Probiotics can be beneficial for children, but parents may wonder about their safety and how to administer them. Antibiotics can kill good bacteria, which can lead to digestive problems, but probiotics can help restore the balance. They can be found in supplements or foods like yogurt.
What is Probiotics?
Probiotics are live bacteria and yeasts that are considered “good” for your health, particularly for the digestive system. They naturally reside in the intestines and assist with food digestion while also fighting off harmful microbes that can cause infections.
These beneficial bacteria help maintain a healthy balance in the gut, and probiotic supplements can be taken to increase the number of good bacteria in the body.
Probiotics for kids
- Probiotics are commonly used to promote good gut health and treat diarrhea, especially in children.
- They can aid in breaking down food, absorbing nutrients, and fighting off harmful bacteria that may cause infections or diseases.
Most Common Types of Probiotic Bacteria or Yeast
- Lactobacilli: probiotics found in the human digestive and urinary tracts, commonly seen on yogurt labels and in fermented foods, helpful for lactose intolerance and diarrhea in children.
- **Bifidobacteria: **a probiotic that naturally lives in the intestines and stomach, aids in digestion and fighting harmful bacteria.
- **Saccharomyces boulardii: **a probiotic from yeast, used as an alternative therapy for various digestive problems.
Benefits
Some benefits for your child of consuming probiotics are-
- Boosts Immunity:
Probiotics can support the immune system of children by aiding in proper digestion and absorption of essential nutrients. This helps prevent frequent illnesses like colds and fever, ensuring that your child stays healthy.
- Fights Digestive Conditions:
Probiotics can help maintain a balance of bacteria in the gut, which can prevent digestive disorders such as constipation, diarrhea, and bloating. This ensures that your child’s body can absorb all the necessary nutrients properly.
- Improves Brain Development:
Probiotics play a role in producing chemicals like serotonin that can affect mood, memory, and concentration. Ensuring a healthy balance of gut bacteria through probiotics is crucial for proper brain development in children.
- Prevents Allergies:
Probiotics can reduce inflammation in the gut and prevent allergic reactions such as asthma and eczema. A healthy balance of good bacteria in the gut can be maintained through probiotics.
- Manages Metabolism and Weight:
Consuming probiotics regularly can boost metabolism and keep a child’s weight under control. Probiotics increase good bacteria in the gut, improving digestion and preventing overeating.
- Precautions Against Side Effects of Antibiotics:
Antibiotics can disturb the balance of bacteria in the gut, leading to diarrhea and other side effects. Probiotics taken during and after antibiotic treatment can restore the balance of good bacteria in the gut and reduce the risk of side effects.
Side Effects
- Introduction of new bacteria into the gut through probiotics can cause intestinal gas and bloating, which are usually temporary.
- If your child experiences these side effects, consider reducing the probiotic dose or stopping it altogether.
Food sources
In general, pediatricians recommend that children get probiotics from food instead of over-the-counter supplements. Foods that contain probiotics include:
- **Yogurt **(produced by fermentation of milk)
- **Buttermilk **(fermented dairy drink)
- **Chocolate **(promote friendly bacteria in guts)
- **Cotton cheese **(good vehicle for probiotic bacteria)
- **Kefir **(fermented milk drink made from kefir grain)
- **Kimchi **(Korean side dish made from salted fermented vegetables)
- Kombucha (a low-calorie fermented black or green tea beverage)
- **Miso **(traditional Japanese soybean product)
- Sauerkraut (a German side dish made with Lacto-fermented raw cabbage)
- Sourdough bread (fermentation of dough using naturally occurring lactobacilli and yeast)
- Tempe (traditional Indonesian food made from fermented soybean that can be used for frying)
- **Fermented pickles **
Some of these foods can be delicacies for children, such as yogurt with fresh fruit or a teaspoon of honey and Kefir usually marketed in kid-friendly flavors such as mango, blueberry, and strawberry.
How to take probiotic supplements?
- Probiotic supplements are available in various forms such as food, drink, capsules or pills, powder, and fluid for children who are picky eaters.
- Probiotic supplements can be taken in combination with prebiotics, which are complex carbohydrates that nourish the microorganisms in the gut. Prebiotics help feed the good bacteria, keeping them healthy. Examples of prebiotics include inulin, pectin, and resistant starch.
- When a dietary supplement combines a probiotic and a prebiotic, it is called a synbiotic.
Conclusion
Probiotics help maintain a healthy balance in the human body’s microbiome, which consists of probiotics, harmful bacteria, fungi, and viruses. They can prevent illnesses such as irritable bowel syndrome, eczema, diarrhea, weak immunity, and the common cold by replenishing the good bacteria in your child’s body.
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