Good gut health is directly related to overall well-being. It not only affects one’s digestion but also improves nutrient absorption and immunity. Hence, it is essential to help your little one develop good gut health from childhood itself. Much like every parent, you must be looking for ways to improve your kid’s gut health. Here are some tips and tricks for better gut health that you can incorporate into your child’s lifestyle to help them thrive.
Include fiber-rich food in your kid’s diet
Diet plays a very important role in maintaining good gut health. It is important to include both soluble and insoluble fiber so that the food moves through your system properly and reduces the odds of constipation.
Oats, quinoa, lentils, beans, fruits, and vegetables are good choices for fiber sources. Fiber from whole grains like whole wheat bread, brown rice, bananas, and berries also assists with improving the gut health of your kids. Moreover, you don’t have to feed your children everything at once. Opt for small yet frequent meals throughout the day to improve your kid’s gut health.
Breastfeed your newborn for good gut health
Breastfeed your baby as much as possible and for as long as possible. Newborns’ guts are sterile, making breastfeeding one of the best ways to improve your kid’s gut health for the future. Breastfeed your babies exclusively for the first six months and continue for as long as you can to ensure they have a healthy amount of good bacteria, which are responsible for good gut health.
Reduce their fatty food intake
Excess fat affects the good bacteria in the gut. Hence, avoid giving your children too much junk food or fatty food. This will only make their gut weaker, leading to health issues like tummy aches, poor digestion, constipation, etc.
Include probiotics in your kid’s diet to improve their gut health
Feed good bacteria to your kids. Live and active cultures — good bacteria — will help reduce the frequency of sickness, especially related to gastrointestinal infections, like tummy aches. Giving them yogurt is one of the easiest ways of introducing good bacteria to the gastrointestinal tract. However, do not give store-bought or flavored yogurt to kids, as they are mostly loaded with sugar and often don’t contain live cultures at all. Do give them fermented foods like kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi, and non-dairy yogurt as well, as they contain live and active bacteria.
Cut back on processed or packaged food
Refrain from giving packaged chips, fast food, and processed meat to your little ones. It can lead to constipation and may prevent good bacteria from thriving in their gut. Recent research has shown that ‘diet’ drinks and artificial sweeteners also harm good bacteria.
Also, limit the intake of sugar for your children, as they feed on bad bacteria and might suppress their immune system. Hence, avoid giving your kids too many sweet treats and drinks like packaged juices, candies, chocolates, donuts, cakes, etc., to help good gut bacteria thrive.
Keep your kids well hydrated
When you give them a fiber and protein-rich diet, make sure your children drink water at regular intervals throughout the day. Water is the best option to keep dietary fiber moving through the system. Other than that, you can also give water-rich fruits — like watermelon, strawberry, and peaches — to your kids or homemade fresh fruit juices and coconut water. Cucumbers are also a great option and you can make them the TikTok viral salad to get them intrigued. This will work especially well for your social media-savvy tweens and teens.
Encourage outdoor activity in your kids
One of the best ways to improve your kid’s gut health is by exposing them to germs. We know it sounds counterintuitive but exposing them to some germs at a young age is good for their immune system. Let your children play outside under the sun, in the mud with their friends, or with their pets. These germs will be forever present in their surroundings and the sooner their body builds an immunity to them, the better.
Avoid giving antibiotics to your little ones
Always try to avoid giving antibiotics to your children unless absolutely necessary. Antibiotics fight bacterial infections. Unfortunately, they are just as harmful to your good bacteria as they are to whatever is causing your ailment. Thus, they slow down the growth of the good bacteria or kill them altogether. This can significantly weaken the immune system of your kids. So, avoid giving them to your kiddos, especially your little ones, if you have other medicines that can help with their illness.
An unhealthy gut can be the cause of various health issues. From stomach issues to crankiness, it can hamper a child’s growth and mood in many ways. Hence, make sure to incorporate the above in your kid’s daily routine and improve their gut health significantly for overall well-being.
