The Importance Of Gut Health For Children: Ask Our Paediatric Dietician Your Questions About the Benefits of Good Bacteria and a Balanced Diet to Complement your Kid’s Gut Flora. £200 voucher to be won.

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Are you concerned about your child’s gut health? Wondering how to manage daily diet or lifestyle related symptoms such as occasional discomfort or how to introduce gut-friendly foods into their diet? Heard about the benefits and role of good bacteria, but still need more information? Or perhaps you're dealing with a fussy eater that just won’t eat their veggies? Our expert paediatric dietician, Emma, in collaboration with the Culturelle® team is here to help!

Share your questions about nurturing your child's gut flora and learn about the importance of a healthy, balanced diet from a young age.

• Everyone who shares a questions on the thread below by Friday 30th August 2024 will be entered into a prize draw
• One lucky Mumsnet user will win a £200 voucher for a store of their choice
• Emma and the Culturelle® team will be back on the week of 16th September 2024 to answer some of your questions

About The Expert:

Emma Shafqat, a Paediatric Dietitian, Feeding therapist, and parent, brings over a decade of expertise to the table, backed by a first-class honour’s degree in Dietetics and Nutrition. With a passion ignited by her own journey raising a child with severe reflux and multiple food allergies, Emma specialises in helping families navigate dietary challenges, particularly tackling fussy eating.

Emma is a sought-after international speaker and parenting expert, featured on top podcasts and media outlets like The Telegraph, Healthline, Metro, sharing her insights and empowering parents worldwide.

Her career spans across the NHS, special needs schools, and private practice, where she offers practical solutions and unwavering support to parents facing similar struggles.

Disclaimer: Please do not rely on this Q&A as an alternative to medical advice from your GP or other professional healthcare provider. If you have any specific questions about any medical matters you should also consult your doctor or other professional healthcare provider.

Here’s what the Culturelle® team have to say:

“At Culturelle® we believe that talking about the gut is still a stigmatised health issue around the world, and by opening up new conversations we can help people understand more about their bodies, the science and what we and people can all do to support the core of their health.”

Disclaimer: "The information provided is intended for educational purposes. Culturelle® products are not intended to diagnose, mitigate, treat, cure, or prevent diseases."

@ 2024 dsm-firrmenich. Culturelle® is a trademark of the dsm-firrmenich group.

I completely understand that it can be hard when they have a limited diet.
One of my favourite foods would be plain greek yoghurt as most children will eat it, and you can also add some chia seeds for extra fibre without impacting the flavour.

Smoothies are another good option as you can add in kefir which is full of probiotics. Try offering some sourdough bread and try making some oat based snacks too. Alongside a healthy diet such as this, a supplement containing clinically studied strains to support the balance of good bacteria may be a good idea to incorporate into your child’s routine.

Sidenote: As always, we suggest speaking with your child’s GP about these topics as they know your child’s case and history best!

There is some current research in the links between mood and the gut microbiome. But we need a lot more research to be completed on this topic first.

It is not that straightforward as the relationship between the human microbiome and food allergies is complex and caused by lots of factors.

There is some research that the gut microbiome plays a crucial role in the formation of the immune system, but there is still a lot more research to be done in this area.

It depends on the age of your child but occasional constipation can be common in toddlers. Often they need to drink more fluids. Encourage them to drink 6-8 cups of water per day.

Increasing their intake of fibre through fruit and vegetables e.g. kiwi can be great to add to their diet as it contains actinidin enzyme which has been shown to improve gastric and intestinal motility, facilitating easier and more regular bowel movements.

Sidenote: As always, we suggest speaking with your child’s GP about these topics as they know your child’s case and history best!

In young children especially one who are fussy eaters they often are not keen on the bitter vegetables. It is fine for them to have carrots as they are high in vitamin A.

But keep also exposing them to lots of other vegetables too and try roasting the vegetables as this often makes them a lot sweeter too.

Also try serving the vegetables first before the meal when you are still cooking a starter when they are more hungry.

While maternal diet and gut microbiome may correlate with the infant’s gut health and general wellbeing, it is advisable to consult with your healthcare provider before taking any new supplements, especially when planning or during pregnancy.

Thanks! Would the mixed fiber powder type of product be good for fussy eaters?

I would give your child an apple instead as it also contains fibre for your gut bacteria and antioxidants too.

If you really wanted to use it, consider using only a small amount diluted as a salad dressing. Children under 12 months should avoid it.

It is suggested when possible to offer home cooked food using fresh ingredients. Make sure to include carbohydrates e.g. pasta, rice potatoes, protein and vegetables or fruit at each meal. You want to include all of the food groups. But also when you are out and about an occasional pouch is ok too.

At 6 months old you don’t need to offer just fruit and vegetables as it is important to be offering iron rich foods too e.g. meat, fish, lentils, chickpeas etc.

Also after 6 months old, you don’t have to offer just pureed food you want to move through the textures as this can help prevent them being adverse to lumps in food and can help with fussy eating.

By 12 months, you want to consider moving to family style meals so you are all eating the same food. There is no need to offer baby rice, it doesn't have much nutritional value.

A mixture of baby led weaning style and some spoon feeding too can help maximize the amount of iron they get in their diet. Have fun and enjoy the mess!

A combination of raw and cooked vegetables helps to expose them to lots of different vegetables.
The downside of cooking vegetables is it can destroy the vitamin C and B vitamins in them.
However, some vegetables benefit from being cooked e.g These include carrots, asparagus and even tomatoes, because cooking makes it easier for our bodies to benefit from some of their protective antioxidants, specifically ferulic acid from asparagus, and beta-carotene, which we convert to vitamin A, from carrots.

