As a doctor, parent and grandparent, I know
how important it is to keep our children healthy and clean. However,
I caution my patients and family about the overuseof antibacterial soaps and hand sanitizers containing synthetic
compounds like triclosan. These can decrease the effects of
antibiotics, creating superbugs, or bacteria that can attack the
lining of your intestines.
This phenomenon is known as the hygienehypothesis. It concludes that in the search for cleanliness, we
negatively affect the health of our children, and ourselves, by
limiting the body’s ability to develop natural immunities to
disease.
In children, being too clean can raise their risk of Type1 diabetes, a serious condition in which the body’s immune
system eliminates the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas and
other autoimmune and allergic diseases. Some scientists believe that
the lack of exposure to specific gut bacteria may trigger the
escalation of Type 1 diabetes. Being exposed to some bacteria can be
good for our health.
To offset these concerns, parents are increasingly giving children
probiotics at an early stage. If you haven?t talked to your doctor
or pediatrician about probiotics, this is a good time to ask about
them. Probiotics are also an important way to build immunity,
especially for children and adults who have been treated with
antibiotics.
My interest in probiotics began when a number of patients
complained that digestive medications did not resolve gut health
problems. This inspired me to create a proprietary blend of
beneficial bacteria, which became a company, EndoMune Advanced
Probiotic in 2007.
We then added EndoMune Jr., the only children’s probiotic
developed by a board-certified gastroenterologist. It has the coveted
ParentTested Parent Approved (PTPA) Winner’s Seal of Approval.
Visit my blog at endomune.com/blog
to learn more about gut health and the fascinating research into the
ways beneficial bacteria positively impact our overall health.
