Best Children’s Probiotics for Digestive & Respiratory Support

Which brand of children’s probiotics is the best & safest for your children & their gut microbiome? Mamavation sent 21 different children’s probiotics to an EPA-certified lab looking for indications of PFAS “forever chemicals.” Afterward, we reached out to our scientific advisors that are very knowledgeable about the different strains and species of bacteria used for probiotics to help us rank each brand. Do you want your child to have a healthy gut? You’ve trusted Mamavation to bring you topics like best probiotics for adults, best cooking oils sans PFAS, and best air purifiers, now join us for the best children’s probiotics tested for indications of PFAS “forever chemicals” and then ranked by ingredients & bacterial strains and species.

Disclosure: This post was medically reviewed by Sondra Strand, RN, BSN, PHN. However, Mamavation is not giving you specific medical advice for any medical condition. Please check with your child’s pediatrician before starting any probiotic supplement or medications. Donations were provided by Environmental Health News and Mamavation community members. Mamavation has only “spot-checked” the industry and thus we cannot make predictions about brands and products that we have not tested. Products and manufacturing aides can change without notice so buyer beware. This post contains affiliate links, with some to Amazon, which means Mamavation will receive a portion of those sales and we will use that to pay ourselves back for the testing. You can also give a tax-deductible donation to our consumer studies here through Environmental Health Sciences. Click “yes” when asked if the gift is in honor of someone and type “Mamavation.” Thank you!  

Mamavation Tested 21 Popular Children’s Probiotics for Indications of PFAS “Forever Chemicals”

To start this investigation, Mamavation sent 21 different children’s probiotics off to an EPA-certified lab looking for indications of PFAS “forever chemicals.” Per & polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, are a class of man-made chemicals used as water-resistant, oil-resistant, and stain-resistant chemicals in commerce for decades and are linked to adverse health effects.

With over 12,000 different chemicals in their chemical class (including PFOA & PTFE), PFAS chemicals are daunting to test and very difficult to identify. PFAS chemicals are considered ubiquitous, persistent, and toxic which is why they were dubbed “forever chemicals.” When they show up in food & supplement products, they are not likely added on purpose but are more likely present due to manufacturing or packaging contamination of some kind in the supply chain.

PFAS chemicals are linked to the following adverse health effects:

• reduction in immunity
• reduced vaccination response
• increased risk of allergies & asthma in young children
• affect the growth, learning, and behavior of infants and older children
• increase cholesterol levels
• metabolic diseases like obesity & diabetes
• cardiovascular disease
• lower a woman’s chance of getting pregnant
• lowers male fertility
• smaller penis size
• increase the risk of kidney & testicular cancers
• Causes endocrine disruption
• Disrupts normal thyroid function

We selected 21 children’s probiotic products by asking the Mamavation Facebook community what brands they would like to have included in this consumer study. Since PFAS has been Mamavation’s focus for a couple of years, it was important to us to clear brands before we made recommendations.

We are happy to announce every children’s probiotic brand we sent to the lab came back with non-detect results, which means the lab did not detect any indications of PFAS above 10 parts per million (ppm) in any of these brands.

What is the Origin of These Bacterial Strains?

Next, it’s important to get into the nitty-gritty of the differences in the types of bacterial probiotic strains we found. Where do these bacterial strains come from that go into children’s probiotics? There are basically four places of origin: human, naturally-occurring strains,  soil-based organisms (SBO), bovine-based (from cows), & fermented food-derived bacteria. 

Human, Naturally-Occurring Bacteria

Human probiotics are bacterial strains that naturally populate your gut and which co-evolved to thrive there. I prefer these strains because they are naturally occurring in your gut and for specific strains, there is extensive research behind their effectiveness.

