If you haven’t heard of prebiotics or probiotics, you may be thinking, “what do these strange, robot-sounding words have to do with my preschooler?”. Probiotics are live, active microorganisms (mostly bacteria), such as yeast, that help your child to ferment, decompose and digest the foods they eat. These “good” bacteria keep our guts healthy and functioning properly, and change to 'in turn helping us stay healthy.

Prebiotics, on the other hand, are found in non-digestible fibres, such as inulin, and come from plant-based foods. They pass through our systems without being digested and promote the growth and activity of probiotics in the gut. Put simply, prebiotics are food for probiotics. Prebiotics are found in whole foods, and different fruits and vegetables, including asparagus, onion, garlic, bananas, beans, and flaxseeds. The foods that possess both prebiotics and probiotics are known as synbiotics.

So let’s take a look at why it’s important to feed your kids pre and probiotics.

What do pre and probiotics do for your kids?

Where probiotics are concerned, there are many different benefits. For example, the probiotics common in dairy products promote gut health and a healthy immune system. In maintaining the levels of “good” bacteria in the gut, probiotics promote gastrointestinal (GI) health. By helping to maintain a GI barrier, probiotics aid the defence of the intestine against diarrhoea and colic in infants and may soothe the symptoms of IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome). By also preventing the growth of harmful bacteria, probiotics help to defend your little one’s all-important immune system.

Prebiotics, on the other hand, as well as promoting the activity of probiotics, help the body to absorb both calcium and magnesium to strengthen children’s growing bones.

So, how much of each does your child need and how often do they need them?

There isn’t enough evidence to provide the exact answers to these questions. However, the foods that are rich in pre and probiotics are healthy in a variety of ways, and should be eaten on a day-to-day basis anyway. For example, children should be eating fruit and veg that are high in fibre every single day. Doing so will provide all the prebiotics and probiotics they need and supply the necessary vitamins and minerals. Probiotic-rich foods, like yoghurt, should also be eaten fairly regularly.

But which foods contain probiotics?

Fermented dairy foods, such as cheese and yoghurt, are full of “good” bacteria. Go for the options that boast ‘live and active cultures’, as these provide the healthiest bacteria. For vegan children, pickled vegetables and many soybean products are also rich in probiotics, as are some granola bars and cereals (they’ll have been added, so check the packaging).

What about probiotic supplements?

You may have noticed several probiotics being advertised and stocked in health shops. It can be difficult to know if these are useful in your little ones diet.

Where possible both prebiotics and probiotics should be eaten through foods as they provide lots of nutrition in addition to the probiotics.

Probiotics can be expensive but in some little ones, particularly those who are fussier and may have a limited diet they might be a useful addition. Different strains of the gut bacteria have different jobs. A multistrain probiotic supplement might be useful as an all rounder whilst other strains might help to target specific conditions such as diarrhoea.

It is worth reviewing whether the supplements are helping after a couple of months and if you don't see a difference, it is possibly not the most useful probiotic for your little one.

Top Tip: Store probiotic products in the fridge to keep the “good” bacteria alive.

Are prebiotics and probiotics important for toddlers?

Are prebiotics and probiotics important? Unii’s Toddler Nutrition Journey has the answers.