Children and Good Digestive Health
Poor eating habits don’t just cause tummy troubles in little ones. The long-term health risks for a variety of conditions increase as well. Besides setting up your child for a lifetime of poor habits, Dr. Elizabeth Lipski explains in Digestive Wellness for Children, “digestive problems are directly linked to a slew of seemingly unrelated juvenile illnesses including arthritis, attention deficit disorders, autism, migraines, asthma, depression, diabetes, and more.” Parents and caregivers can recognize digestive factors in children’s health and behavioral concerns, find solutions, and encourage healthier habits for the entire family.
Food allergies, fast food, high-sugar foods, pesticides, and inadequate vitamin intake can create serious problems for children. Poor digestive health habits can lead to digestive health problems such as gas, constipation, and diarrhea. Quite simply, the worse your children eat, the less healthy they will be.
Not only does poor nutrition lead to health problems, but it can affect learning as well. Nutritional deficiencies in a child’s first years of life, a critical time for brain development, can set the stage for a rough future. According to one study, those deficiencies can cause behavioral problems that can last into the teenage years.
Children with mood and behavior problems may improve if their digestive habits are improved. For example, many parents of autistic children report significant improvements in the behavior of their autistic children after they modify their diet. While eliminating dairy and wheat products for your child’s diet may require significant effort, the benefits may well be worth it to attempt it.
If your child has learning or behavioral problems, consider acting as though your child has an unknown food intolerance and begin a food and symptom diary. You may be surprised to see changes in your child’s activity level, behavior, or mood when certain foods are either added or eliminated.
