It’s trick-or-treat time again, and candy sales are soaring. Skittles, Starbursts, and Sour Patch Kids are among the most popular… and while their shapes and flavors vary, they all have one thing in common:
They’re all almost pure sugar.
That’s why the average Halloween trick or treat bounty amounts to about three cups of sugar per child.
That sugar megadose can have effects beyond the immediate crankiness, stomachache, and trouble sleeping. It can lead to longer-term gut issues including gas, bloating, and diarrhea that last for days.
Worse, that super sugar high can set the stage for health issues through the whole winter cold and flu season, making your kiddos more vulnerable to whatever infections are floating around.
Luckily, there’s a simple step you can take to help even out the sugar rollercoaster and keep your child healthier…
But before we get to that, let’s look at what happens inside your kiddo’s most important digestive and immune ally when under the influence of sugar...
Why Halloween Is Your Gut Microbiome’s Least Favorite Holiday
A decent Halloween haul packed with sugar can easily knock your child’s gut microbiome out of balance in a flash.
A healthy gut contains trillions of diverse beneficial probiotic bacteria, and a small population of harmful pathogens that are kept in check. When the gut microbiome is in balance, those probiotic bacteria provide numerous health benefits, from improved immune function to healthy digestion to better focus in school.
But when your child’s gut falls out of balance – a condition called dysbiosis – be ready for a wide variety of physical, mental, and emotional health issues.
In dysbiosis, pathogens vastly outnumber probiotics. Those harmful bacteria produce toxins, trigger inflammation, and undermine your child’s wellbeing. And it doesn’t take much to tip the balance toward dysbiosis, especially during the Halloween (and December holiday) sugar season.
In fact, studies show that children with dysbiosis can suffer from both immediate and chronic health problems including:
- Anxiety and depression
- ADHD
- Behavioral problems
- Recurring respiratory tract infections
- Persistent diarrhea
- Asthma
- Chronic constipation
Thankfully, when you know how to properly support the gut, you can help your child stay centered and healthy in this or any sugar season.
4 Kid-Approved Tips For Optimal Gut Support
It’s frighteningly easy to tip the gut microbiome into a state of dysbiosis. Common causes of childhood dysbiosis include:
- A course of antibiotics
- Exposure to pesticides in foods
- Food additives, including artificial dyes, flavors, and sweeteners
- Sugar overload
Luckily, it’s also easy to support the health of your child’s gut microbiome.
See below for our 4 favorite ways to drive a balanced microbiome for kids at any age
It’s no fun to clean the dirt out of their clothes and crevices, but playing in dirt is a surefire way to encounter good bacteria. Garden dirt in particular can expose (you and) your kiddos to helpful bacteria from soil and animals.
Constantly sterilizing surfaces, toys, and kid accessories seems like a smart move, but science is now showing that we, as a society, have gone a little too far. A study of over 300,000 children showed that when a pacifier falls on the ground, the kids who simply put it back in their mouths (and exposed themselves to “dirty” ground bacteria) developed less respiratory, skin, and immune challenges than those who had their binkies sanitized.
Halloween aside, a diet that’s consistently packed with pre-packaged and processed goods can lead to an array of GI issues, while also preventing beneficial bacteria from thriving. Diet drinks and artificial sweeteners in particular can really do a number on your kids’ population of good gut bugs.
Non dairy food options such as kimchi, sauerkraut, and coconut or almond yogurt can help add troops of helpful bacteria to the microbiome. But to tip the scales in favor of the good guys, why not support your child’s gut with safe, proven spore probiotics?
By introducing a fresh, daily supply of effective spore bacteria, you’ll be helping trillions of diverse beneficial bacteria grow and flourish.
Just Thrive Gut Health Products
Just Thrive Keeps Your Child’s Gut in Healthy Balance
Just Thrive Probiotic contains four powerful spore probiotics, including specific strains that have been tested extensively in children.
Every bottle of Just Thrive Probiotic contains:
These four clinically proven spore probiotics work quickly to establish and maintain a healthy, well-balanced gut microbiome.
And in case you’re worried about how hard it will be to get your kids to take probiotics – it won’t be. We know that many kids don’t like taking pills and that many simply can’t swallow them. That’s where Just Thrive Probiotic can make your life a lot easier.
One of the benefits of Just Thrive Probiotic is how easy they are to mix into virtually any food. Spore probiotics are highly resilient and resistant to extreme temperatures. That’s how our spore strains can always arrive in the gut microbiome 100% alive and able to work.
You can mix Just Thrive Probiotic into just about any food or drink your child will consume, from the frosting on Halloween cupcakes to spooky smoothies. Just one capsule of Just Thrive Probiotic every day keeps your child’s gut bacteria in optimal balance.
For more smiles and treats (and less frowns and tricks) try Just Thrive Probiotic for your little pumpkins today.