Soil-Based Organisms (SBO)

The newest kids on the block are the soil-based organisms (SBO).  Microspores & megaspores form in plants, ferns, and mosses, but endospores are nonreproductive structures that are resistant to stress and are used to ensure bacteria survive under unfavorable conditions. You’ll find them in the soil. They are hearty and resilient, so chances are, they can survive digestion to the gut better than many sensitive strains, but many scientists argue they don’t belong there.

This industry has grown as well, so you’ll start to see companies taking liberties with the truth.  We found some of these “spore” companies are advertising themselves as “megaspores” but do not contain any of the protective cell walls of any spores. Instead, they consist of a mixture of living bacterial cultures, many from the Bacillus family, that are known to commonly produce spores. The issue is that when they form spores, we don’t know what they are displacing. Because of the lack of research here, I’d recommend using them for short-term and then going back to human or bovine-based bacterial strains.

Bovine-Based Bacteria

Another type of bacterial strains are found in bovine (cow) – derived products like yogurt and kefir. The two most commonly used species for making fermented milk products are Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus. These two are typically not considered “probiotic” organisms because of the rarity of human studies showing their coingestion leads to a health benefit. Probiotics (Lactobacilli and Bifidobacterial species and strains, like Lactobacillus acidophilus, which you’ve probably heard of) that are present in fermented dairy products are there because they were added.

Fermented Food-derived Bacteria

Perhaps kimchi is the most common source from which these bacteria are cultured and identified. Relative to human, soil, and bovine-based bacteria far less studies have been conducted in children with strains and species derived from fermented foods, but they are increasing. However with use over generations going back thousands of years, we don’t think kimchi is problematic at all. 

Bacterial Strains Linked with Relief of Specific Health Impacts in Children

After our testing was done, we moved on to other aspects of the probiotics in order to evaluate them. One very important matter was the bacterial species and strains present in the ingredient panel and if they were considered safe and effective for children. It’s important to understand that children are not little adults and thus adult studies are not valuable in ascertaining safety and effectiveness in children. 

We noticed right away after digging into the research that most studies have been done on adults, but not on children in terms of probiotic species and strains. Thus, we are looking specifically at research that was done on children, toddlers, and infants to use in this investigation.

Another thing we found right away was there wasn’t as much research done on practical symptoms that would make sense for the average mom. In other words, will this help with stomach pain and gas, reduce symptoms of colds, keep your child from getting sick and stay in school more days of the year, etc. We opted for practical proof over lab results that may or may not translate into better health for your child.

What About When Bacterial Strains Are Mixed Together?

We found several products that had combinations of probiotic species and strains mixed together. When you see this, the question is, do they work together for the benefit of your child or do they cancel themselves out, in part or in full? The answer is most of the time, we don’t know. Would a placebo work better or just as well? Although it’s very easy (and common) to wave the “synergistic blend” wand over a label or product, clinical studies demonstrating synergy are as rare as a total solar eclipse…in California. 

Most of the brands except a few we identified in the “best” category below have no studies on children for their formulation of probiotics. That means it’s very possible they are selling you a combination that doesn’t even work the way it’s marketed to you. That’s an important distinction if you are gonna pay between $20-50 per bottle.

Studies on Children of Bacterial Probiotics

In terms of studies on children, we’ve broken down the research into four categories: digestive & gut health, immune response, respiratory health, and dermatological health. Below we have broken this into categories of actual practical health advantages based on probiotic species and strains. In other words, what will they do for my child is the question that was answered.

Digestive Health & Gut Health

In terms of digestive health and gut health, here are some of the common benefits of certain strains of bacteria.

• Relieves Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or inflammatory bowel disease
• Relieves abdominal pain
• Relieves constipation
• Reduces risk of antibiotic-associated diarrhea
• Lessens colic in babies

Here’s a list of bacterial strains that are clinically validated to have practical impacts in this category in children:

• Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG
• Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM
• Bifidobacterium lactis Bi-07
• Bifidobacterium breve BR03
• Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938
• Bifidobacterium lactis B94
• Lactobacillus gasseri CECT5714
• Saccharomyces boulardii CNCM I-745 (this is a yeast strain)
• VSL#3 (an eight strain combination)

Immune Response

In terms of the immune response, here are some of the common benefits of certain strains of bacteria.

