Boost your Child’s Gut Health

The gut’s main function in the body is to regulate digestion and keep the individual disease free. A healthy gut ensures a strong and robust immune system.

An upset gut in children can lead to problems with absorption of essential vitamins and minerals. Upset gut might also lead to other symptoms like disturbed sleep, lethargy, constipation and bloating.

Sometimes you find children complaining about stomach aches. Children mostly find it difficult to explain why they aren’t feeling well. Often, adults mistake it with just a bad mood.

So, how can you promote optimum gut health for your child? Research showcases that it’s worth making some major changes to boost your child’s gut health. Remember not all of these changes are related to diet alone.

1. Discard the Disinfectant

Have you ever allowed your child to play in the mud and dirt without getting worried about germs! Do you often use hand sanitizers?

You will be surprised to know that allowing your child to play in the mud and touching pet animals is actually healthy. In fact, recent studies highlight excessive cleaning can be really harmful! So from now on minimise the disinfectants and let children embrace the mud lots as it is highly essential to expose children to good bacteria.

2. Serve Loads of Good Bacteria

enough dietary fibre

Are you aware of the fact that good bacteria thrive on dietary fibres- the complex carbohydrates present in plants? What happens when your child doesn’t get enough dietary fibre?

The bacteria present in the child’s gut starts eating the mucus that lines and protects the inner walls of the intestine. This weakens the immunity and results in inflammation. This condition further leads to inflammatory bowel diseases.

To avoid such occurrences, start feeding your child with a diet rich in fruits, veggies, whole grains, legumes, and nuts. Generally, children are not lured by these high fibre foods. Therefore, you need to develop new ideas to make these types of foods more appealing to your child.

3. Say No to Processed and High Sugar Food

High Sugar Food

This can be very hard to achieve especially if your child gorges on French fries and smilies. Processed food is difficult to resist. Children get attracted towards such food items easily due to their taste and colourful packaging. Processed food can compromise with your child’s gut health. These foods cast a negative implication on your child’s digestion and immune system.

If your child enjoys eating processed and high sugar foods, it may be initially difficult to forbid her from eating the same. However, slowly you need to wean her off. Explore options for some healthy homemade and attractive snacks that taste good and look attractive as well. Also, keep the water intake high as it helps flush the system.

4. Prevent using an excess of Antibiotics

Antibiotics

Whenever your child falls ill, do not fall back straight on antibiotics. Instead, talk to the doctor and use antibiotics only when it is completely unavoidable. Overuse of antibiotics destroys the good bacteria needed for digestion, and you end up with a compromised gut.

Sometimes, the doctor might find it essential to administer an antibiotic course for complete cure. In such instances, you must insist on following up with probiotic supplements. This will help your child to gain all the lost bacteria due to the use of antibiotics. The gut will remain healthy and so will the process of digestion.

5. Inspect the Stool

Keep monitoring your child’s stool on a regular basis. Also, encourage your child to keep a check on it. If the stool is too hard, too soft, watery, smelly, or has small white worms; it may be a matter of concern. Regard these symptoms as warning signs that indicate something is not right with the gut health. Train your child so he informs whenever there is something unusual about the stool.

Conclusion

A healthy gut can fight off all the bugs and build a strong immune system for your child. We all undoubtedly want our children to grow healthy and remain free from diseases. This is a primary way of accomplishing good health. Look into it seriously from today.

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