Why Immune System Is Strong Important For Children's Development? This Is A Doctor's Explanation

Illustration (Ron Lach/Pexels)

JAKARTA - The golden period of children begins in the first 1000 days of life. At this age, everything gained affects the growth and development in the future, including nutritional intake.

However, it should be noted, according to the 2023 Indonesian Health Survey (SKI) Acute Respiratory Channel Infection (ARI) is still a serious problem, around 34.2 percent or 3 of 10 Indonesian children experience ISPA. This condition shows how important it is to maintain nutritional intake in order to maintain children's health. Because the immune system plays an important role in supporting children's achievements, because good health directly affects children's learning skills and academic performance.

So, what is the relationship between the body's strong immune system and the child's development?

Pediatrician, dr. Attila Dewanti, SpA(K), explained that a strong immune system makes children not easily sick.

"If he (the child) does not get sick easily, then he will easily receive stimulation every day. Stimulation is accepted by the brain into synapses (scelah at the end of the axon, a place for connection between nerve cells and the release of neurotransmitters). If synapses are more complex, the child will be smarter, "explained dr. Attila in the webinar Supports Growing Children Become Winners: Optimize Her Immunity System and Brain Development organized by Nutricia.

When a child has good immune system, the fine motor is also good. And the cognitive development is also getting better. That is why maintaining the child's immune system with proper nutrition is important from an early age.

In closing, dr. Attila explained that nutrients that support children's immunity and brain development can be done by providing foods rich in prebiotics. What can be obtained from fruits and vegetables, omega-3 which can be obtained from salmon and bloating fish, omega-6 which comes from foods such as eggs, vitamin C, one of which is from oranges, and vitamin E as contained in avocado, which supports the health of the digestive tract.