Kids Health Essentials

Can you answer ‘yes’ to any of the following for your kids?

• They have had antibiotics in the last 12 months
• They have food or environmental allergies (dairy, gluten, dust
• They complain of tummy aches
• They have constipation (bowel movements less than once a day) or diarrhoea (loose stools)
• They get “ills and chills” easily or often
• They are exposed to a high risk of infections (at day-care, school, etc)
• They were born by caesarean birth
• They were not breast fed
• They won’t eat many vegetables and/or fruit or are fussy eaters

If you can answer yes to any of the above statements, your child may benefit from probiotic supplementation.

What is a probiotic?

There are approximately 100 trillion micro-organisms (that’s 11 zero’s!) that live in the intestines.  Some of these micro-organisms are good for our health, some are neutral and some are just plain bad.  The good micro-organisms are called probiotics, from the Latin words pro meaning ‘for’ and bios meaning ‘life’ (for life).

Probiotics live symbiotically with humans. We have evolved together so that the relationship is mutually beneficial.  In fact, when you know all of the important roles that probiotics have in the human body you might be inclined to think we got rather a good deal!

Arguably, the most important ‘department’ of human health that probiotics work in is immunity.  The immune system operates 24/7 to protect us from infections, diseases and all the threats and challenges posed by the outside world.   Without this highly complicated system of 24 hour surveillance we would have no chance of survival.

How do Probiotics help us?

Probiotics support our immune health in three main ways:

1. They keep the gut lining healthy

Probiotics are the ‘caretakers’ of the mucosal lining of our gastrointestinal tract (GIT).  The GIT is a barrier between the inside of us and the outside world.  Food and drink, along with the inevitable bugs and environmental ‘bits and bobs’ enter the body via the mouth and continue down into the digestive tract (which is still considered to be an “external” environment).  The secure lining of the digestive tract ensures that these food particles/ antigens cannot pass unmonitored into areas of the body where they do not belong.

If the mucosal barrier is leaky due to low probiotic numbers, stress, medications or other causes, the spaces that open up allow food antigens to pass into the blood stream where they are regarded as ‘foreign’ to the body’s defence system.  The immune system will then, quite rightly, hit the alarm button, initiating an immune response to rid the body of this foreign particle.  This is how allergies develop in response to a food that was previously treated as harmless by the body.

By helping to keep the gut healthy and maintain the leak free mucosal barrier, probiotics help the immune system to respond appropriately to foods and other particles, reducing the risk of a sensitivity developing to a harmless food, and minimising the allergic response where an allergy already exists.

2. They talk to the immune system.

80% of the body’s immune activity takes place in the gut.  Cells in the gut lining monitor and sample all the contents of the intestines to determine whether substances should be tolerated or if an immune response should be initiated.  Probiotics ‘talk’ to these immune cells and play an important role assisting them with this job.  Probiotics also produce chemicals that act as signals to immune cells, helping them to find and identify pathogens and allergens.

3. They kill bugs!

Probiotics go one step further by actually competing with and inhibiting pathogens such as viruses, fungi, yeasts and parasites.  Probiotics inhabit space on the lining of the gut wall, taking up real estate and ‘muscling’ other micro-organisms out of the neighbourhood. Probiotics also combat these micro-organisms by producing various substances that directly kill or inhibit the growth of the pathogen.

Starting to like the sound of these good probiotic micro-organisms? You should do, they are some of our best, microscopic friends.

Probiotics and Dairy Allergies

It is interesting to examine the rising incidence of dairy and lactose intolerance (arguably one of the most common food sensitivities in New Zealand children), in relation to the changes to children’s probiotic populations.

Lactose intolerance is a physiological state in humans where they lack the ability to produce lactase, an enzyme essential to the digestion of the dairy sugar lactose.  Individuals lacking adequate lactase will not be able to properly digest milk and dairy products resulting in symptoms of diary allergy (gas, bloating, diarrhoea).   Due to the absence of dairy foods in their evolutionary development, certain populations including Maori, Pacific Island, Asian, Southern Indian, African and African Americans are more likely to have poor tolerance to dairy products.

Some strains of probiotics produce lactase and assist the body with metabolism of lactose, helping to reduce lactose intolerance and associated symptoms.

This is why when dairy foods pose digestive problems yoghurt, due to the naturally occurring presence of some lactobacillus bacteria, may be the only dairy food that is tolerated.

Why do our kids need probiotic supplements?

