Understand Digestive Disorder

Being a mom is not easy. As adorable as kids are, it doesn’t take much time for them to cook up a storm. And my twins are no different.

It is already a challenge looking after one kid at a time – nappy changes, making sure they don’t eat whatever they get hold of, frequent breast feeding, keeping them away from unhealthy street food as they start to get a little older, forcing greens and fruits down their throats because let’s face it, no kid will ever eat them willingly…the list is exhaustive.

Now imagine having to do all this for two kids at the same time. Tiring, right?

And you cannot just give up. As kids, their immunity is already lower than adults and they are more prone to digestive disorders and upset gut flora because it is still very early to gauge what their tummies can and cannot digest. It breaks your heart when you see your little ones holding their stomach in pain, tears rolling down their eyes at such a tender age. And what’s even worse is not knowing what’s causing it.

So, I decided to research on digestion problems, talk to doctors about it and most importantly notice my kids’ behaviours and patterns after eating certain foods. I found the most common indicators to be severe weight loss, vomiting, and diarrhoea in children .

Now these indicators can be a result of one or more the following causes:

1. Celiac disease

   Celiac disease causes a lifelong intolerance to gluten – found in wheat, barley, rye and some oats. Consuming gluten can cause abdominal pain, bloating or hard stools.

2. Lactose intolerance

   This condition makes it difficult for the kids’ bodies to process or digest lactose – naturally occurring sugar in milk – and the symptoms can include diarrhoea, stomach cramps and gas after eating dairy products.

3. Food allergies

   There are certain foods that your kids’ immune system might consider dangerous for their body and might have a bad reaction to them. While eggs, milk and peanuts are most common causes of food allergies, it might be different for different kids and it’s better to get it checked by your doctor.

4. Inflammatory bowel disease

   This disease is caused to due inflammation of the digestive tract and symptoms might include diarrhoea, blood in stools and abdominal pain.

Do not worry, fellow moms! Some of these causes and symptoms of digestion problems might look alarming and will surely need a doctor’s advice. But by and large, it is important for us moms to ensure our kids have a probiotic-rich diet since that can keep regular tummy troubles at bay.

What are probiotics, you ask?

Probiotics are "friendly bacteria" which are known to increase our kids’ immunities, improve digestion and restore gut health.

I try feeding my kids foods that naturally possess probiotics such as idli, dosa, bananas, pineapples, and sometimes kimchi.

Additionally, I turn to Enterogermina – a tasteless, colourless and odourless probiotic for diarrhoea and also for general gut health. Luckily, my otherwise tantrum-throwing kids drink that quite willingly.

A win-win for both, I’d say! 😉

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