Gut health is about maintaining the balance of beneficial bacteria. Eating a varied diet and focusing on getting enough fibre are excellent strategies to support the good bacteria in our guts, but It’s not always easy with kids, who are often picky eaters.

In these cases, good bacteria supplements can help. Products like Culturelle® Daily Supplement + Fibre packets works naturally with your child's microbiome. Fibres gently support regularity and keeps kids' digestive system running smoothly.

Consider asking your child’s GP about these options since they know your child best!

If your child has been struggling with digestive issues for a long time, you are on the right track by consulting with a specialist to provide guidance tailored to your child’s specific health conditions and sensitivities. The health practitioner will be the best person to advise on what foods and supplements your child should be taking to support her tummy troubles.

One of the best ways to look after your gut health is to eat a healthy balanced diet containing a wide variety of fibre e.g legumes and oats.
Also include food high in prebiotics which are the food for our gut microbes eg onion, garlic, asparagus.

The human gut hosts a complex community of microorganisms that play a crucial role in digestion, immune system modulation and maintaining overall gut health. A healthy gut microbiome first starts with having the right beneficial bacteria in your gut, and second, feeding these beneficial microorganisms with the right foods, namely plant based foods (fruits and vegetables).

Plants contain prebiotics that feed the gut bacteria. While the body does have mechanisms to self-regulate, such as the immune system, pH and oxygen levels, this self-regulation can be disrupted by various factors. Some of these are antibiotic use, diet, gut disorders and even age. In such cases, adding beneficial bacteria, such as Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, one of the most clinically studied strains in the world✝, has been shown to support gut health and help restore balance. Consistency is important to continue to get the desired health benefits.

Since the gut microbiome is dynamic and can adjust to changes in diet and lifestyle, the beneficial effects of the supplements may diminish when they are discontinued, as the specific strains they provided might no longer be present in the same quantities in the gut.

† Based on the number of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG clinical studies, as of February 2024. Culturelle® is a trademark of dsm-firmenich group.

One of the best ways to look after your gut health is to eat a healthy balanced diet containing a wide variety of fibre e.g legumes and oats.
Also include food high in prebiotics which are the food for our gut microbes eg onion, garlic, asparagus.

I recommend gut-friendly foods such as natural yoghurt, kefir, sourdough bread, grains and legumes and lots of fruit and vegetables too.

Your child’s doctor may recommend taking supplements with good bacteria strains when starting antibiotics and continuing them for at least a week after the end of the course too. It’s best to consult with them as they know your child’s case the best and can help advise which strains to look for.

I have a teen who had two courses of antibiotics back in June and has had intermittent diarrhoea since. She is now on long term antibiotics. I am trying to encourage kefir, fermented foods, a vareity of fruits and veg etc to boost gut health. Please can you suggest anything else that may help?

You may consider discussing the approach of food chaining with your child’s doctor. It works by introducing new foods that are similar in taste, texture, or appearance to foods that your child already likes.

For example you can go from e.g. takeaway chicken nugget to store bought chicken nugget, to homemade chicken nugget, to removing a small amount of the chicken nugget breading to serving chicken with no bread-crumb coating. You can do this chaining with most foods.

You can also seek out a specialist feeding therapists to help as they can devise a sensory and feeding plan to meet your child’s needs.

If you have noticed a difference in his gut health or his bowels have improved whilst taking the - bacteria supplement, then it is fine to continue to take them both if agreed upon with your child’s doctor.

The recommended daily intake for vitamin D in children and adults is 10ug.

It is more about providing a balanced diet that contains all the food groups - carbohydrates, protein, dairy or non-dairy alternatives and fruit and vegetables.
Try to reduce your child’s intake of foods that don’t provide so much nutritional value like foods with added sugar, sweets, foods high in salt and lots of processed foods. But it is all about moderation too.

Firstly, see if you can arrange to see a GP to check they don’t have anaemia. As being low in iron can affect their appetite too.
Also, it is important to ensure enough fluids are drunk. You want to aim for around 6-8 cups per day as often this can be a factor of occasional constipation too.

Work on trying to increase the variety of the foods in her diet. Try adding some chia or flax seeds to yoghurts, try some soluble fibre e.g. oats and pulses e.g baked beans.

Also discuss with her doctor the option of taking a good multivitamin and mineral if her diet is limited and the option to try a bacteria supplement.
A bacteria supplement for 4 weeks like Culturelle® Kids +Fiber packets to see if it helps. It contains probiotics and 3.5 g of a fibre blend.

Fluid requirements are based on a child’s weight. But I normally advise around 6-8 cups per day.
Yes water can act as a helpful lubricant to get things moving and support healthy bowel movements.

I would give your child an apple instead as it also contains fibre for your gut bacteria and antioxidants too. If you really wanted to use it, consider using only a small amount diluted as a salad dressing. Children under 12 months should avoid it.

What could be causing my daughter's hand dermatitis? Steroid cream (hydrocortisone) keeps it from flaring up, but the only time it has completely disappeared is when she had a course of amoxicillin for an unrelated infection.

I'm assuming the antibiotics killed off something in the gut which was causing the inflammatory response on her hands? But how can I stop this altogether without antibiotics. She eats a varied diet amen

The NHS advises that weaning should start from when your baby is around 6 months old, as this is usually when they are developmentally ready.

Weaning early is not recommended as the baby's kidneys and gut are still immature and there is an increased risk of choking.

For more information on this please click here to view NHS weaning guidelines