If there is one thing I want parents to understand about how food and their child's gut microbiome, it’s this:

You aren’t just feeding your child. You are literally feeding the bacteria that lives in their gut.

When you feed good microbes they grow, multiply, and produce health-promoting molecules that will lead to a healthy childhood (and life!)

On the other hand, when unfriendly bacteria are fed, they grow, multiply and promote disease by break down your child’s gut lining, inflaming the gut, and interfering with the growth of the good guys.

So how do you FEED THE GOOD GUYS and starve the bad guys?

We could spend days on this. But for the biggest bang for your buck, focus on these 2 things

1. MORE PLANTS

2. LESS SUGAR

    

First, let’s talk PLANTS!

Give your toddler more plants and more variety of plants.

Plant-fiber is the best thing you can feed your child’s gut microbiome. Fiber isn’t just about staying regular. Although it does do that. But it is so much more!

Fiber is healthy gut bacteria’s very, very best friend.

Fiber isn’t absorbed in the small intestine because humans lack the enzymes needed to digest it. So fiber moves farther down the GI tract to the large intestine where the gut microbiome lives.

And guess who does have enzymes to digest fiber? Yep, good bacteria. When good bacteria breaks down fiber, they produce beneficial byproducts that keep the gut a happy and healthy place.

Eating more plant fiber gives the beneficial bacteria more food ® they grow and multiply. And they take up more real estate and literally crowd out the bad guys.

But why is variety important?

Different plants have different fibers and polyphenols with unique structures ® different fibers feed different species of good bacteria ® different species results in greater microbiome diversity ® high diversity is a key marker of good gut health.

Just how many different types of plants should you and your child be eating?

The magic number is around 30 different plants weekly. The American Gut Project found significantly higher microbiome diversity in people who ate at least 30 different plans each week compared to people who ate less than 10.

Before you freak out, just remember, each specific variety counts. 1 gala apple and 1 golden delicious are 2 different plants. Beans and grains and seeds are plants. Herbs are plants, too.

Moral of the story, feed your toddlers (and yourself!) more fiber and more kinds of fiber.

For toddlers ages 1-3 you want to aim for at least 19 grams daily. That’s a lot!

Here’s how I get more fiber into my kids:

→ Give veggies with every lunch and dinner (and sometimes breakfast!)

→ 2 servings of fruit every day

→ Nuts and seeds for snacks

→ Serve a high fiber food at least once daily (these are my go-to’s)

• Beans, lentils or other legumes (at least 10-15 grams of fiber per cup)

• Whole grains like wheat berries or whole oats (over 6-7 grams per ½ cup)

• Chia seeds (5 g/tablespoon)

It takes some planning and some practice, but upping your fiber game is worth the effort!

Now, let’s talk about SUGAR

Fiber is the best thing you can feed your toddler’s microbes. And, in my opinion, sugar is the worst.

I don’t think it’s any secret that most kids are eating waayyyy too much added sugar. And when I say sugar, I’m not just talking candy.

Added sugar is candy, fruit juice, sugary drinks, sports drinks, syrup, and added sugar in processed foods like dressings, syrups, crackers, etc. Sugar is everywhere.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no added sugar for babies and toddlers under age 2 (personally, I think this is a great goal to work toward, but I don’t think it is super realistic). And then less than 25 grams (6 teaspoons) daily for children over age 2.

Ideally, added sugar in your child’s diet should be as close to zero as possible.

And let’s be real, this is so so hard!

From a gut health perspective, here’s why limiting sugar is so important:

Sugar:

→ Directly damages the gut barrier

→ Increases bacterial endotoxins in the bloodstream

→ Blocks a protein that is essential for colonization of good bacteria

→ Feeds bad bacteria

→ Decreases bacterial diversity

→ Disrupts healthy bacterial balance (Gut dysbiosis)

And here’s the kicker, all of these microbiome changes can be happening even if your child is a normal, healthy weight.

