Help Children with Probiotics

It has long been known that Probiotics are helpful for adult digestive challenges. Probiotics are used to add new bacteria to the intestines to help maintain a healthy balance of intestinal microflora. Maintaining digestive health is as important as maintaining the health of the rest of your body. Good colon health is necessary since many nutrients are absorbed in the colon. But now research is showing that probiotics are helpful for children.

Probiotics support general good health but can also be used as a Complementary and Alternative Medicine treatment for a variety of illnesses. The immune system is connected to the digestive tract and the thinking is that probiotics keep the immune system healthy and strong.

There are several varieties of Probiotic bacteria with each strain having a different effect. Natural probiotics are found in foods such as miso, yogurt, and some juices.

From a National Institute of Health: An 2009 study in the Journal of Pediatrics found that of 326 children, age 3 to 5, those who took twice daily probiotic supplements had 72 percent fewer fevers, 62 percent fewer coughs and 59 percent fewer runny noses. Another review of 18 different studies, in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, found that treatment with daily probiotics significantly shortened intestinal illnesses in children. And a 2008 study by Finnish researchers found newborns given probiotics for six month were 30 percent less likely to develop eczema, an early sign of allergies.