Have you ever heard the phrase "your gut is your second brain"? Our doctor explained how the health of your gut (from your stomach downward and outward) affects your mood and mental health. For us, we know first hand that when your gut is disobedient, it can be hard to cope.
The pain of a disobedient gut:
Our oldest son has significant problems processing wheat and dairy. The idea of an elimination diet came up when our son was complaining of constant tummy aches. The doctor's x-ray showed he was full to the brim of both ends of his gut.
Off we went to the pharmacy for an enema and Restorolax (aka PEG). The enema the doctor recommended was fairly strong but that was what our son needed at the time. It worked but not after my little boy turned a grotesque shade of grey-white and endured some terrible elimination pain. He begged me to never give him that medicine again. I can understand why. The PEG is used to retrain the organs but it isn't a permanent solution.
In our household we embrace traditional medicine with both arms and try to prevent and support on our own where possible. This means that once our son's urgent care needs were under control, we set off on a preventative medicine mission. For our son, that meant an elimination diet and high quality probiotics.
The pain of a disobedient gut:
Our oldest son has significant problems processing wheat and dairy. The idea of an elimination diet came up when our son was complaining of constant tummy aches. The doctor's x-ray showed he was full to the brim of both ends of his gut.
Off we went to the pharmacy for an enema and Restorolax (aka PEG). The enema the doctor recommended was fairly strong but that was what our son needed at the time. It worked but not after my little boy turned a grotesque shade of grey-white and endured some terrible elimination pain. He begged me to never give him that medicine again. I can understand why. The PEG is used to retrain the organs but it isn't a permanent solution.
In our household we embrace traditional medicine with both arms and try to prevent and support on our own where possible. This means that once our son's urgent care needs were under control, we set off on a preventative medicine mission. For our son, that meant an elimination diet and high quality probiotics.
Elimination Diet:
There are many elimination diets on the web and at the bookstore. We consulted with a medical professional to confirm what constitutes a healthy and non-offensive diet for growing young boys. We put both our boys on the elimination diet because we also had a son with bleeding puffy eczema-inflamed cheeks. It was a bonus that neither boy felt left out and it worked well for us as parents to have all in the household eat the same food.
Gradually we reintroduced foods to their diet. Within 10 days our oldest showed remarkable gut function improvement and our youngest's skin cleared to a sweet pinkish hue. We watched and observed how they responded to each new food. For one son, dairy and wheat were the offenders. For our other son, strawberries and oatmeal were to blame.
To be clear, an elimination diet is tough and wildly inconvenient for the whole family. That said, the rewards of being able to pinpoint where things fell off the rails are well worth it. Half of my frustration as a parent is the constant guessing. Is this right? Is that right?
Once we had a better line of sight as to what had to be removed from our son's diet, we set off trying to figure out what needed to be added. For our family, the main addition was probiotics, which leads us to our product review for this post.
There are many elimination diets on the web and at the bookstore. We consulted with a medical professional to confirm what constitutes a healthy and non-offensive diet for growing young boys. We put both our boys on the elimination diet because we also had a son with bleeding puffy eczema-inflamed cheeks. It was a bonus that neither boy felt left out and it worked well for us as parents to have all in the household eat the same food.
Gradually we reintroduced foods to their diet. Within 10 days our oldest showed remarkable gut function improvement and our youngest's skin cleared to a sweet pinkish hue. We watched and observed how they responded to each new food. For one son, dairy and wheat were the offenders. For our other son, strawberries and oatmeal were to blame.
To be clear, an elimination diet is tough and wildly inconvenient for the whole family. That said, the rewards of being able to pinpoint where things fell off the rails are well worth it. Half of my frustration as a parent is the constant guessing. Is this right? Is that right?
Once we had a better line of sight as to what had to be removed from our son's diet, we set off trying to figure out what needed to be added. For our family, the main addition was probiotics, which leads us to our product review for this post.
Probiotics
Product: Bio-K comes in fermented rice, fermented soy or fermented milk in a variety of flavours.
Supplier: You can buy this at many health food stores but you might want to call ahead to avoid driving all over town. A couple of times I ran across it in major grocery stores but the selection was limited. You can find a point of sale or order online using Bio-K's website.
