2-FL Enriched Formula: How to boost immune system in children

Your child needs all the help they can get, when it comes to their growth and development. As the front line of defence, their immune system needs to be strengthened in every way possible. This is not as easy as it looks – children’s immune systems are still at the first stages of their growth, so they need a boost in their diet to help strengthen their defences.

Thankfully, nutrients like oligosaccharides can help your child develop a healthy immune system.
 

What are oligosaccharides?

Human Milk Oligosaccharides (HMOs) are a group of special sugars that support your child’s digestive, immune and cognitive development. Oligosaccharides occurring naturally in human milk provide children with benefits that begin in infancy, but have a lifelong impact on their health.

Research has shown that HMOs have multiple benefits on the immune system and the gut, as well as cognitive benefits. Take the oligosaccharide 2'-FL (2'-Fucosyllactose): among the 200 milk oligosaccharides that have been discovered so far, 2'-FL has shown the greatest promise as a nutrient base for good intestinal bacteria, stimulating their growth.¹
 

So why is 2'-FL good for my child?

To put it simply, 2'-FL feeds the good bacteria in your child's gut, which then strengthens their contributions to their immune system. Unlike many nutrients, 2'-FL survives the digestion process and is able to reach the large intestine in its natural form. Once there, it supports a balanced gut environment where different communities of bacteria live, by promoting the growth of certain beneficial bacteria.

It's important to maintain a good balance of bacteria in the gut, as 70 per cent of immune cells that fight infections are located here.²

2'-FL also plays a more complex role in your child’s digestive system. It strengthens the gut barrier (the protective mucous lining in the digestive system), preventing harmful bacteria from entering and growing in your child's body.
It also stimulates your child's immune cells to make the special proteins needed to protect them from infections.³ Children that have been fed formula with 2'-FL were shown to have stronger immune systems with less respiratory infections. Children who also drink milk with high levels of 2'-FL have less cases of moderate-to-severe diarrhoea.⁴

Healthy immune systems go hand-in-hand with improved brain development, learning, and memory. There’s evidence to show that good bacteria that feed on 2'-FL also release substances that promote cognitive development.⁵
 

2'-FL and Nucleotides

Formula milk supplemented with dietary nucleotides further help to strengthen the natural body defences. Nucleotides improve a child's immunity and also enhances the growth, differentiation and repair of their gut.⁶ In addition, nucleotides improve your child's antibody response to certain immunisations.⁷

If you want your child to enjoy the benefits of dietary nucleotides and oligosaccharides like 2’-FL, look for formula milk that that have both nutrients in abundance. This way, you’ll give your child an immunity and brain-development boost that will serve them well as they mature.8
 

References:

1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30241407/
2. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/research/advancements-in-research/fundamentals/in-depth/the-gut-where-bacteria-and-immune-system-meet
3. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30241407/
4. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15343178/
5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7015316/
6. http://www.mednet.ca/docs/pdf/HO11-003_E_with_WM.pdf
7. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9445498/