Getting to the bottom of your kids digestive and pooping problems

Evidence-based research: natural ways to resolved kids digestive complaints

Many health professionals, including myself, would agree that a child’s digestive system is the route of all health, and this thinking is backed up by evidence-based research. When a child’s digestive system is under functioning, it can cause issues such as poor appetite, bloating, flatulence, abdominal pain, and food intolerances. It can also have a direct effect on the immune system, showing up as eczema, asthma, allergies, colds and flu, ear infections, or worms. Additionally, it seems that tummy troubles may also influence brain development leading to behavioural dysfunction and symptoms such as attention-deficit disorder (ADD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), insomnia, bed-wetting, anxiety, and is also linked to obesity. If the tummy is irritated, inflamed, or constipated, it can’t do its job, and your child’s health can be at risk. The great news is that there are natural ways to help resolve your child’s digestive complaints.

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Seven top reasons why a healthy tummy is important

1.   Our gut is where we digest and absorb the nutrients from the foods we eat. If digestion is working well, we can use all the goodness in the food we eat to provide the nutrition for every cell in our body. Excellent absorption leads to optimal health, including great brain function and energy levels.

2.   Are you aware that the gut is the biggest immune organ in the body? It produces more antibodies than any other body system and contains most of our antibody-producing cells. The healthy bacteria in our tummies act as the first line of defence against pathogens (baddies) that we may ingest. A healthy microflora can also reduce the incidence of allergies with their immune-regulating action. A belly full of “good” bacteria is integral to a robust immune system.

3.   Healthy gut flora will ensure the functioning of gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT), the largest immune organ of the body, and found in the gut lining. Without the healthy gut flora that colonizes GALT, the gut will not operate at full capacity.

4.   Gut microflora also play a role in behavioural disorders such as autistic spectrum disorders. Children with these behavioural disorders tend to have some form of a gastrointestinal problem. It seems that disruption of the microbiome (the soup of bacteria, fungi, and viruses that live naturally in our digestive tract) may lead to problems with the nervous system, influencing behaviour.

5.   Imbalances in the microflora may cause inflammation that may disrupt the production of brain chemicals such as serotonin. These brain chemicals play a role in our children’s behaviours, moods, sleep patterns, and energy levels.

6.   A healthy gut produces enzymes needed to assist with the breakdown of our food.

7.   Gut lining inflammation, low stomach acid, and an imbalance in good and bad gut microflora can contribute to the development of eczema and other skin conditions 

Signs and symptoms that might indicate your child may have a gut imbalance

What causes poor gut function?

Many factors can disrupt or disturb a child’s digestive system. These may include a nonvaginal birth, lack of breastfeeding, vaccinations, poor diet, food intolerances, emotional sensitivity or stress, weak parental bonding, and the environment in which the child lives. Let’s look at all these factors in more detail.

• Vaginal microbes. Babies’ microbiomes (the microorganisms that collect around the body) have a significant influence on their overall health. Vaginal secretions provide a new-born with a starter pack of microbesthat may sculpt his immune system in ways that combat disorders including obesity, asthma, and allergies. Interestingly, it may become the norm for babies born via C-section to be wiped down with their mother bacteria-laden vaginal fluid.
• Breastfeeding. As well as an excellent source of nutrition, breast milk plays a vital role in the transfer of mum’s immune system, including health-promoting bacteria, to the baby. Also, her breast milk contains unique sugars that seem to nourish the gut bacteria that infants need.
• Dysbiosis: Did you know that there are more bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract than there are cells in the whole of our body? Also, there are about 400 to 1,000 different species of these bacteria—both good and bad—that live together as the gut microbiome, as I discussed earlier in this chapter. Symbiosis (which translates to “living in harmony”) occurs when our intestines contain a balance of good and bad bacteria that lead to good health.

Dysbiosis is the opposite; it’s when the bad guys take over and there is an imbalance of microbial colonies. The problem is that the good guys are vital. They help with digestion and absorption. They produce vitamins and control the growth of harmful microorganisms. Dysbiosis, which can result from not enough good bacteria or an overgrowth of harmful organisms such as yeasts (candida), parasites, and harmful bacteria, can lead to illness and disease.

• Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). Methane or hydrogen-producing bacteria in the small intestine causes abdominal pain, discomfort, excess gas and bloating, and abnormal bowel motions. The cause may include use of proton pump inhibitors, a gastro bug, and poor gut mobility (for example because of constipation or even stress).
• Poor diet: Research shows that diets high in sugar may harm the structure and function of the microbiota. While there’s no need to eliminate sugars completely. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that no more than 10 per cent of calories should come from added sugars. Added sugars include glucose, fructose, and sucrose added to food and drink, or naturally occurring sugars in refined foods such as honey, coconut sugar, or fruit juice.
• Intolerances or sensitivities: A high number of kids have food sensitivities, which can cause symptoms such as bloating, flatulence, constipation, and diarrhoea. More on allergy and intolerance later.
• Stress and anxiety: A heap of research indicates that the gut is vulnerable to long- and short-term stress and anxiety. Studies have demonstrated changes in gut secretions and motility, gut wall permeability, barrier function, and blood flow as well as a lower threshold for abdominal pain. Evidence also suggests that stress signals lead to changes in the types of microorganisms living in the gut.

We can rebuild our kids’ digestive health?

What can you do to improve the health of your children’s gut?

• Sort out their nutrition. Provide a varied, balanced diet with a heap of fruit and vegetables, lean meats, fish, nuts, pulses, legumes, and lashings of fish or flax oil. Cut down on those takeaways and sweet biscuits, cakes, and soft drinks. Encourage your wee ones to drink loads of water throughout the day (between rather than with meals, as water dilutes the stomach acid and slows down digestion). Also encourage them to chew their food well. Unsweetened acidophilus yoghurt is also perfect for the gut.

Fermented foods such as kefir, kombucha, kimchi, miso, and sauerkraut even in small amounts are also worth considering. They are full of probiotics, which feed healthy bacteria. Some of you may be saying, “My kid won’t eat these!” Give it a go. You may be surprised.

• Add a variety of microbiome-enhancing foods. These foods are what we call prebiotics: inulin, fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS), galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS), and lactulose, as well as prebiotic-like compounds like resistant starch, pectins, whole grains, polyphenols, and fibre. These foods provide a packed lunch for our gut microbes allowing them to flourish.

Examples of microbiome enhancing foods your kids will love:

FOS and Inulin	Resistant starch	Fibre	Polyphenols	Other prebiotic foods
Asparagus, bananas Barley, garlic, Honey Leeks Onions Tomatoes Rye	Roasted or steamed, cooled potatoes Bananas Cashew nuts Uncooked rolled oats White beans Lentils, cooked	Flax seeds Hemp seeds Vegetables Fruit Whole grains	Blueberries Strawberries Peaches Plums Grapeseed extract Tea Cocoa Chocolate (dark)	Kiwi fruit Beetroot Green peas Snow peas Sweetcorn Kidney beans Watermelon Dried fruits (apricots, dates, figs)

• Boost dietary fibre. Eating adequate dietary fibre plays a critical role in gut health, including feeding and cultivating healthy bacteria. Your child will get enough fibre if she is eating at least five servings of fruits and vegetables each day as well as other fibre-rich foods. Some of the best sources of dietary fibre include fruits (with skin on where appropriate), vegetables (especially dark green ones), beans (legumes), starchy vegetables (like pumpkin and parsnips), whole grains, and psyllium and flax.
• Explore allergies and intolerances. Food sensitivities and gut health can become a vicious cycle: poor nutrition may lead to an inflamed gut, which can then cause food problems. This subject is delved into in more detail later in the chapter. However, a trial diet that omits a suspect food or food group such as the FODMAP diet (fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols) for IBS relief, gluten or dairy-free elimination diets, and so forth will give the intestinal tract a holiday and a chance to heal. A word of warning: eliminating food groups for an extended period can be detrimental to your child unless you know what you are doing. Hence, elimination diets must be carried out under the supervision of a qualified health professional.
• Encourage regular daily activity.
• Om! Find a way to identify any stresses in your child’s life and work to remove them. See chapter 6.
• Give nutraceuticals a go. Well-known gut healers include probiotics such as acidophilus, glutamine, aloe vera, magnesium, digestive enzymes, fibre powders such as psyllium, and herbs such as ginger, gentian, chamomile, and wormwood.

Of course, each kid will have different health causes and symptoms. It might pay to visit a dietitian, nutritionist, naturopath, or doctor to sort things out and to get tested for intestinal parasites and food allergies or sensitivities.

Sheena’s Words of Wisdom: Make Life Choices for Good Digestive Health

In most cases, digestive problems stem from lifestyle choices. Diet, emotions, and activity level can each play a big part in the cause. By tweaking these components, not only will our kids stop having tummy problems, but changes will play a significant role in reducing the incidence of lifestyle diseases, from heart disease and diabetes to obesity and auto-immune conditions later in life. As we know, prevention is better than cure!