Many aspects of our daily lives have changed dramatically in the last few centuries, and even the last few years. 

• Children receive their probiotic ‘starter culture’ from their mother during birth.  If the mother has lowered probiotic numbers (dysbiosis) or if the baby is born by caesarean, the baby begins life without this culture to start their own.  Both dysbiosis and caesarean births are increasingly common.
• A newborn baby’s digestive tract is completely sterile.  Essential factors in breast milk help promote the growth and development of the baby’s probiotic flora.  Infants who are not breast fed miss out on these nutritional factors which negatively impacts their probiotic numbers and immune development.
• Traditionally, probiotic numbers were renewed by the inclusion of fermented foods in our diet, and promoted by high fibre in the diet.  Fermented foods are now absent from most peoples diets and dietary fibre is insufficient in the modern Western diet thanks to the advent of ‘refined foods’.  Both of these factors negatively impact probiotic numbers as the child grows.
• Antibiotics inhibit the growth of all bacteria, including probiotics.  Children may be receiving antibiotic therapy several times a year or more, each time decimating their probiotic population.  Whilst antibiotics can be life saving medications, the over- prescription of antibiotics for minor colds or ‘secondary infections’ has lead to antibiotic resistant organisms and allergies to strains of penicillin in humans, and to a general decrease in gut health and immunity.

All these factors that detrimentally effect intestinal microflora are theorised to play a major role in the development of much higher rates of allergies (eczema, asthma, hay fever, etc), chronic lowered immunity (sinusitis, rhinitis, ear infections, chronic cough, warts etc.) and gastrointestinal disorders (reflux, colic, diarrhoea, constipation, failure to thrive, irritable bowel, etc) seen in recent generations.

What can I do to protect my children’s health?

To promote healthy numbers of probiotics in your children it is a great idea to increase the fibre their diet.  High fibre foods include vegetables, whole grains, fruit, nuts and seeds.  Try adding in a few fermented foods as well, unsweetened yoghurt can be made fun for the kids with a few spoonfuls of berries, a teaspoon of honey and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

In each case consider if antibiotics are the appropriate course of treatment for your child.  Certain illnesses such as viral infections like the flu may be better addressed with any of the powerful, therapeutic, immune supporting herbs.  If your child does require a course of antibiotics consider giving them a probiotic supplement alongside the antibiotics.

Probiotic supplements can offer support for children who:

• Receive antibiotic therapy
• Exhibit digestive complaints (constipation, pain, diarrhoea, flatulence, low appetite)
• Are exposed to others who have infections (day-care, primary school)
• Exhibit signs of lowered immunity (catch infections easily, slow to recover, frequent infections, tiredness and irritability).
• Exhibit signs of allergy (digestive complaints, fatigue, respiratory complaints, skin disorders, dark circles under their eyes, blocked and runny noses, earaches).
• Were born by caesarean birth
• Were not breast fed

Regular courses of probiotics should also be considered as general support to keep your kids robust and healthy throughout the year.

Radiance® Kids Probiotic has been specifically formulated with kids in mind.  Radiance^® Kids Probiotic contains a combination of four clinically proven probiotic strains designed to restore probiotic numbers and promote the growth of health probiotics populations in kids.  The probiotic strains in Radiance^® Kids Probiotic are resistant to many commonly used antibiotics, so they can be taken alongside antibiotics without reducing their effectiveness.  The formula also includes its very own prebiotic called FOS or ‘fructooligosaccharides’ to ensure the probiotics have something to eat even if your child refuses to eat all their fibrous vegetables!

To ensure that sufficient numbers of probiotics (remember you need millions!) are available to your child, Radiance® Kids Probiotic provides 2.5 billion Colony Forming Units per tablet.  A Colony Forming Unit or CFU is a measure of the live and viable probiotics that are ready to set up a colony.  Whereas a measure of ‘bacteria’ or ‘organisms’ does not distinguish live colony forming bacteria from dead bacteria that are of little benefit.

Lastly, while getting kids to do things that are good for them can be an uphill battle at times, that won’t be the case with Radiance® Kids Probiotic as it comes in the most unbelievably delicious berry flavour! (Don’t worry mum no artificial colours, flavours or sweeteners!). 

one delicious berry flavoured ‘jungle friend’ tablet a day can help support healthy immune and digestive  function, so your kids are better prepared to survive the winter, their lunch and the many challenges that their developing immune systems face.