.ercefloraprobibears.com.