Healthy children learn and perform better, choose wisely for your precious little one.
Children always bring joy to life and it is important to provide them a balanced diet with healthy foods, making sure they sleep well. Children health includes physical, mental and social well-being but infant health concerns can sometimes seem overwhelming. Ensuring a child’s optimum nutritional health helps prevent serious issues later in life, including chronic conditions, such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, high cholesterol, osteoporosis, depression and eating disorders.
From pregnancy throughout early childhood, a balanced nutritional diet helps young brains function and grow. A deficiency of glucose, vitamins, minerals and proteins can lead to a higher risk of mental disorders. A diet including foods rich in nutrients including calcium, vitamins and protein is vital to strengthen healthy bone density and promote growth while minimizing the likelihood of brittle-bone disorders. However, according to NHS reports, growing children, especially those who don't eat a varied diet, sometimes don't get enough vitamins A and C and enough vitamin D through food alone.
That’s why the “Department of Health recommends that all children aged six months to five years are given vitamin supplements containing vitamins A, C and D every day. It's also recommended that babies who are being breastfed are given a daily vitamin D supplement from birth”.
HealthAid Junior-vit chewable tablets provide all the essential nutrients that children need to maintain optimum growth and development. Junior-vit chewable tablets are rich in Vitamins A and C for healthy visual development and immune function. They contain essential B Vitamins, Iron and Vitamin D for supporting strong bones, healthy teeth and cognitive development. They are also enriched with essential trace elements and bioflavonoids to support healthy skin and Fructo-Oligosaccharides (FOS) Inulin, a fermentable fibre acting as a prebiotic, to help nourish beneficial bacteria in the tummies gut to help improve digestive function and nutrients absorption.
Research¹ show that specific fibre _Fructo-Oligosaccharides (FOS) and Galacto-Oligosaccharides (GOS) may improve mineral absorption, especially calcium and magnesium, possibly leading to improved bone density and bone mineralization. Additionally the product also contains the plant-compounds bioflavonoids, rich in natural Vitamin C and antioxidants.
Vitamin Ccontributes to the protection of cells from oxidative stress and helps enhance the immune response. Vitamin C also aids the body in the production of collagen, a substance that provides support to muscle, bones and cartilage, and contributes to the health of teeth and gums.
This powerful antioxidant helps combat tiredness and fatigue and supports the normal functioning of the nervous system and the psychological function.
Nutrition and Microbiota in the Early Postnatal Life Is Absolutely Crucial
On the other hand, there are definitely very complex interactions between nutrition, digestion, immunity and microbiota, our gut is our biggest interface to the outside world, hosting 60-70% of our immune cells.
The types of natural bacteria that reside in an infant's or child's intestines are very different from the types found in adulthood.
Having an imbalance of good and bad bacteria in the gut is thought, by some to lead to digestion and immunity concerns in both infants and children. When a mum gives birth, she passes her natural bacteria to the baby during the birthing process. The baby passes through the birth canal, and naturally “swallows” bacteria from the mother. This natural process is believed to act as a natural booster for the child's immunity and general wellbeing.
We know today that babies delivered by Caesarean section, therefore who did not pass through “the vaginal canal” to get the good bacteria, or babies fed with formulas as opposed to breast-fed infants, have less concentration of beneficial Bifidobacterium species, vital to build and maintain immunity and bone health. Interestingly, research links bacterial imbalance in early life to disease, allergies and obesity risk and showed that these infants are more prone to experiment digestive problems such as colic, diarrhoea, constipation and lactose intolerance, as well as allergies, skin irritations such as eczema and regular colds and flus.
Because gut health is the first line of defence in terms of immunity, there is growing body of evidence that probiotics formulas may benefit and support an infant’s developing digestive and immune system. Research is still ongoing but very promising.
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Sources
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21553845
- http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-1-4471-2769-7_30
- http://www.nutraingredients-asia.com/Research/New-prebiotic-combination-enhances-calcium-magnesium-and-iron-absorption
Any information or product suggested on this website is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any medical condition. Never disregard medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. Consult your primary healthcare physician before using any supplements or making any changes to your regime.
