If you or your baby are suffering with HIT, supplements can give your gut the added boost it needs.
Honestly, I haven’t been consistent in giving Rosie supplements or taking them myself. They’ve still helped though!
Disclaimer: I am not a physician, registered dietitian, or nutritionist. In fact I know very little about those things. I am sharing some articles, as well as supplements recommended to me, which we use to combat Rosie’s HIT. Consult with your healthcare professional before you or baby start taking any supplements.
Zinc
Rosie’s functional medicine pediatrician put her on Zinc at 11 months. It’s a dissolvable tablet. She started with a half tablet, ground up and mixed in with her carrot baby food or applesauce. She seemed to respond well to it. After a month or so I gave her the full tablet ground up. Now she eats the tablet by itself because she likes it.
Vit D3
She also takes a Vit D3 supplement, 400 I.U. daily. I call them sunshine drops. I also take a Vit D3 supplement daily.
Saccharomyces boulardii
Right before her 18 month check up, Rosie had frequent diarrhea. Partly from the antibiotics I took, because of 2 cases of mastitis and a UTI, which I had within a period of 5 months. Fun stuff (not!). Antibiotics really mess with her gut. Her pediatrician recommended she take Saccharomyces boulardii. It helps prevent and treat gastrointestinal disorders. I don’t really understand it, but he does, so I’m happy to give it to her!
TriEnza Enzyme for Digestive Intolerances
If you do eat higher histamine foods or gluten or dairy, you can take this enzyme pill with your meal. It supports digestion of gluten, casein, soy, proteins, carbohydrates, fats & polyphenols.
Saved the best for last: Probiotics
Probiotics promote good bacteria in the gut. But certain strands of probiotics increase the amount of histamine in your body. Not a good thing for HIT! You’ll want to avoid those strands.
Read more about that here: https://factvsfitness.com/probiotics-histamine-intolerance/
Rosie takes this probiotic: Gut Pro Infant. It is amazing and has great reviews! It actually promotes the breakdown of histamine, hooray!!!
Go to this article for the benefits & reviews of probiotics for babies. GutPro Infant is at the top of the list. It is free from the top allergens. It also contains histamine neutral or histamine degrading strands.
This is another good article on HIT and probiotics. I read it with a grain of salt because she says avoiding or eliminating foods is not the answer, but it is the answer for us.
I take this probiotic daily. It also qualifies for HIT.
Story time! I’m calling it “A probiotic blessing in disguise”
In September of 2018, Rosie had her IgG food sensitivity test (article about IgG tests here) done at a chiropractor. They offered me a great baby probiotic, one from Klaire Labs and I bought it. One night I was standing in my robe in the kitchen, after finishing a bedtime snack. I had nursed Rosie and given her the probiotic. I was so proud of myself for remembering! As usual my hands were full and s I opened the door to put the probiotic away, it slipped and shattered on my tile floor.
I felt so devastated! Not only was it $40 a bottle, but the chiropractor’s office where I got it was downtown. I would have to go back with my three little kids, park in a parking garage, and walk a few blocks to their office. Back then we had multiple appointments a week. Craniosacral therapy, check-ups, and my own therapist visits. (I was having PTSD from Rosie being in the NICU). It was more than I could mentally handle, so I never did it.
She didn’t take a probiotic again until after a check-up at 11 months. Which I beat myself up about a lot. However, at that check-up, we learned about her possible histamine intolerance. We also learned most probiotics contain strands that produce histamine. Sure enough, Klaire Labs was on the list.
I felt such a huge sense of relief! Once a discouraging memory, now turned into a tender sign of God’s love for me, His awareness of me, and His hand in my life. He knew that Rosie was having these issues and how that probiotic could worsen them. I felt so much love and comfort, and to this day still consider it a special little miracle.
I hope you find supplements that help your HIT, and if you have any input, please share!