Please explain the importance of prebiotics and probiotics in my baby's diet. Should I be incorporating that into my ten month old baby's meals?


Both prebiotics and probiotics are classified as bacteria or germs that benefit everybody, especially children. Older babies to pre-schoolers who are prone to infections stand to benefit from exposure to this category of germs because the good bacteria will help destroy the bad ones. Both function differently though. Probiotics are bacteria that reside in the large intestine and they are very useful in preventing infections such as gastroenteritis and antibiotic related diarrhoea. An early introduction to probiotics may also help prevent the allergy problem in early childhood. Prebiotics are non-digestible fibres that travel to the digestive system and aid probiotics to grow and thrive in the large intestine.


Breast-fed infants benefit naturally from prebiotics compounds called oligosaccharides found in breast milk and in certain fortified formula milk. Probiotics supplements or foods contain living microorganisms - yogurt with lactobacillus is a good example. Prebiotics are supplements or foods that cannot be digested by the gut but help in promoting probiotic bacterial growth. You can say they both work hand in hand to protect gut and keep your baby healthy.