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Sara Maier
Dec 19, 2023

Why Digestion Plays a Significant Role in Health and Disease Prevention in Children

According to the CDC, forty percent of children have a chronic disease. Childhood illness often sets the stage for adult health conditions such as diabetes, asthma and obesity. As more American children eat poorly and exercise less, the rates continue to rise.



As grim as the statistics are showing us, there are some incredibly simple ways to set a good path forward for your child. Working on and maintaining good gut and digestive health will slash the chances of your child becoming chronically ill today and will be beneficial for their life for years to come.


In my previous post we talked about the 6 Foundations of Health: Nutrient Dense Diet, Digestion, Blood Sugar Regulation, Fatty Acids, Mineral Balance and Hydration. Now let’s talk about the consequences of the Foundations being off balance. For this blog, let’s focus on what I think is one of the most important Foundations, Digestion, and why it is important for each health consequence.


Endocrine Function and Digestion


The endocrine system can be greatly impacted by poor digestion. In terms of children and the effects of aging into puberty, digestion is critical during this period. Making sure that your child’s digestion is in tip top shape is crucial to their hormonal adolescent years.



During the years of entering puberty, the endocrine system goes through an adrenal relay process. Boys, girls (men and postmenopausal women alike) make their progesterone and estrogen in the adrenal glands, and is then passed off to the gonads and ovaries once puberty begins. This relay is crucial and can only happen smoothly if the adrenals are well cared for. When a child is struggling with gut issues or eating a highly processed diet during this period, the adrenals may struggle to take over the job.


You can have the best diet in the world, but if your food cannot cleave to the peptides and turned into amino acids in digestion, you can’t make amino or peptide hormones which are hugely important as a child’s body begins to go through the change of puberty.


Similarly, fatty acids require good gallbladder function to be broken down and turned into eicosanoid hormones, which are necessary to manage inflammation properly.


Here are some examples of key hormone players and their dietary needs in digestion:

Hormones

Derived from

Dietary Needs

Steroid hormones

Cholesterol

Healthy fats, unrefined complex carbs

Thyroid hormones

Iodine and tyrosine

Iodine rich foods, quality proteins

Amine hormones

Modified amino acids

Quality proteins

Peptide and protein hormones

Chains of amino acids

Quality proteins

Eicosanoid hormones

Essential fatty acids (EFAs)

Healthy fats, EFAs in fish oils



Immune Support and Digestion


It is becoming well known that our gut houses about 70% of our immune system. In our small and large intestines lives a powerhouse of epithelial cells in the gut lining. These cells are our greatest defense to keeping antigens and microbes at bay, and from entering our blood stream. These cells are rich in antimicrobial properties; however, they are also incredibly fragile. The mucosal layer that these epithelial cells live in is one layer thick in our small intestines and two layers thick in our large intestines. That means taking good care of our digestive health is also caring for our immune system.


Healthy digestion may be the most important foundational factor for healthy immune function.


Here are a few ways to support each stage of your child’s digestion:


  • Good hydrochloric acid production (that’s the gut soup that helps disinfect foods and break it down properly) needs micronutrients, water with electrolytes, chlorophyll rich foods to keep the acidity at an optimal rate.

  • Healthy liver and gallbladder function requires quality micronutrients from foods, fatty acids, foods rich in phosphatidylcholine (think eggs and cruciferous veggies), specific amino acids like taurine and glycine, and supplements such as milk thistle and dandelion root.

  • Supporting small and large intestinal digestion with micronutrient dense foods, prebiotics and probiotics keeps the immune system functioning properly as well.


Supporting Cardiovascular Health with Digestion


A healthy heart depends on a healthy body. Though heart disease is not prevalent in children, type 2 diabetes is on a significant rise in youth. If you have diabetes, you are twice as likely to have heart disease or a stroke than someone who doesn’t have diabetes - and at a younger age. The longer you have diabetes, the more likely you are to have heart disease. Now more than ever, teaching our children healthy eating habits will pay dividends into their adulthood.


In addition, our children are not eating enough fiber-rich foods to support their digestive system and causing greater risk of disease later in life. Low fiber diets can cause many digestive ailments, and put children in great risk of developing heart disease later in life. As parents, preventing these risks with knowledge is power. Here are a few examples to support the basics of digestion, which will in turn, support cardiovascular health in your child’s health and as they mature into adulthood.


  • Good protein digestion is critical to make amino acids needed for the heart. These include taurine and carnitine found mostly in red meats, fish and chicken.

  • Fatty acids are the prominent source of energy for the heart. Proper digestion, specifically in the liver and gallbladder, enables the digestion of healthy fats and fat-soluble vitamins needed by the heart to thrive.


Sometimes focusing on a single function like digestion can go a long way in promoting life-long heart-health in children who are unfortunately prone to disease now more than ever.


The Importance of Digestion in Detoxification


If our digestive system is not functioning properly, our ability to eliminate toxins from the body can become backed-up and cause adverse effects. Children today live in a world that is vastly different from a few generations ago. While industrialization has improved the life-span of most children, it has also added significant challenges to their development.


Environmental threats to childhood health range from asthma induced by air pollution, lead paint, to treatment-resistant microbes in drinking water, and industrial chemicals that are showing results in the causation of cancers. Supporting our children’s innate detoxification mechanisms is

crucial in today’s unfortunately toxic world.



Focusing on the digestive system alone beneficially impact the health of your child. The normal detoxification process depends on two things: The integrity of the GI membrane, and the maintenance of the precise bacterial chemical environment.


Also, supporting the liver and gallbladder in the digestion process will help filter toxins from the blood and neutralizes them in preparation for elimination. The neutralized toxins pass to the gallbladder in bile and are eventually excreted out of the body in feces.


Here are a few roles the gastrointestinal tract plays in detoxification:

Roles of the Gastrointestinal Tract plays in Detoxification

Scans the food for invaders

Detoxifies poorly digested, fermented toxins

Filters food and intestinal bacteria

Eliminates toxins and other unusable substances from the body



How Does proper Digestion Effect the Nervous System in Children?


Many medical professionals are starting to question: Is it a gut issue or brain issue in children with mental health needs? In recent years, a plethora of research has been performed on the gut-brain connection. Have you ever felt “butterflies” in your stomach? We use this expression for a reason. The GI tract is sensitive to emotion. Anger, anxiety, sadness, elation can all trigger symptoms in the gut.


For example, Serotonin, a key neurotransmitter, plays an important role in emotional distress. More than 90 percent of the body’s serotonin is synthesized in the gut. This feel-good neurotransmitter helps us relax, manage stress and is a precursor for our sleep hormone, melatonin. Imbalances in this neurotransmitter alone have been shown to impact issues in anxiety, depression, OCD and IBS.


Working on healthy digestion will help feed the “happy” microbiome and make a world of a difference in the mental health of children. Foods that feed and help populate happy bacteria are crucial to our nervous system. Eating foods that aid in digestion will keep our BellyBrain happy. Some foods to include are high fiber fruits and veggies, and other pro-biotic rich food like yogurt, apple cider vinegar, kimchi and miso. These are just some unsung food-heroes that contribute to digestive and mental health (i.e the nervous system).


Conclusion


As you can see, when the foundation of Digestion is off balance many consequences can happen in the endocrine system, immune system, cardiovascular health, detoxification and in the nervous system. If you suspect that the complaining of stomach aches from your child are connected to their anxiety, inattentiveness and even school struggles, your child may be experiencing the consequences of their digestive system being off balance. As an NTP, we can work together to find a balance in your child’s symptoms and their bio-individual needs.


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