Commonly, probiotics are the good bacteria that one intake so that their body is able to fight against the bad bacteria. It is their nature that has made them safe for human body including that of the kids.
This article explores into different ideas about probiotic as well as the best ones that is good enough for kids to consume.
What are probiotics?
As per the American Academy of Family Physicians, probiotics are defined as “supplements containing organisms that change the micro flora of the host. These organisms are typically Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, and Streptococcus species. They are able to predominate and prevail over potential pathogenic microorganisms in the human digestive tract, and are thought to produce metabolic by products that function as immune modulators.”
To make it very simple, taking probiotics is like taking a cup of yogurt. In general these probiotics are like the naturally living bacteria found in the stomach and intestine of human body. You simply ingest them. They are typically called as “good bacteria” or “friendly bacteria”. There are many easy ways to intake them. Like pill format or yogurt or yogurt drinks.
What are the benefits of Probiotics?
Since mid 1990s, many clinical researches have established the benefits of probiotics. Treatments and therapies based on probiotics have been proved beneficial and effective for overall good health. Probiotics are good for not only adults but also for infants and kids too. Here some of the many benefits of probiotics are given.
- Probiotics are good for many gastrointestinal problems like constipation, bloating, etc.
- These are effective in delaying the development of allergies in adults and children.
- Probiotics even reduce the symptoms of cough and flu in children.
- For women, probiotics are proven remedy for vaginal and urinary tract infections.
Overall, probiotics are best for many health issues and do not show any side effects. But still it is highly recommended that you must take probiotics as per the dosage decided by any expert physician and well-versed in probiotics use as usage of these are strain specific. Otherwise unregulated consumption of probiotics can be proved fatal.
More than 70% of human immune system resides in the gut. Now recent studies show that the probiotics and gut microbiome can influence the overall chemistry of human body and behaviours like depression, pain, anxiety. So optimizing the effectiveness of gut microbiome can prevent any sickness and keep a human healthy and happy.
Why probiotics are good for infants and kids?
Now a day, research on the effects of probiotics on children is increasing and the results are showing positive improvement in the process of treatment using these microbiome. Using a probiotics supplement you can control the amount of probiotics intake of your infant. Also an expert supervision of a physician is necessary. These supplements include probiotics formulas like yogurt, milk, and yogurt drinks contain probiotics.
What are the positive effects of probiotics on infants and kids?
As you can see probiotics are good bacteria similar to the one everybody has in the digestive system. It is not expected that consuming probiotics will give results overnight. But with time you will feel positive effects of them in yourself and in your kid. Here some of the most seen positive effects of probiotics on children are given below.
- Probiotics help in reducing diarrhoea in infants and kids:
As probiotics are similar to the good bacteria in the digestive system, so giving probiotics can reduce the possibility of diarrhoea among infants. The diarrhoea attack can be reduced to nearly one third fewer episodes compared to general case.
- Probiotics help in reducing respiratory infections:
Probiotics are proven good for reducing respiratory infections nearly half than normal cases. Children who are given probiotics regularly are less affected by flu infections than those who are not given probiotics.
- Probiotics usage can reduce infection and allergy in children:
It is true that regular probiotics usage can reduce the chances of getting affected by infections and allergies among kids and children. Their overall immune system gets stronger.
- Probiotics usage brings in infant colic:
Infant colic is a very common problem for infants. This causes a baby to cry for several hours of day time. Probiotics are proven to be effective solution of this too. it has been seen that infants who are given probiotics regularly cry less than the infants who are not given probiotics.
- Probiotics help reducing tooth decay:
Studies have shown that Streptococcus mutans is a bacterium which is responsible for tooth decay in infants. Probiotics like Lactobacillus reuteri is very affected to reduce this tooth decay. So consuming probiotics every day will also help to keep the teeth of your infant safe.
It is quite clear that probiotics have overall good effect on your infant health. This will surely keep them happy and healthy. A child with good health is always a good reason for the parents to stay happy.
What a good probiotics for children will have in?
Now the big question is “what are the parameters you must see in a good probiotics product for your child?” There are many brands available in the market of probiotics products, but not all follow the required specifications for kids. What is most important is before going for a probiotics product first you must consult a physician well-known for usage of probiotics. After you get the required parameters you need in the probiotics for your kid, then you can survey the available products. In general, the parameters for a probiotics product for a kid need to have the following parameters.
- Must have more than three billion bacteria
- Check whether the probiotics product is made from milk in case the child is sensitive or allergic to casein.
- The product must be child-friendly ingest.
Some of the well-known Probiotic for kids are
- FloraStor Kids
- Culturelle Kids
- Nature’s Way Primadophilus Kids
Different studies and research along with usage for few years have made them the best in industry of probiotic for kids.