After a recent chance to test my gut health, I’ve been paying a bit more attention to keeping my personal microorganisms happy. Country Life recently introduced Gut Connection™ Kids, an extension of their popular adult line of prebiotics designed to support gut and immune health. Moms Meet sent us a package with a selection of their products to test out and review.

**I received this product for free from Moms Meet to use and post my honest opinions. Compensation for this post was provided and this page may contain affiliate links.

Probiotics vs. Prebiotics

A unique aspect of Gut Connection Kids by Country Life is that they are probiotic-free, and support your gut and immune health through prebiotics. Prebiotics are carbohydrates that feed the beneficial bacteria in the gut. They travel undigested to the colon, where they ferment and produce small chain fatty acids that feed the gut flora.

Probiotics are live microorganisms that function as good bacteria in the gut. Ingesting foods or supplements that contain them can help repopulate the beneficial bacteria, which can then overwhelm the bad bacteria. So prebiotics support the good probiotics already living in your body.

Country Life Gut Connection for Kids

Both adult and children’s gut microbiota can get out of whack from everything to diet choices to stress. A balanced microbiome is so important because 70% of the entire immune system is found in the gut.

Country Life has introduced four new formulas to help kids get rebalanced- Digestive Balance, Immune Balance, Cognitive Balance and Sleep Balance. They come in sweet and sour animal-shaped chewables plus a chocolate powder option for Sleep Balance.

The four formulas help reinforce your kids’ first line of defense by providing them with the nutrients they need to maintain good gut and immune health. Gut Connection is one of the first children’s formulas containing clinically studied Epicor® Whole Food Fermentate, a fast-acting (within two hours!) prebiotic shown to support immune and gut health. The formulas are aimed at ages 4–12. However, adults can also take this product by following the directions for the 9–12 year old dosage.

What did we think?

My son is super picky about flavors and generally doesn’t like anything new. I was surprised when he tried the chewables and immediately said he loved them! I was psyched and ready to stock up. He said they tasted like raspberries. Unfortunately he was back to his normal self after a few days when he told me, “Mom, you know I don’t like raspberries.” Which is actually true. I tried to convince him that the flavor is actually called “Sweet and Sour,” (also true) but he wasn’t having it. I tried them myself and thought they were pretty good, so it looks like I have myself some new supplements to take. He also immediately called out the chocolate powder in his drink, asking me why it was weird. I can’t sneak anything past this kid!

As far as effects go, any overall health improvement with any supplement is going to take time, and the two days I got my son to participate didn’t really give me a good overview of their effectiveness. I do plan on continuing to test them out myself though.

Where to get it

You can find Gut Connection Kids by Country Life on their website