Everything that goes through your mouth travels to the gut and then breaks into absorbable fuel. Thus how you eat and care for your gut health is very important. With the world becoming modern, the gut health of people has been hugely compromised. 40% of people suffer from various gastrointestinal diseases, and among them, 23% are children.
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Adapting certain daily habits in your life will help you and your kid maintain gut health. Read below to find out.
1. Encourage Eating Prebiotics And Probiotics
Prebiotics and probiotics will help the gut to perform its function properly and resist constipation. They speed up the digestion process and ensure that there is no bloating or any kind of indigestion problems. Foods like kimchi, pickles, yogurt, etc., are high in prebiotics and probiotics. Including these in your regular diet will keep your gut healthier.
2. Restrict Your Kids From Artificial And Flavoured Food
Packaged food, sugary drinks, junk food, and fast food might hamper your kid’s gut health. That does not mean that they should not have them. Once a month is okay, but if your kid has a habit of eating this food regularly, there are a lot of GI diseases they will face. You can switch this food with healthier options like flavoured yogurt instead of ice creams or homemade sweet potato chips instead of packed chips. These switches will keep the gut healthier.
3. Encourage Physical Activities
Not only will eating healthy keep the gut healthy, but a little exercise and physical activity is also important for keeping up the good work. Playing outdoors, any form of exercise every day, and a bit of walking will help in increasing the serotonin level and make the digestion process faster. Thus, never let your kid not play and stay home all day.
4. Good Sleep
Sleep is the time that your body utilizes to heal itself. Sleep helps the body to relax, and the digestive system works on breaking down the food for better digestion. If your kids have a problem sleeping, it might cause a series of digestive issues. Thus, work on the sleep cycle of your kids in the initial years so that you do not have to face any problems in the later years.
5. Restrict The Use Of Antibiotics
The opposite of prebiotics is antibiotics. While prebiotics kills the bad bacterias, antibiotics kill the pathogens along with all the good bacterias. When used appropriately, antibiotics are a boon to live, but otherwise, there are many side effects of these life-saving drugs. As a parent, do not give your kids antibiotics without any professional consultation.
6. Go To A Regular Doctor’s Checkups
It is mandatory to go for a doctor’s checkup once every year. But if the need arises, do not hesitate or postpone visiting the doctor. In the initial years, your kid might need multiple doctor checkups. Ensure that you follow the doctor’s advice. Also, talking to a pediatric dietitian will help you understand what your kids need and how you can feed them to maintain a healthy gut.
