Providing a nutritious diet to the child is a constant endeavour of every parent. Making a child eat healthy food is a continuous challenge. But in today’s age of fast foods and processed foods, it is not always easy to eat healthily. In this respect, probiotics are fast gaining immense popularity. There is substantial evidence to believe that probiotics are beneficial for children. Several studies show that intake of probiotics either through supplements or food can bestow several health benefits on kids by positively affecting their gut. Many parents are increasingly opting for probiotics supplements for their kids to enhance their kid’s immune system.
Probiotics can be defined as live microorganisms like yeast or bacteria which are beneficial for our health. Simply put, they are the “good” bacteria. They aid in keeping our gut in a healthy condition by boosting the healthy bacteria. This is important because almost 80 percent of our immunity resides in the gut. Interestingly, the number of probiotics in our digestive tract is ten times more than the cells in our entire body. Probiotics can be derived from foods like yoghurt or consumed as additions which are available in various forms, such as, chewable tablets, drops and also particular probiotics coated straws. Remarkably, different probiotics work to cure different health issues. Hence, selecting the right kind of probiotics is important.
A child’s gastrointestinal system is alive with many bacteria. Some are “good” bacteria, and some are “bad” bacteria. Various medical conditions like allergies, asthma and autoimmune diseases can disrupt the normal balance between the “good” and the “bad” bacteria. Consumption of processed foods and fluoridated water can also alter this balance. Probiotics can help in building up the good bacteria in the child’s gut, thereby improving the immune system of the child. A boost in immunity safeguards the child from falling prey to various diseases and infections. But the child may not be getting his daily dose of probiotics through his regular diet. Thus, it may become necessary to provide probiotics supplements to the child. However, it is always a good idea to first discuss it with your paediatrician. The benefits of probiotics for kids are as follows:
Studies have shown that probiotics can make a significant difference in promoting the wellness of your child. Certain ailments that can be prevented with the help of probiotics are:
Every child has its unique gastrointestinal tract which is full of bacteria. No two kids share the same combination of bacteria. But the two commonly occurring useful bacteria in our body are Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus. Most probiotics supplements usually use these bacterial strains. It is advisable to select probiotics supplements that are specially formulated for kids. While selecting the right kind of probiotics supplement for your child, one may want to look for more than one strain or several strains of beneficial bacteria, in the supplement, for optimum benefit. It is sensible to prefer those probiotics that occur naturally are considered safe for the kids and can easily adapt to the child’s digestive system. One can also ask the doctor for a trial to figure out the most suitable probiotics for your child. Ideally, probiotics should be given to a child after he has had his meal. When given on an empty stomach, the acids in the stomach can destroy the microorganisms. Some choices can be:
Dairy products are considered to be the best source of probiotics. While choosing the dairy products, one must ensure that it contains naturally active bacteria as most products lose the live cultures at the time of processing. Some of the food sources can be:
Prebiotics and synbiotics also offer numerous benefits for the healthy functioning of the gut. But experts are still studying their effects and the extent of benefits that can be derived out of them.
Providing your child with probiotics rich diet can be a wise choice to make for ensuring his excellent health. Though, it is essential to remember here that the effects of probiotics are very temporary. They vanish from the gut if their intake is discontinued. Research in the field of probiotics is still in its initial stages, and it will be a long time before concrete evidence is obtained to establish its beneficial effect on human health conclusively.