It’s that time of year when everyone is getting poorly. Every family I speak to seems to be recovering from coughs, colds or nastier bugs. There has also been a lot of chat about how to get that yucky “banana” flavour antibiotic into children (we used smoothies!). Antibiotics work wonders when they are needed, but they can be pretty hard on the gut for both adults and kids. There is some evidence (as recognised by the NHS) that probiotics can help prevent diarrhoea and other illnesses which happen when the normal gut bacteria is killed off by antibiotics.
It’s also thought that probiotics may help people with food sensitivities such as lactose intolerance when there are problems digesting lactose and they could help relieve some of the discomfort of bloating and flatulence in people with IBS. Some people think there are other benefits to probiotics such as reducing the length of illnesses and helping to prevent them too. To see if they make a difference to an ongoing problem the NHS suggests you might want to try using them for 4 weeks and you need to use a probiotic with a high enough level of friendly bacteria.
I have a dairy intolerance and I don’t know whether it’s lactose, cow’s milk proteins or something else which causes me problems. Right now I don’t plan to reintroduce it because it’s easier to just avoid all dairy, but my eldest daughter has mostly outgrown her intolerance and eats whatever dairy she wants. She still experiences digestive problems if she has too much milk (and ice cream) so I am interested to see if taking probiotics help her.
I knew that you could have probiotics in yoghurt drinks because I've seen the adverts on TV, but I hadn't really thought about other options. As they contain dairy I can’t drink them at the moment and there have been queries about whether they contain enough bacteria to make any impact. While my daughter would happily drink them I try to avoid filling my fridge up with any dairy products my youngest might see and want (she is dairy free too). BioCare contacted me and asked if I wanted to try their probiotic supplements. I had a quick look on their website and saw their new ones were dairy free and I was interested in trying them. I was sent their Children's Red Berry BioMelts and the Everyday BioAcidophilus capsules.
BioCare Children’s Red Berry BioMelts Probiotics
There are 28 sachets in the box filled with a sweet white powder which my daughter likes to let dissolve on her tongue. The best way I can describe it is it tastes like a berry flavoured version of those teething powders you get. If you know how much babies enjoy teething powders you will know that it is easy to encourage children to take these probiotics. Each sachet contains live bacteria and Vitamin D and they should be taken with food.
The BioMelts are suitable for children from 3 years old. They are vegetarian, dairy free and have no artificial colours or flavours (they contain natural strawberry and raspberry flavouring and are naturally sweetened with prebiotic xylitol). The sachets contain 12.5mg of Lactobacillus rhamnosus (GG) and 11.1mg Bifidobacterium lactis (BL-04) which add up to 3 billion bacteria in each sachet!
BioCare Everyday BioAcidophilus Capsules
Each box of these probiotics for adults has 28 capsules separated into 4, 7 day strips. I found this really helpful because when I started them on a Friday I knew they should be finished on the Thursday. I’m awful at remembering to take tablets so it was a good way to help me work out if I had taken one each day or not.
Everyday BioAcidophilus contains 10 billion bacteria per capsule (apparently that’s a good thing). They are a clinically researched combination of Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifodobacterium bifidum and Bifidobacterium lactis and also contain natural prebiotics to feed the live bacteria. Admittedly this doesn’t mean much to me, but it does convince me the levels should be high enough to make an impact (and the levels are higher than any of the probiotic yoghurt drinks as far as I can see on their websites). The capsules are Vegan and can be taken during pregnancy
BioCare’s Everyday BioAcidophilus are £13.96 for 28 capsules and can be bought from from www.biocare.co.uk and independent health food stores.
It’s too soon to know if there is a difference to either me or my daughter, but I think they are a great thing to have in the house at this time of year incase we have a tummy bug or need to take antibiotics. It’s great that the BioCare products have a high level of probiotic bacteria, that they are dairy free and that they don’t need to be kept in the fridge.
If you would like to win a packet of both the adult and child supplements enter my giveaway below. UK entry only, closes Sunday 26th November 2017, full T&C’s in the rafflecopter widget.
a Rafflecopter giveaway***Disclosure: I was sent products from Biocare for the purpose of this review and giveaway. The innovative, brand new supplements are designed to make sure your body is prepared for the colder months. ***
Warning: Do not exceed the recommended daily intake, seek advice from a doctor before taking if you are under medical supervision and keep out of reach of children.
What are your tips for staying well this winter?
Eat a varied colourful diet and try to get outdoors everyday
ReplyDeleteKeep warm, wash hands, drink plenty of water and take vitamins and probiotics.
ReplyDelete5 a day is a minimum - try to eat more fruit and veg than that
ReplyDeletetry and keep your hands away from your face (especially eyes and mouth) and wash them before eating!
ReplyDeleteProbiotics and vitamins also lots of fresh air.
ReplyDeleteProbiotics are great at making your tummy work
ReplyDeleteI start my morning with a smoothie packed with fruit and vegetables, spirulina and chia seeds which i think has boosted my immune system this year.
ReplyDeleteget the flu jab and eat plenty of fruit and veg
ReplyDeleteMy best tip for avoiding winter illnesses is vitamin D - kali Filsell
ReplyDeletea daily probiotic, walking and getting enough sunshine
ReplyDeleteEat healthily, get fresh air, try to get plenty of sleep.
ReplyDeletemy nan always said have a cuppa black tea with no sugar or milk but a spoon of honey when u get a cold, it will clear p, i swear it atually works and makes m feel much better!
ReplyDeleteWe make our home made keffia, fantastic
ReplyDelete"I drink hot black or green tea with lemon and honey. Drinking the tea and breathing in steam stimulates the cilia—the hair follicles in the nose—to move out germs more efficiently. Lemon thins mucus, and honey is antibacterial."
ReplyDeleteExtra vitamin C tablets.
ReplyDeleteEat plenty of sprouts at christmas! - Leanne W @leabana1
ReplyDeletePlenty of vitamins and rest, plus a nice warm coat!!
ReplyDeleteKeeping warm and lots of hot drinks!
ReplyDeleteTake vitamin C and D supplements xx
ReplyDeleteeat healthy and drink plenty water
ReplyDeletedry yourself off if you gt wet as soon as possible and keep your feet head and hands warm
ReplyDeleteTry and sneak veg into meals if you have fussy eaters like my kiddies, make sure they get enough sleep and take a vitamin chew everday
ReplyDeleteLots of fruit
ReplyDeleteEat healthily and drink lots of water.
ReplyDeleteGet plenty of sleep, and take a multivitamin every day.
ReplyDeleteI take apple cider vinegar daily ❇
ReplyDeleteTake vitamins daily
ReplyDeletePlenty of vitamin C :)
ReplyDeleteTake supplements (partciularly vit d) :)
ReplyDeleteWash hands after using public transport and after touching door handles in public places.
ReplyDelete