So what do you do? Cut out all sugar? Count grams to make sure it’s less than 25 daily? I ain’t got time for that.

Here’s what’s worked for my family.

→ Treats are treats

You’ve heard the phrase “That’s a real treat!” A treat is something special. It’s not an everyday thing. If a treat is something that happens all the time, then it isn’t a treat anymore.

So sugary treats in my home, are just that, TREATS.

It is nearly impossible to keep added sugars under 25g if you’re eating candy, cookies, or drinking juice or other sugary beverages every day.

However you decide to do this is up to you.

My husband and I host a family party on Friday nights. We have homemade cookies, ice cream or other favorite treats. This has worked for us. My kids know that they don’t have to go seeking sugar from friends. It gives them something to look forward to. And it’s been great for family bonding!

2.     → Read labels

Sugar goes by a lot of names on food labels. So look carefully, even on labels of savory food. Watch for anything with

• Syrup

• Glucose

• Fructose

• Dextrose/dextrin

• Maltose/mannose/maltol/maltodextrin

• Juice

 → Avoid sweeteners

You would think if I’m avoiding sugars that I’d prefer sweeteners or sugar substitutes. But nope! Let me explain

Artificial sweeteners aren’t gut friendly so I avoid them.

Natural sweeteners are don’t harm the gut but they can be 100s to 1000s times more sweet than sugar. So they sort of train the taste buds and brain not just to expect sweet, but to expect and want sweeter.

If you’re going to give your kids something sweet, I recommend it be sweetened with fruit, regular cane or beet sugar, honey (over age 1), maple syrup, coconut sugar, or molasses.

Remember, it is all about feeding the good bacteria, and starving the bad. The more you are consistently feeding the good bacteria, the more there will be. Not only will they crowd out the bad guys, but they'll be more resilient they will be when those baddies get a snack.

And then, when your child has a cookie or ice cream, you bribe them with fruit snacks, or grandma gives them orange juice with breakfast, popsicles after lunch and cookies with dinner (heaven forbid!), their gut will bounce back and they will be just fine.

You’ve got this!

Marilyn

References:

McDonald D, Hyde E, Debelius JW, Morton JT, et al. American Gut Consortium; Knight R. American Gut: an Open Platform for Citizen Science Microbiome Research. mSystems. 2018 May 15;3(3):e00031-18. doi: 10.1128/mSystems.00031-18. PMID: 29795809; PMCID: PMC5954204.

Fu J, Zheng Y, Gao Y, Xu W. Dietary Fiber Intake and Gut Microbiota in Human Health. Microorganisms. 2022 Dec 18;10(12):2507. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms10122507. PMID: 36557760; PMCID: PMC9787832.

Arnone D, Chabot C, Heba AC, Kökten T, Caron B, Hansmannel F, Dreumont N, Ananthakrishnan AN, Quilliot D, Peyrin-Biroulet L. Sugars and Gastrointestinal Health. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2022 Sep;20(9):1912-1924.e7. doi: 10.1016/j.cgh.2021.12.011. Epub 2021 Dec 10. PMID: 34902573.

Q. Liang, et al. Sialic acid plays a pivotal role in licensing Citrobacter rodentium’s transition from the intestinal lumen to a mucosal adherent niche, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 120 (28) e2301115120, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2301115120 (2023).

Satokari R. High Intake of Sugar and the Balance between Pro- and Anti-Inflammatory Gut Bacteria. Nutrients. 2020 May 8;12(5):1348. doi: 10.3390/nu12051348. PMID: 32397233; PMCID: PMC7284805.

Do MH, Lee E, Oh MJ, Kim Y, Park HY. High-Glucose or -Fructose Diet Cause Changes of the Gut Microbiota and Metabolic Disorders in Mice without Body Weight Change. Nutrients. 2018 Jun 13;10(6):761. doi: 10.3390/nu10060761. PMID: 29899272; PMCID: PMC6024874.