Website: https://www.biokplus.com/en_ca
Claim: "As shown in peer-reviewed clinical studies published in scientific journals, Bio-K+® is a 100% probiotic product with proven benefits and effectiveness on human health.
Our take: The first couple of times drinking the product were a little nose-wrinkly but not offensive. We took the position that it was an acquired taste and there was no reason we couldn't acquire the taste. Yes, everyone in our house tried it. No need to make our sons feel out of place and probiotics are good for all of us. Bio-K definitely helped restore our son's gut to a state of stability in combination with a reasonably adhered-to diet. The rest of us noticed a generally improved ability to ward off illness, i.e., we cannot say we were X% better but we did feel better.
Not everyone has to drink a full bottle each time. We saw benefits with our son just consuming a quarter of a bottle. These days they have vanilla and strawberry just for kids. As far as I know, the kids line is provided as fermented milk only. Where we were trying to avoid dairy in our son's diet, we went with the blueberry fermented rice. No problems at all with getting it down.
While we do not necessarily need probiotics as a regeneration response to a serious physical problem like our son's locked gut, we do stock up at strategic parts of the year. For instance, the beginning of the school year is fraught with icky sticky colds. As well, the dead of winter and the first few weeks of spring seem to be prime times for our bodies to revolt. At those times of the year, or at any time when the mere whiff of a cold rears up, we immediately pump the probiotics into our bodies. Most times we are successful at warding off illness. Even if not successful, the ailments tend to be short lived and less arduous.
Colds aside, I like the positive effect a quality probiotic has on my family in terms of mood. The gut is, after all, the second brain!
No single coping technique will take all the pain away.
Try anyway.
Maggie
Be sure to like us on Facebook and sign up for our newsletter.
Product: Bio-K comes in fermented rice, fermented soy or fermented milk in a variety of flavours.
Supplier: You can buy this at many health food stores but you might want to call ahead to avoid driving all over town. A couple of times I ran across it in major grocery stores but the selection was limited. You can find a point of sale or order online using Bio-K's website.
Website: https://www.biokplus.com/en_ca
Claim: "As shown in peer-reviewed clinical studies published in scientific journals, Bio-K+® is a 100% probiotic product with proven benefits and effectiveness on human health.
- Bio-K+ Strong/Antibiofix (50 billion) capsules: Helps reduce the risk of diarrhea due to antibiotics and the risk of diarrhea due to Clostridium difficile in hospitalized patients. This is the ONLY probiotic product in the WORLD to make such a claim!.
- Based on sound clinical studies published in the most prestigious medical journals, such as the American Journal of Gastroenterology, these claims confirm that Bio-K+® is a safe product with proven results.
- The bacterial concentration in Bio-K+® products is guaranteed upon consumption, rather than on the manufacturing date, as is the case for many other probiotics on the market (it’s always useful to know the exact amount of probiotics we’re ingesting!)."
Our take: The first couple of times drinking the product were a little nose-wrinkly but not offensive. We took the position that it was an acquired taste and there was no reason we couldn't acquire the taste. Yes, everyone in our house tried it. No need to make our sons feel out of place and probiotics are good for all of us. Bio-K definitely helped restore our son's gut to a state of stability in combination with a reasonably adhered-to diet. The rest of us noticed a generally improved ability to ward off illness, i.e., we cannot say we were X% better but we did feel better.
Not everyone has to drink a full bottle each time. We saw benefits with our son just consuming a quarter of a bottle. These days they have vanilla and strawberry just for kids. As far as I know, the kids line is provided as fermented milk only. Where we were trying to avoid dairy in our son's diet, we went with the blueberry fermented rice. No problems at all with getting it down.
While we do not necessarily need probiotics as a regeneration response to a serious physical problem like our son's locked gut, we do stock up at strategic parts of the year. For instance, the beginning of the school year is fraught with icky sticky colds. As well, the dead of winter and the first few weeks of spring seem to be prime times for our bodies to revolt. At those times of the year, or at any time when the mere whiff of a cold rears up, we immediately pump the probiotics into our bodies. Most times we are successful at warding off illness. Even if not successful, the ailments tend to be short lived and less arduous.
Colds aside, I like the positive effect a quality probiotic has on my family in terms of mood. The gut is, after all, the second brain!
No single coping technique will take all the pain away.
Try anyway.
Maggie
Be sure to like us on Facebook and sign up for our newsletter.
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