• Protects child’s immune system by optimizing gut health
• Supports a healthy vaccination response
• Reducing incidence of influenza amongof unvaccinated children (no flu shot) 
• Reducing incidence of H. pylori in children
• Improves glucose metabolism
• Reduces risk of being anemic
• Lessens risk of acute otitis media (painful ear infections)

Here’s a list of bacterial strains that are clinically validated to have practical impacts in this category in children:

• Lactobacillus gasseri CECT5714
• Lactobacillus brevis KB290
• Lactobacillus gasseri OLL 2716 (LG21)
• Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938
• Bifidobacterium lactis HN019
• Bifidobacterium infantis R0033
• Lactobacillus gasseri CECT5714

Respiratory Health

In terms of respiratory health, here are some of the common benefits of certain strains of bacteria.

• Lessening asthma symptoms
• Lessening respiratory symptoms during sickness
• Reducing the risk of upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs)
• Reducing the duration of URTI symptoms

Here’s a list of bacterial strains that are clinically validated to have practical impacts in this category in children:

• Bifidobacterium breve B632
• Ligilactobacillus salivarius LS01 (formerly Lactobacillus salivarius LS01)
• Bifidobacterium longum ES1
• Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM
• Bifidobacterium lactis Bi-07

Dermatological Health

In terms of dermatological health, here are some of the common benefits of certain strains of bacteria.

• Lessens symptoms of atopic dermatitis
• Lessens itchiness
• Supports healthy, smooth skin
• Supports clear skin
• Reduces need for steroids

Here’s a list of bacterial strains that are clinically validated to have demonstrated practical impacts in this category in children (the effects of probiotics upon atopic dermatitis may be more prominent in children 2 years and older):

• Bifidobacterium lactis CECT8145
• Bifidobacterium longum CECT7347
• Lacticaseibacillus casei CECT9104 (formerly Lactobacillus casei)
• Lactobacillus salivarius LS01
• Bifidobacterium bifidum BGN4
• Lactobacillus plantarum CJLP133

Finally, please note that it’s very important for the ingredient panel to reflect the bacterial strains with their alphanumeric designation. If they do not list the strain description, you do not know what you have in that bottle. 

Also, in the world of microbiology the names of several species within the Lactobacillus genus complex have been changed. The genus is the first of the two names of a microbe. As you may have noted above, some Lactobacillus species have had their first name changed. They are still the same organism yet most companies have not changed their labels and websites to reflect this name change.

Lack of Transparency Found in Children’s Probiotics

When we started looking into issues surrounding transparency in ingredients, the children’s probiotic category we found to be very disappointing. Most of the brands we evaluated had some type of disclosure issue. We found a lack of transparency in the following areas to be pretty common:

Undisclosed Probiotic Strains & Species

Most brands of children’s probiotics are not telling what bacterial species and strains they are using. This is very important because different strains and species do different things. In order to know what health benefits they may or may not have, you need to know the specifics. And to make matters worse, in terms of studies on children, some probiotic species and strains may have a helpful effect while others may not have ANY research at all! Therefore, any product not fully transparent on these issues did not make the “best” category and was marked down quite a bit. We opted instead for bacteria species and strains that were disclosed clearly and had studies to back them up in children (and not infants, which demands a very different degree of scrutiny and safety).

What’s In The “Natural Flavors?”

What’s in those “natural flavors” you’ve find on the ingredient panel. We have no idea! Not only is this very problematic for children who have allergies and sensitivities, but really anyone else wanting to know what you are putting into your body.

