You feed your children yoghurt, so do they really need a kids' probiotic supplement as well? Actually, you might be surprised to learn that there are many reasons why it’s well worth considering a kids' probiotic supplement for them too.

Yoghurt vs. probiotics: What’s the difference?

Yoghurt is a highly nutritious food, and a valuable source of calcium for growing children (with the exception of those who are dairy intolerant). Consuming it regularly is also a beneficial way to help maintain the health of the bowel microflora, with each 100 gram serving of good quality probiotic-containing yoghurt providing your child with around 300 million probiotic bacteria. That sounds like a huge number of probiotics in a single serving (especially for a small child)… until you realise that a specially formulated kids’ probiotic supplement may provide around 22.5 BILLION organisms per dose. In other words, your child would need to eat around 75 servings of yoghurt to consume the quantity of probiotics they can get from a premium quality supplement. That makes supplements the clear choice when it comes to intensive probiotic therapy – and even more so if you’re careful to choose a probiotic formula containing strains of bacteria specially selected for their documented effects on children’s health and wellbeing (which are not commonly present in yoghurt).

Why might your child benefit from taking a kids' probiotic?

Probiotics are more important for infants and children than they are for adults, because during the early years of life, the digestive and immune systems are still developing, and the acquisition of appropriate bowel microflora is a major part of that process, with critical consequences for both current and future health. In babies, toddlers and infants who are experiencing digestive problems, taking a kids' probiotic supplement may help to improve the properties of the faeces and normalise their transit through the intestines, while also helping to relieve issues like colic, flatulence, bloating and constipation. From the perspective of immune health, supplementation with probiotics may help to reduce children’s risk of upper respiratory tract infections.

Some children have more need for probiotics than others

Probiotic supplementation is considered especially beneficial for babies and children who:

• Have an atopic allergy (such as eczema or hay fever), or a parent or sibling who has allergies (because taking probiotics may help to reduce their risk of developing allergies and reduce their severity when they do occur)
• Have taken antibiotics, or been exposed to antibiotics via breast milk. (TIP: look for a kids’ probiotic formula that’s specially formulated to be antibiotic resistant)
• Have started on formula or solids at a relatively young age, which may reduce the proportion of key beneficial species of probiotic bacteria in the baby’s bowel
• Were born via Caesarean section, which precludes the transmission of probiotic organisms from mother to baby that occurs during a vaginal birth

Which probiotic strains are most important for babies and children?

The bowel flora of healthy, breast-fed newborns is overwhelmingly comprised of three species of Bifidobacterium bacteria, specifically Bifidobacterium breve, B. infantis and B. longum. These species are also those that you should prioritise when shopping for a probiotic for your child, ideally accompanied by prebiotics such as inulin and pre-gelatinised rice starch, which help to enhance the proliferation of the probiotic bacteria and their effective colonisation of the intestinal tracts of babies and children.

Mr Vitamins recommends

Fusion Health, premium quality Australian-made supplements that combine the ancient wisdom of Chinese medicine and the science of modern Western herbalism, including: Fusion Kids’ Probiotic Advanced: Dairy-free formula to support immune and digestive health in newborns, babies and children