For some time now, and especially thanks to the so-called functional foods, such as Actimel and company, the words probiotic Y prebiotic They have reached our vocabulary to stay.
There are many doctors who recommend them when children do not seem to lift their heads and there are many mothers who give them to children now when the cold comes, to try to prevent them from getting sick.
Let's explain what is a probiotic and what is a prebiotic, which is not the same, and we will also explain when it can be interesting to offer it to children and when it does not make much sense to do so.
What is a probiotic?
To begin, we will define what a probiotic is, which of the two is the most interesting and which is the one we all have in mind when we say probiotic and prebiotic. A probiotic food is, according to WHO, a food that contains live microorganisms that, supplied in adequate quantity, confer a beneficial effect on the health of the host.
In other words, if we want to have good bacteria in our digestive system, what we have to do is take probiotics, which are the good bacteria themselves.
Probiotics they have to be alive when ingested and the doses have to be appropriate to obtain the desired effects, either in the form of food, or as a pharmaceutical preparation.
By this I mean that not all foods that say "with probiotics" will be beneficial, probably because they will not contain the minimum amount of microorganisms needed to have any effect.
What is a prebiotic?
Prebiotics, a name that many use when they talk about probiotics, are not really living microorganisms, so they are not the same.
A prebiotic It is a specific ingredient of a food that is not digested and that when it enters our body stimulates the growth and / or activity of some bacteria that are already established in our colon, improving our health.
The best known are: oligofructose, inulin, galacto-oligosaccharides, lactulose and oligosaccharides from breast milk. All of them, except the last one, of course, are routinely used as food ingredients such as cookies, cereals, chocolate or dairy products.
The benefits they can bring are diverse. The fermentation of oligofructose in the colon, for example, increases the number of bifidobacteria, improves calcium absorption, shortens the duration of gastrointestinal transit and reduces blood lipid levels. Increasing the number of bifidobacteria produces compounds that inhibit potential pathogens, thus decreasing the risk of infection and certain inflammatory factors.
Can we clarify it a little more?
To give an example that helps clarify a little more what each thing is, probiotics would become soldiers who enter our body willing to find a place to set up their camp and prepare to fight against enemy bacteria.
Following this analogy, prebiotics would become the infrastructure for soldiers: their food, their tent, weapons, etc., which makes soldiers more active (can help those who have entered, if they we have taken probiotics, or help those who were already there, which is our intestinal flora).
When it may be advisable to take probiotics and prebiotics
The digestive system of our body has a magnificent (or not so much) flora, which fulfills its function perfectly if it is in good condition. However, if a child takes an antibiotic, in addition to "loading" bad bacteria, an antibiotic (the same word already says "anti-life") part of the intestinal flora is also carried ahead, making children vulnerable to other infections, causing diarrhea, etc.
In such a situation it is when it is recommended that children take probiotics and prebiotics, because Probiotics can help rebuild flora and position where the effects of the antibiotic have taken a toll.
If you also take food with prebiotics (or prebiotic supplements), soldiers (probiotics) will not have to be looking for shelter, food and time to set up your camp, because everything will be inside (prebiotics), so there are now pharmacy preparations which include probiotics and prebiotics, called symbiotics.
Another situation in which it may be interesting to take probiotics or prebiotics would be in those seasons that children seem not to lift their heads. They leave an infection and get into another, probably because their bodies have not had time to have enough defenses and their partners are infecting them (while they are also infecting their partners).
If instead a child is healthy, say in September, before winter comes, and he wants to give something to prevent, the effectiveness is doubtful, because if the flora of the child is fine, hardly any probiotic can enter to colonize anything (It would be something like "but where are you going, pitcher souls, if we don't fit here anymore"). Perhaps prebiotics could help the good bacteria already present to act and be in perfect condition, but not much else.
So what was said, If the children are ill, go ahead. If they are on an antibiotic, they may do well.. If they are healthy, keep touching wood.