Is your probiotic strawberry flavored? There should be some strawberries in there. One example of a natural flavoring that isn’t going to hurt you, but may turn your stomach is “natural strawberry” which could be derived from tree bark OR castoreum, which is the anal secretions of the North American beaver’s castor sacs. Your typical “artificial strawberry” ingredient (even though it isn’t really strawberry at all) can be made up of up to 50 chemical ingredients. What are they? Who knows but it could include chemicals like the following:

• isopropyl benzoate
• 4-pro-penylveratrole
• 3-hydroxy-2-methyl-4H-pyran-4-one
• 2-isopropyl-5-methyl cyclohexanol
• methyl benzyl propionate
• diacetyl
• 2,3-pentanedione
• acetaldehyde

Conversely, natural flavors have to be based on natural substances but can be chemically altered and processed with hexane or other petroleum-type substances. Yuck!

Junk & Fillers Found in Children’s Probiotics

Next, we looked at other ingredients found in each probiotic. We found artificial flavors, preservatives, and other chemicals that aid in manufacturing that may save a company some money but are not really needed in the formulation for better health. But most of all, we have no idea if some of these additives and fillers are safe for children because those studies have only been done on adults.

Here are the most common junk and fillers you’ll find in children’s probiotics:

• Magnesium stearate
• Silicon Dioxide (aka colloidal anhydrous silica)

Added Sugar in Probiotics–What About the Gummies?

We all know sugar isn’t great for kids, but no one is discussing the fact that all of the gummy probiotics we tested are using very specific types of probiotics–spore-based probiotics. There are mountains of research about children and the effectiveness of human-based species and strains, but there are a very limited amount of studies behind spore-based probiotics we found in these brands in terms of children. And when we dug into the academic research & studies, none of the spore-based strains we tested had very much at all. (Except for Lactospore where they claim this study is relevant but oddly, the exact strain is not identified in the study so we have no idea if that is true or not.)

It seemed odd to us that so many brands were turning to spore-based probiotics when the research just wasn’t there and then a lightbulb went off! We realized that the reason spore-based strains are used is simply that they are close to impossible to kill. It’s all about the processing and benefit to the brand.

Spore-based probiotics are found in the soil and can take lots of abuse (like heat and processing) and they still survive. This makes them the perfect specimen for adding a probiotic to a processed food like a gummy. However, there are some fears that this may not be a very good thing in terms of children. Why? These spores germinate and last over time and may be able to displace other neutral and good bacteria that are supposed to be there within your child’s gut. So there is a fear of displacement in terms of spore-based probiotics. The truth is no one knows if this is happening or not because no long-term studies have been done to prove this either way in children. However, in terms of children, why chance something with so little behind it in terms of studies?

Therefore, we believe the real reason why spores are becoming so popular in children’s probiotics we tested has nothing to do with the studies, it’s more because spore-based probiotics are really the processed food of probiotics. They are used for shelf stability kinda like how sodium benzoate is used in food to keep it from spoiling. To create gummies, you need to apply lots of heat to the product, and other types of bacteria (the non-spore type) would not survive the processing. Thus, they have to stick to spore-based probiotics to create gummies.

But what about the other sugars? Here’s are lists of sugars & sweetners we recommend and ones we do not:

Sweeteners that are better

• Natural fruits
• Cane sugar
• Sorghum syrup
• Honey
• Maple syrup
• Xylitol and erythritol (also known as sugar alcohols)
• Monk fruit
• Stevia
• Coconut sugar
• Blackstrap molasses

Avoid these sweeteners

• Sucralose (known as brand name Splenda)
• Acesulfame potassium (also known as Ace K)
• Saccharin (known as brand name Sweet-n-Low)
• Aspartame (known for brand names Nutrasweet & Equal)
• “sugar” (very likely to be genetically modified beets if not stated “cane sugar” on label)
• High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) (studies found lots of mercury contamination)
• Fructose (could be HFCS at 90% fructose)
• Fructose syrup (could be HFCS at 90% fructose)
• Agave (very hard on your liver)
• Brown rice syrup (could contain high amounts of arsenic)
• Maltitol

Mamavation’s Investigation of Children’s Probiotics Results

Mamavation first tested 21 children’s probiotic products for indications of PFAS “forever chemicals” and are happy to say that each had a non-detect result from our EPA-certified laboratory. This is very good news!

