How probiotics can help your autistic child

It's well documented that many autistic children suffer from digestive issues. What you may not know is that things like constipation, diarrhea, and yeast can cause problems elsewhere in the body. Your immune system, your brain power, even your behavior can be affected.

If the digestive tracked is all blocked up (or can't keep anything in), it means that your body can't absorb all the nutrition it needs from the foods you eat. Without the proper vitamins and minerals your child's body cannot function at it's best.

It's important to make sure your children get enough fiber in their diet, which help can calm their digestive distress. Another great way is to offer them something called probiotics. Probiotics are a "good" bacteria that keep your digestive system running smoothly. Then the rest of your body can improve how it absorbs and uses the nutrition you provide for it. You can find probiotics in many different forms like capsules, flavored chew ables, and even in yogurt for those that aren't on a casein free diet. Check the labels to make sure the ingredient list complies with your dietary restrictions (if you have any) and that it contains at least one billion active/live cultures in each serving. This may seem like a lot, but it's actually the typical number for most probiotic supplements.

Within a few weeks of starting the probiotics, you should notice a positive change in your child's bathroom habits, and their mood!

As always, it's a good idea to talk to a health care professional before starting any supplement regimen, so make sure to get some advice from your pediatrician.

This article is a reprint of http://www.examiner.com/x-20961-Orlando-Autism--Parenting-Examiner~y2009m9d6-How-probiotics-can-help-your-autistic-child The time or date displayed reflects when an article was added to Google News. Sep 6, 2009‎