Should Children Be Given Probiotics?
We have spent the last year researching and developing a new high quality probiotic for infants and children – EndoMune jr. This product will be available later in the month.
You may ask why create a probiotic for kids – why not use the existing EndoMune?
EndoMune jr is a high quality probiotic consisting of bacteria that have been selected based on their benefits for children and have been combined to make a special proprietary blend. Each serving size provides 10 billon of these bacteria in a powder form that can easily be sprinkled on food or added to liquids. Recent reports suggest that doses in the range of “5 to 10 billon CFUs per day or higher are appropriate for most clinical indications in children” (1).
There are important questions associated with the use of probiotics for children. A few of those include:
Q: Can taking probiotics during the flu and cold season lessen the symptoms of fever, cough and runny nose?
A: Yes. Lactobacillus acidophilus strains in combination with a Bifidobacterium lactis strain — like in EndoMune jr — have been shown to lessen the symptoms of cold and flu in children (2).Q: Should children take probiotics when prescribed antibiotics in order to lessen the risk of developing diarrhea?
A: Yes. Bifidobacterium longum strains comparable to EndoMune jr have shown benefit in lessening antibiotic associated diarrhea in children (3).Q: What about taking probiotics to lessen infectious diarrhea.
A: Yes. Lactobacillus acidophilus strains have been found to lessen episodes of community-acquired diarrhea (4).Q: Can probioitcs lessen the risk of allergies like eczema?
A: Probably yes. The combination of bacterial strains like those in EndoMune jr have been shown to alter the risk of developing childhood eczema (2).
Over the next year I will discuss the studies that answer the above questions, and also other clinical trials that have looked at whether probiotics given to children can improve disorders such as: Irritable bowel syndrome symptoms, constipation, infantile colic and inflammatory bowel disease.
The most important consideration when deciding on a probiotic is whether it is safe. Fortunately, in healthy children, there are no reports of any serious illness due to probiotics. Extensive reviews of clinical trials published in the medical literature have reported only a few episodes of infection due to the probiotic. However, these episodes occurred in severely immunocompromised children and adults (1).
All the bacteria in EndoMune jr have been tested for their safety. In addition, EndoMune meets and exceeds the “Good Manufacturing Practices” established by the FDA. Packaging EndoMune jr in dark glass bottles exceeds guidelines, ensuring the bacteria are not destroyed by exposure to sunlight and oxygen during distribution and storage.
Probiotics have been shown to be beneficial for children and are safe. Depending on the disorder, parents should consider giving a probiotic like EndoMune Junior to their children.
(1) Probiotics in children.Kligler B, Hanaway P, Cohrssen A.Pediatr Clin North Am. 2007 Dec;54(6):949-67; xi. Review
(2) Probiotic effects on cold and influenza-like symptom incidence and duration in children.Leyer GJLi S, Mubasher ME, Reifer C, Ouwehand AC. Pediatrics. 2009 Aug;124(2):e172-9.
(3) Probiotics for the prevention of pediatric antibiotic-associated diarrhea. Johnston BC, Supina AL, Ospina M, Vohra S. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2007 Apr 18;(2):CD004827. Review.
(4) Probiotics for treatment of acute diarrhoea in children: randomised clinical trial of five different preparations.Canani RB, Cirillo P, Terrin G, Cesarano L, Spagnuolo MI, De Vincenzo A, Albano F, Passariello A, De Marco G, Manguso F, Guarino A.BMJ. 2007 Aug 18;335(7615):340.
(5) The effects of selected probiotic strains on the development of eczema (the PandA study).Niers L, Martín R, Rijkers G, Sengers F, Timmerman H, van Uden N, Smidt H, Kimpen J, Hoekstra M. Allergy. 2009 Sep;64(9):1349-5.
