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The Root Cause Of Constipation in Toddlers Many Parents Overlook

By on September 26, 2017

Doctors say if your child has fewer than three bowel movements in a week or an unusual poop size or texture, it needs to be addressed.

Sometimes, it’s hard to tell just how they’re feeling, and whether it is just a passing phase. But there’s enough scientific evidence to back up the claim that ‘benpin’ or constipation in children can make them less active or uneasy which could sometimes lead to skin diseases. As a result of uneasiness, some children don’t feel like going to school or may be uncomfortable using the toilet away from home.

It is a common assumption that merely feeding children vegetables, fiber-rich foods and keeping them active every day should take care of the problem.

But a research in Sweden and Scotland found that the reason behind chronic constipation is not just about food and level of activity but the gut environment. The study reveals that babies born in the C-section have a type of small intestinal bacteria that increases the likelihood of allergy. Children’s intestinal environment depends on many conditions such as how a birth was given, the quality of breast milk fed to a child, including his/her growing environment.

So if you really want to relieve children of constipation, keeping the intestinal environment balanced is a good place to start.

Why intestinal environment matters.
The answer to that is because bacteria found in the intestines dictates the condition of the gut and how food is processed inside the body. Constipation happens when the intestinal environment deteriorates.
In adults, more than 100 trillion units of good and bad bacteria are found in the intestine. That’s anywhere between 1 kg and 1/5 kg of the body weight. When good bacteria dominates, a lot of acid is produced in the intestine which leads to incontinence. When bad bacteria dominates, gas accumulates and the stomach stretches out leading to diarrhea or in most cases, constipation.

What to do to get the child’s gut working at a healthy level
Imagine the gut as the control tower of the autonomic nervous system that holds everything together. It has to be strong. If the control tower is not secure, the excretory function won’t work and the child will have bowel movement issues which will cause bad bacteria to multiply.
1 Establish a toilet routine that children can anticipate at expected times, like after meals or before they go to school.
2 Promote your child’s good bacteria by feeding them foods containing lactic acid. Meiji’s yoghurt for example contains bifido bacteria, a type of lactic acid. Oligosaccharides is another. They are carbohydrates that feed good bacteria. It has recently received attention for its health benefits. In food packages in Japan, they are labeled as オリゴ糖 (origo-to). Notice the kanji after origo is sato (sugar). Because oligosaccharides are in fact carbs containing 3-10 simple sugars. This means unlike the complex carb, simple sugar is digested and absorbed quickly. Anothe example of a good belly drink for toddlers is Japan’s Yakult cultured milk drink.
3 Your toddler should be getting at least 60 minutes of physical activity a day.
4 According to the Institute of Medicine’s Dietary Reference Intakes for Electrolytes and Water, the Adequate Intake (AI) for water for children aged 1 to 3 is 1.3 liters per day; that’s about 44 fluid ounces, or the equivalent of 5-1/2 8 ounce cups of water.

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