Importance of Gut Health in Child Development
Learning How to Boost Your Child's Gut Health
In this newsletter, we provide you with notes on Improving our children’s health through our gut health With Lucy Upton, an episode of Midwife Pip Podcast.
Host Pippa Davies is a practicing midwife in the UK who has a wealth of experience supporting parents-to-be through all aspects of pregnancy, birth, and postpartum.
She is joined by Lucy Upton, Paediatric Dietitian and feeding therapist with over 12 years of experience.
Read our notes below.
Topics Covered in this Summary
What is Gut Health?
Importance of Gut Health in Child Development
What is Gut Health?
'Gut health' is a term increasingly used in the medical literature and by the food industry. It covers multiple positive aspects of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, such as the effective digestion and absorption of food, the absence of GI illness, normal and stable intestinal microbiota, effective immune status, and a state of well-being.
The term "microbiome" refers to the community of microbes (up to 1,000 bacterial species) that live in your body. This bacteria helps with digestion, destroys harmful bacteria, and helps control your immune system.
Importance of Gut Health in Child Development
When we realize how much influence our gut health has on our children, it is nothing short of mind-blowing. Our gut health has an amazing impact on our personal well-being. Because of the amazing bacteria in our guts, these small changes can really change our lives.
In addition, gut health is a fantastic way to support your baby's immune system, which is growing during the first few weeks and months of life and is crucial for them to be healthy, happy, and well-adjusted kids. However, there are other things we can do to help our immune systems function well.
Many factors, including the foods you eat, can affect the health of your gut, including the type of bacteria it contains. Your gut bacteria are extremely important for many aspects of health.
Below are a few tips to boost your gut health:
Go outside. It is okay for your child to get messy and dirty. Your child's gut health can be improved by exposing them to the outdoors, people, and animals.
Consuming fruits, vegetables, yogurt, and prebiotic food are the best nutritional sources for a healthy microbiome. An infant's microbiome is constantly changing during the first two years of life and is rich in beneficial bacteria. Breastfeeding and weaning your child onto solids is both good for their gut health.
By taking care of their guts, parents can make a big difference in their children's mental and physical health, including how likely they are to get sick or have an allergic reaction. The first step to improving your digestive health is to eat healthy food and take your kids outside.
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Listen to the original episode