Next we evaluated the ingredients of each brand looking for transparency issues, bacterial strains and species with legit studies on children, and finally for junk and fillers. There was only one brand that had a perfect score and we made sure to recommend them at the bottom of this post.

Here’s how we ranked them.

• Not Our Favorite Children’s Probiotic Brands — These products contained several of the following issues: We don’t really know what is inside the bottle–lack of disclosure of specific probiotics strains and species, using “natural flavors” that are undisclosed, using a combination of bacteria that don’t have studies to back up its effectiveness together with other strains, using fillers like magnesium stearate or silica that have only safety studies in adults, but not children. Our EPA-certified laboratory did not detect any indications of PFAS “forever chemicals” in any of these brands.
• Better Probiotic Brands — This is the middle of the road. These products contained some issues like the following: We don’t really know what is inside the bottle–lack of disclosure of specific probiotics strains and species, using a combination of bacteria that don’t have studies to back up it’s effectiveness together with other strains, & using “natural flavors” that are undisclosed, using fillers like magnesium stearate, silicon dioxide or silica that have only safety studies in adults, but not children. Our EPA-certified laboratory did not detect any indications of PFAS “forever chemicals” in any of these brands.
• Best Probiotic Brands — These products did not have any issues with a lack of disclosure and use strains and species that are proven safe and effective in children. Some of these brands DO have unneeded fillers that have not been proven safe for children and we have marked those clearly with **, so you can decide for yourself. We wanted the focus here to be on the safe and effective research of probiotic strains, so brands that had exceptional studies to back up their marketing were bumped up here. Below this category, we have recommended one exceptional probiotic product for children with absolutely issues or fillers. Our EPA-certified laboratory did not detect any indications of PFAS “forever chemicals” in any of these brands.

Not Our Favorite Children’s Probiotics

These products contained several of the following issues: We don’t really know what is inside the bottle–lack of disclosure of specific probiotics strains and species, using “natural flavors” that are undisclosed, using a combination of bacteria that don’t have studies to back up its effectiveness together with other strains, using fillers like magnesium stearate or silica that have only safety studies in adults, but not children. Our EPA-certified laboratory did not detect any indications of PFAS “forever chemicals” in any of these brands.

• Child Life Probiotics Plus Colostrum Chewable Tablets — non-detect organic fluorine
• Klaire Labs Ther-Biotic Children’s Chewables — non-detect organic fluorine
• Lovebug Probiotics for Toddlers — non-detect organic fluorine
• Nordic Naturals Kids Nordic Flora Probiotic Gummies — non-detect organic fluorine
• Renew Life Ultimate Flora Kids Probiotic Chewable Tablets — non-detect organic fluorine
• Zarbees Natural Probiotic Blend for Kids — non-detect organic fluorine

Better Children’s Probiotics

This is the middle of the road. These products contained some issues: We don’t really know what is inside the bottle–lack of disclosure of specific probiotics strains and species, using a combination of bacteria that don’t have studies to back up it’s effectiveness together with other strains, & using “natural flavors” that are undisclosed, using fillers like magnesium stearate, silicon dioxide or silica that have only safety studies in adults, but not children. Our EPA-certified laboratory did not detect any indications of PFAS “forever chemicals” in any of these brands.

