If you’ve followed our food allergy journey, you might have picked up on the fact that probiotics have been an integral part of my son’s management plan. Because my son’s food allergies primarily manifest in GI and Skin reactions, our Pediatrician recommended we start him on probiotics long ago when he was first being worked up. This was our first exposure to probiotics, a product we had never even heard about prior to our son’s struggle with food allergies.
Fast forward to 2010 when my infant daughter, who was born at a healthy 7+ pounds, stopped gaining weight. Because my son spit up a ton as a baby but never struggled with weight gain, I assumed that this was also the case with my daughter. Not so! After numerous visits with our Pediatrician, our community Lactation Consultant, and even a Chiropractor, both my daughter and I began probiotics and an elimination diet as part of her management plan.
My four year old son won’t be retested for allergies until he’s five, but he hasn’t had a major reaction in a very long time. My 1 1/2 year old daughter is a healthy, thriving, active little girl who’s gaining weight and catching up. While my son remains on probiotics, I’ve slacked a bit on continuing them with my daughter. It’s difficult for her to take powders, liquids or pills so I admittedly gave up. But my son loves his probiotic drink and will remind me when I’ve forgotten to give him his morning dose.
When my daughter stopped spitting up and started gaining weight, I began re-introducing dairy and eggs and stopped taking the probiotics. But I have to admit that I felt really good when I was on the probiotics and elimination diet. While I don’t struggle with food allergies apart from pineapples (strange right?), I do suffer from lactose intolerance so my tummy issues were few and far between while on those probiotics. Which is why I decided to restart them again.
What are probiotics?
I asked this question initially so I thought I’d share some information I learned. In essence, probiotics are bacteria that help support a healthy digestive and immune system.
Why should I take probiotics?
Whether you suffer from digestive issues or simply want to live healthier, probiotics can help support both your immune and digestive system.
I recently began taking Member’s Mark 4X Probiotic, currently available at Sam’s Club. This particular probiotic contains 4 strains of natural bacteria and unlike other brands I’ve tried in the past, I only need to take one. With cold and flu season around the corner, I’m hoping that this will help me get through it painlessly (last year was ROUGH!).
A 3-month supply of Member’s Mark 4X Probiotic retails for less than $30 (which is like less than $10 a month).
For more information, visit Digestive Health For Me. Tomorrow, we’ll also be talking about Digestive Health just in time for the school season. You can follow along (and maybe even win a Sam’s Club Gift Card) on Twitter at #DigestiveHealth
Details for tomorrow’s Twitter party can be found on their site.
Disclosure: This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. The opinions expressed above are solely that of the author and not intended to replace medical advice.
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Wow, probiotics are really important to your family! I’m curious to see how this kind works out for you!