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MANILA, Philippines — As more kids return to school after two years of remote learning due to COVID-19, a nutrition expert said parents should not be afraid to expose their children to the external environment as this may help in improving their immune system.
Amid the pandemic, Dr. Jun Dimaano, medical director of Abbott Nutrition Philippines, said parents were “normally protective of their children [and] they don’t want to expose [them] to the playground or their pets.”
“But you can actually be helpful because if you expose them to these external stimuli, you also prime the immune system so that they can react appropriately once they are exposed to pathogenic organisms,” he said at a recent roundtable discussion.
“Let’s not be afraid to let them explore, go to the playground and interact with friends and classmates but of course with the necessary precaution: masks, washing of hands and social distancing in schools,” Dimaano said, adding that ensuring proper nutrition was also equally important.
Dr. Rachael Buck, Abbott’s senior research fellow and pioneer in child nutrition, pioneered research on human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs), which are special prebiotics that help strengthen the immunity of children.
“If you give HMOs, these are consumed by the beneficial bacteria and the beneficial bacteria give the gift of health back to children because [it] stimulates the immune system,” she said at the same forum.
‘Beneficial bacteria’ in gut
Buck pointed out that the gastrointestinal tract, or gut, is essential in the early digestion and brain development since “beneficial bacteria” live and reside in it.
“There are trillions of organisms that live in the gut. And they need to be fed. And what’s really important about beneficial bacteria is if you give them the gift of certain food, they give you the gift of health,” she said.
Together with her group from Abbott, Buck made a milk formula consisting of five HMOs whose molecules are abundant in nature, particularly in the Asian populations.
“This blend is catered to Asian populations to help children’s immunity and brain development as well,” she said.
The milk formulation, Buck said, was a “great way to have that insurance and support for the children’s health.”
“Immunity now is just so more important than ever before. We need to keep nourishing the immune system in every way we can,” she added.
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