Now many mothers will supplement probiotics for children, but the specific role of probiotics Some mothers are not very clear, why supplement probiotics for children? What are the benefits for your baby? How do I choose a probiotic food?
What are probiotics
Probiotics, also known as probiotin or protobiotics, are active microorganisms that are beneficial to parasitic objects. In general, it colonizes the reproductive system, intestinal system, can effectively balance the microenvironment in the parasite, which mainly includes lactic acid bacteria, gram-positive cocci, bifidobacteria and so on. For now, most of the most powerful products studied internationally are compound active probiotics composed of the above several micromaterials, and these are widely used in food, industry, agriculture and human health.
Types of probiotics
1. Lactic acid bacteria: Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus and Lactobacillus Raman, etc.
Lactic acid bacteria can ferment carbohydrates into lactic acid, hence the name. Probiotics can help digestion and contribute to the health of the human gut, so they are often considered healthy foods and added to yogurt.
2. Bifidobacterium bifidobacterium: bifidobacterium long, bifidobacterium breve, bifidobacterium ovoid, etc.;
Protect the body from pathogenic bacteria, inhibit intestinal decay, make vitamins, prevent and treat diarrhea, improve the body's immunity, etc.
3. Gram-positive cocci: Lactococcus, mediated streptococcus, etc.;
4. Others: Some yeasts and enzymes also belong to probiotics.
The effect of probiotics on babies
1
Improve the body's resistance and prevent diseases
Probiotics can prevent harmful bacteria from growing and multiplying by competing for places in the intestine, producing organic acids, hydrogen peroxide and bacteria, and play a screen role. Secretory antibody IGA, which stimulates the production of immune cells, can help the baby prevent respiratory tract and gastrointestinal infections, stimulate the non-specific immune function in the baby's body, enhance the vitality of phagocytes, and improve immunity.
2
Promotes nutrient absorption and enhances physical fitness
Probiotics produce lactase to help your baby digest lactose and slow down bloating, rejuvenation and abdominal pain caused by lactose intolerance. Decomposing the lactic acid produced by lactose can promote the absorption of calcium, iron, phosphorus, zinc and vitamin D in the baby's body, and produce vitamin B, vitamin K and other nutrients.
3
Maintain healthy gastrointestinal function
Probiotics can make the gastrointestinal tract produce a variety of organic acids and digestive enzymes, help your baby absorb food, and increase appetite. The lactose, acetic acid, etc. produced can enhance the baby's intestinal peristalsis and improve constipation. If the baby takes diarrhea, it can inhibit the growth and reproduction of harmful bacteria, promote the production of antibody IgA in the body, and alleviate diarrhea.
4
Helps the body to balance nutrients
Probiotics contribute to a balanced nutrition in the body, producing acetic acid, lactic acid and vitamins (such as B group) to promote your baby's normal growth and development.
5
Effective in relieving allergic reactions
Probiotics can alleviate the symptoms of milk allergies in some babies and correct diarrhea.
How to choose a probiotic food
There are many brands of probiotics, and the production standards are different, but there is one thing that must be looked at accurately, that is, the strains of bacteria:
I learned from the Notice of the General Office of the Ministry of Health on printing and distributing the List of Strains Available for Food that there are only 12 strains used for food:
Therefore, while identifying these 12 edible strains of infants and young children, bao mom and dad also need to learn to correctly choose probiotic products.
One look at the strain:
Qualified probiotic preparations will indicate the name of the strain contained on the packaging. Not only that, but there will be a string of letters and numbers "combination" after the strain, that is, the specific "strain number", such as "Lactobacillus helvesia R0052", "Bifidobacterium infantis R0033" and so on.
Therefore, when choosing products, remember to select the corresponding strains according to the probiotic effect of the specific strains, and identify the 12 strains that can be added to infant food that meet the national standards.
In addition, it should be reminded that most of the current literature supports probiotic products that have a single strain of probiotic products that are better than multiple strains.
Second, look at the amount of live bacteria:
Probiotic preparations should ensure that the number of live bacteria is sufficient before they can play a real role after taking. Because in the process of taking probiotics in your baby, some probiotics may lose their activity due to contact with air before ingestion, and may also be consumed under the action of stomach acid and bile when passing through the digestive tract. If the number of live bacteria in the preparation is not enough, or the amount of food we eat every time we give the baby is not enough, it may not reach the intestine, there will not be much live bacteria left, and it will be difficult to play the ideal role.
The "Regulations on the Evaluation of Probiotic Health Food" issued by the National Health Commission emphasizes that the number of live bacteria during the shelf life is not less than 10 to the 6th power CFU/ml(g).
However, the number of strains is not necessarily as much as possible, because different strains, the dosage required to play a role is different, do not blindly pursue the number.
Three-look dosage form:
Probiotic products include powders, infusions, capsules, drops, oral liquids and other types. For some probiotics, the liquid form is easily inactivated, and the activity and stability of probiotics are not guaranteed. The "Regulations on the Evaluation of Probiotic Health Food" also mentions that the production of probiotic health food live bacteria products in liquid form is not recommended. Probiotic products in the form of chewable tablets or capsules can make it difficult for babies to swallow and are not recommended for young babies.
The powder dosage form helps to reduce the consumption of live bacteria in the production process, and increases the microencapsulation technology, which has a good response effect in the human body. Therefore, it is more secure to choose a probiotic product with a dry powder preparation as much as possible.
Four look at the ingredients:
Probiotic preparations are not exactly equivalent to probiotics, they are actually products containing probiotics. In probiotic preparations, in addition to the probiotics themselves, some other substances are added.
When purchasing, parents need to pay special attention to these "extra" additives. For example, babies with milk protein allergies should avoid probiotic products containing skimmed milk powder and whole milk powder, and babies with lactose intolerance should avoid those containing lactose.
Some probiotic preparations will add sucrose, glucose and other ingredients, for babies under one year old, especially small months of age, need to choose carefully.
In addition, when choosing probiotic products, you can pay attention to the selection of prebiotics containing glucose oligosaccharides, fructooligosaccharides, galactose oligosaccharides, etc., which can promote the growth of probiotics.
(Source: Maternal and Infant Vision)