I know firsthand how the microbiotic make-up of your body effects your health. Two of my children had debilitating eczema when they were infants and toddlers.
At 15 months, the back of my daughter's hands looked as if they had been dipped in acid. My son, at 10 months, had to wear pants and long sleeves all summer because he would itch himself to bleeding. Of course I took them to the pediatrician, but this ended the way most of my trips the pediatrician do: without help.
I turned to alternative medicine practitioners and have tried many embarrassing modalities to help my children with their eczema. The thing that has helped the most--and isn't even that fringe anymore--is probiotic supplementation. Actually, probiotics seemed to fix all of our medical problems.
My daughter's eczema faded after a daily regimen of juice laced with powdered "probies," as we affectionately call them. My son's eczema required more intense proboiotic therapy. We had to try a lot of different strains and do it for longer with stronger doses.
Taking care of our gut health (through diet, stress-management, and probiotic supplementation) has solved a number of our little health issues.
There is a study going on now to determine if probiotic supplementation in pregnancy and during breastfeeding can reduce rates of eczema in infants. They are also looking to see if it will reduce gestational diabetes (one previous study found it did), group B strep, yeast infections, and postpartum mood disorders. Though there are no notable studies yet, another group has been interested in how probiotic supplementation in early pregnancy can effect rates of miscarriage.
A few other studies have looked at probiotics to prevent or alleviate eczema. This study found that you can half the presence of eczema in children by giving probiotics to pregnant women from 35 weeks through the first six months of breastfeeding and giving them directly to children from 6-24 months. The kind of bacteria matters though. Lactobacillus rhamnosus had this protective effect, but another strain did not.
If I get pregnant again, you can bet I will be hitting the probies pretty hard.
During my natural birth classes, we discuss healthy diet and how that affects your bacterial populations. I also share how to prevent group B step infection in pregnancy and safely avoid antibiotics in labor. This involves taking care of your gut health and minding your microbiome.
Eczema is known to reflect an immune issue. Allergies, as well, are immune response and can be mediated with probiotic therapy. We are learning more all the time about the gut as the seat of the immune system, about protecting our health by protecting our microbiome.
Michael Odent, a well-known researcher, says, "It appears that there is a critical period early in life when gut micro-organisms affect the brain and change behavior in later life." This stuff really matters.
A Short Primer for Gut Health
- Sugar and white carbs feed the bad bacteria (such as yeast).
- Raw fruits and veggies help and sometimes even provide the good bacteria (pre-biotics).
- Fermented foods offer high doses of good bacteria.
- Keep stress levels low.
- When buying probiotics, choose ones with high organism counts and many strains.
- Shelf stable probitoics are best, but refrigerated is good. (Many from the shelf are not stable, they are slowly dying. This has to do with the way they are prepared.)
- Try different strains and doses for supplementation, but start small, especially for infants. (Infant-specific strains are available.)
How to prevent group B strep in pregnancy.
The importance of the microbiome in pregnancy and birth.
How to cut back on sugar.
How to get the good bacteria to your cesarean baby.
Image credit: NIAID via Flickr/CC