• Align Kids Probiotics — non-detect organic fluorine
• Florastor Daily Kids Probiotic — non-detect organic fluorine
• Flourish Probiotic for Kids — non-detect organic fluorine
• Garden of Life Dr. Formulated Probiotics Organic Kids+ Plus Vitamin C & D — non-detect organic fluorine
• Mary Ruth’s Organic Probiotic Gummies for Kids — non-detect organic fluorine
• Megafood Kids N’ Us MegaFlora – Probiotic Supplement for Children — non-detect organic fluorine
• Mommy’s Bliss Kids Probiotic + Prebiotic Gummies — non-detect organic fluorine
• OLLY Kids Multi plus Probiotic gummies — non-detect organic fluorine
• Smarty Pants Kids Probiotic — non-detect organic fluorine
• Smidge Infant Probiotic — non-detect organic fluorine

Best Children’s Probiotics

These products did not have any issues with a lack of disclosure and use strains and species that are proven safe and effective in children. Some of these brands DO have unneeded fillers that have not been proven safe for children and we have marked those clearly with **, so you can decide for yourself. We wanted the focus here to be on the safe and effective research of probiotic strains, so brands that had exceptional studies to back up their marketing were bumped up here. Below this category, we have recommended one exceptional probiotic product for children with no fillers. Our EPA-certified laboratory did not detect any indications of PFAS “forever chemicals” in any of these brands.

• BioGaia Protectis Chewable Tablets for Toddlers, Kids, and Teens — non-detect organic fluorine
• **Culturelle Kids Purely Probiotics Chewables — non-detect organic fluorine (contains some fillers)
• **Metagenics Metakids Probiotics for Kids — non-detect organic fluorine (contains some fillers)
• **NOW Supplements, BerryDophilus Probiotic chewables for kids — non-detect organic fluorine (contains some fillers)
• Seed PDS-08™ Prebiotic + Probiotic for Kids — non-detect organic fluorine (Use discount code “mamavation” for 20% off first order of Seed PDS-08 Prebiotic + Probiotic for Kids)

Mamavation’s Recommendation — Seed PDS-08 Prebiotic + Probiotic for Kids

The most difficult part of children’s probiotics is how few of these brands have studies proving their combinations of bacteria are effective in creating real-world benefits and/or are safe for consumption. The vast majority of the brands we evaluated did not have any clinical studies on their formulation tied to real health benefits that would be noticeable. (Culturelle & Florastor are exceptions to this rule because their single bacterial or yeast strains, respectively, is well studied in children, however, they contain unneeded fillers, and the range of their benefits are more limited.)

Mamavation is recommending Seed PDS-08 Prebiotic + Probiotic for Kids. This bacterial + prebiotic combination has been shown in a clinical study to help children who experience low bowel movement frequency to increase the amount of bowel movements they have. In other words, this product may improve occasional constipation in children and is well tolerated with no adverse events reported in the clinical trials. 

Mamavation’s Favorite Attributes of PDS-08 Prebiotic + Probiotic for Kids 

Seed has produced a superior children’s probiotic product with absolutely no issues. Here are some of our favorite attributes of this product:

• No detectable glyphosate (toxic herbicide)
• No detectable heavy metals (arsenic, lead, cadmium, & mercury)
• No detectable pesticides or biocides (400+ chemicals tested)
• No indications of PFAS “forever chemicals” (according to independent testing via Mamavation)
• Clinical study on the actual formulation of specific strains of bacteria + prebiotic, showing safety and effectiveness
• Strong clinical studies backing individual and combinations of bacterial strains used demonstrating health benefits in gut health, gastrointestinal immunity, respiratory health, and dermatological health.
• Comes in packets with powder that is easily put in cereal or milk (instead of via supplement form)
• Gluten-free, soy-free, egg-free, peanut-free, & vegan

Special Discount Offered to Mamavation Community

As a special promotion for Mamavation readers, Seed is offering 20% off your first order of PDS-08 Prebiotic + Probiotic for Kids when you click here and use discount code “mamavation” at checkout.

Additionally, many studies on children have been done with the bacterial strains used inside Seed PDS-08 Prebiotic + Probiotic for Kids linking them to the following health benefits for your child: