Last week my daughter came down with strep throat....for the second time in three weeks. While I'm all for the "wait and see" approach before rushing to the doctor for a round of antibiotics, both times the back of her mouth looked like someone dotted it with a red marker. She was also in pain, running a fever and home from school. Round two of strep was treated with a slightly stronger antibiotic, and within a day she was already on the mend.
My biggest concern about antibiotics is not that my kids will become immune to them (although that's a real possibility), but that their little tummies will be wiped clean of lots of good bacteria, too! Good bacteria play a vital role in a healthy immune system. If our gut is unhealthy, the rest of our body will be, too. I emailed a fellow blogger and friend, Jasmine Jafferali, who happens to be an ace with childhood nutrition. I asked for her opinion and she suggested I double my daughters dose of probiotics ("soldiers" as they're called in our house), and increase D3 (found in fish oils). Done. I gave my daughter her
What's good for little people is also good for big people. Here are a few foods you can eat that will help build good bacteria, thereby building your immune system!
Prebiotics
These are foods that feed the good bacteria. They're important and can be eaten before, or at the same time as probiotics.
- Onions
- Leeks
- Artichokes
- Bananas
- Asparagus
- Garlic
Probiotics
These are foods that contain good bacteria within them.
- Yogurt
- Kefir
- Sauerkraut
- Miso Soup
- Kombucha
- Buttermilk
- Brewer's Yeast
There are also plenty of supplements on the market that provide a good amount of pro and prebiotics. If you go the supplement route, try taking your pro or prebiotics about 15 minutes before breakfast. Your tummy will love you for it. If you're wondering what I take, or what I give my kids...well, we all get plenty of prebiotics, but I like to supplement with probiotics, including Nature's Way Primadophilus Kids for my kids and Nutrition Now PB8 for me!
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