Children are messy little creatures: eating food off the floor, wiping their noses with their hands instead of a tissue…and then forgetting to wash their hands… It’s enough to turn a grown up’s stomach and yet, this messiness is a natural phase in human development. Exposure to the dirty world around us makes humans stronger. It’s called the hygiene hypothesis: our current love of antibacterial, hyper-clean everything may be leaving our immune systems weaker and more confused about what is friend and what is foe. Our relationship to the bacterial world plays a large role in this hygiene hypothesis and researchers are investigating the link between intestinal bacteria and the health of our children. While evidence is still in early stages, it is suggestive that a less-than-favorable bacterial community is linked to common childhood concerns such as allergies, autism, and digestive troubles. Time spent being active in nature and eating a healthy diet, filled with whole fruits and vegetables is important to keep children well. Probiotics can also offer help in this squeaky-clean world by keeping little bodies in harmony with the bacterial world around them. Check out these three reasons why you might want to consider probiotics for your kids: Your kid is exposed to antibiotics It is well established that a healthy gut microbiome (or healthy intestinal bacterial community) makes us more resilient to infection and even certain chronic conditions. And yet, when infections strike, our first line of defense is a broad-spectrum antibiotic, which wipes out plenty of the good bacteria, along with the bad bugs. It makes perfect sense that whenever antibiotics are necessary, so are probiotics. Probiotics help prevent the vacuum of good bacteria that antibiotics can create, leaving kids at risk for less healthy bugs to thrive. Your kid has allergies Evidence on the efficacy of probiotics in preventing and easing food allergies or seasonal allergies is still in early stages. While we are a long ways off from confirming this type of finding, adding a probiotic to your allergic child’s daily regimen – on that is confirmed free of the allergen of concern – may help support overall health. Your kid complains of tummy troubles No matter how healthy your children are, tummy troubles or stomach ache will likely strike at some point. When your child catches a stomach bug that leads to diarrhea or suffers from gas and bloating, probiotics can help. It will allow your child's intestinal bacterial community to be diversified to help your child feel better. Remember, when it comes to selecting a quality probiotic for your children, ensure that it has a long history of safety and efficacy, confirmed in clinical studies. Bio-K+ offers delicious tasting, effective drinkable formulas that make it easy for kids to get their daily dose. Discover Bio-Kidz line : Strawberry made from fermented milk Raspberry made from fermented peas Do you have any other questions about your kid's gut health? Ask us in comments below. If you are looking to stock up on Bio-K+, head to our store locator. For more information on Bio-K+, probiotics and digestive health, contact us, find us on Facebook and Instagram or join our community. References http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/842500 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24564646 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24370461 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24535216 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25592987
