Visit our Canada siteEvery parent wants their child to be healthy and thrive, and a strong immune system is crucial for fighting infections and building resilience. Recent research highlights the surprising impact of gut health on a child’s immune system. This article explores how factors like delivery method, antibiotic use, and diet can influence your child’s gut microbiome, and how to support it for a healthy immune response.
Your Child’s Gut Health
Did you know that Your child’s gut health plays a vital role in immunity and preventing illness? This is because 70-80% of the body’s immune cells are also found in the gut1.
Our gut also contains a large number of microorganisms. including many different varieties of good and bad bacteria. Good bacteria play an important role in various bodily functions, including the absorption of nutrients, and maintaining a strong immune system, thereby supporting the body’s immune response.
For kids to have strong immunity in the long term, they need to have a balance of good and bad bacteria in their gut. When these good and bad bacteria are imbalanced, dysbiosis or poor gut health is said to occur2.
Poor gut health in your kids
There are three main types of dysbiosis or poor gut health3:
- When there is a loss of beneficial bacteria, which happens when children are given antibiotics. Antibiotics that kill bad bacteria also attack good bacteria, leading to poor gut health.
- When there is an increase in the number of harmful bacteria.
- When there is a decrease in the variety of good bacteria in the gut, which is commonly found in those born via C-section.
According to one study, children who experienced an increase of bad bacteria in the gut were more likely to experience bronchiolitis (Hasegawa et al., 2016)5.
Another study found that kids with poor gut health had more episodes (3-7 episodes) of respiratory infections compared to others (0-2 episodes only) (Reyman et al., 2019)6
Some children are at higher risk of a weakened immune system due to dysbiosys as compared to others, making it crucial for parents to know how to boost their immune system.
Which Kids Are at Risk for Poor Gut Health?
- Not given breastmilk
One possible cause is if children have not been given breastmilk during the first 6 months of life. Breastmilk contains many essential nutrients that can help build a good gut microbiome, which further serves as a foundation for strong immunity.
Clinical studies show:
a. Those who were not breastfed from 0-6 months were 35% more likely to experience upper respiratory tract infections during the same period.
b. They were also 54% more likely to have lower respiratory tract infections during 7-12 months (Dujits et al, 2010)7.
- Kids taking antibiotics
Lastly, kids who are taking antibiotics may have gut problems since antibiotics attack both bad and good bacteria inside the digestive tract. This, in turn, can lead to poor gut health and weaker immunity. Weaker immunity raises the chances of further infections. Repeat infections will necessitate another round of antibiotics, which once again decreases the population of good bacteria9.
So if your child has ever taken antibiotics and falls sick more often than others, he may be at risk of having vulnerable immunity and need extra immune protection.
How to Boost the Immune System of a Child with Poor Gut Health
The best way to support your child’s immune system is to give them breastmilk as early and as long as possible. Breastmilk provides complete nutrition for kids, especially in boosting immunity. For children with dysbiosis, breastmilk provides nutrients that helps rebuild the gut microbiome and build a strong immunity from day one, thanks to HMOs, probiotics, and nucleotides10.
- HMOs
HMOs, or human milk oligosaccharides, are the third most abundant nutrients found in breastmilk. These play an important role in development, especially strong immunity. HMOs act as prebiotics (food for good bacteria) that enable the growth of beneficial bacteria so kids have a diverse range of good bacteria in their gut. These components also aid in improving gut health, protect against infection, and are among the most effective nutrients when it comes to boosting Immunity9.
HMOs have been added in some formula milk brands. Look for milk containing the highest level of 5HMOs for kids with vulnerable immunity.
- Probiotics
Probiotics are good bacteria found in many food sources, including human breastmilk. For mothers who use formula, it helps to choose one that contains Probiotic BB-12, the most studied probiotic in the world, and which has been found to help with dysbiosis.
Probiotic BB-12 is a strain of beneficial bacteria found in the gut, as well as in breastmilk. A thriving population of probiotic BB-12 in the gut helps strengthen immunity and reduces the risk of infection13.
- Nucleotides
Nucleotides are the building blocks of our DNA14. Aside from this, studies have shown that nucleotides promote gut health and immunity by strengthening the gut’s barrier against disease-causing germs. They also help increase antibody production and response14. Increased antibody production not only allows a child fight off harmful bacteria, it also helps children who are already sick to recover more quickly.
For moms who use formula milk for their kid’s nutrition, it is a good idea to talk to your doctor about specific types of formula milk that contain all the right nutrients to boost immunity.
These types of milk should contain high levels of 5HMOs, probiotic BB-12, and nucleotides, like in breastmilk, which aid in strengthening the immune system of children with vulnerable immunity.
By understanding the intricate link between gut health and immunity, parents can empower their children’s well-being. For formula-fed infants, opt for formulas enriched with these essential nutrients to support immune function. By nurturing a healthy gut, you’re empowering your child with an immune system to face life’s challenges with resilience.
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References:
1. Nutrients | Free Full-Text | The Interplay between the Gut Microbiome
and the Immune System in the Context of Infectious Diseases
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2024
2. Dysbiosis – ScienceDirect,
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B97801280402490
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PMC, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4143175/,
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Accessed May 3, 2024
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Accessed May 3, 2024
11. Nutrients | Free Full-Text | Infant Formula Supplemented with Five
Human Milk Oligosaccharides Shifts the Fecal Microbiome of
Formula-Fed Infants Closer to That of Breastfed Infants,
https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/15/14/3087, Accessed May 7, 2024
12. Nutrients | Free Full-Text | Infant Formula Supplemented with Five
Human Milk Oligosaccharides Shifts the Fecal Microbiome of
Formula-Fed Infants Closer to That of Breastfed Infants,
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13. Frontiers | Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis BB-12 Has Effect
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Microbiota-Associated Rats,
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2021.811619/full,
Accessed May 7, 2024
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Report on Breastfeeding in Developed Countries (2009)
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and non-industrialized settings (2001)
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17. The effect of medical and operative birth interventions on child health
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