Thank you, Country Life, for sponsoring this post, Elephants and Tigers and Bears, Oh My! with Gut Connection Kids Vitamins. I was selected for this opportunity by Country Life with collaboration of Moms Meet; the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
The connection between gut health and overall health is a hot topic right now. And at the Bahorich home, we’re learning is that our current lifestyle and food choices are having a major impact on the health of us and future generations – our kids! If you've been around here for awhile, you know that gut health, along with our overall healthy lifestyle, is super important to us. But if you haven't taken the step into helping your children's gut health, it’s not too late to set them up for a healthy future.
We have recently added Gut Connection Kids from Country Life Immune Balance supplements with breakfast each day for Oliver as he's now in "big kid preschool" and simply around more kids every day. Ollie loves that his vitamin is a sweet and sour chewable tablet in the shape of a polar bear packed with a great flavor. As a parent, I love that it helps support a strong and healthy immune system.
Why did we pick Country Life?
When I first heard of Country Life, I instantly thought of an insurance company, but actually, Country Life is a company that since its inception, it has been dedicated to making pure, high quality supplements, packaged in the iconic and distinct amber glass bottle for maximum freshness and product integrity. In 2012, the company’s manufacturing facility in Hauppauge NY also received the USDA Organic certification and by 2018, Country Life was named one of the best places to work! Coming from a Best Places to Work location myself, these awards aren't easy to come by! It has also received numerous certifications, including but not limited to, certified gluten-free, NSF-GMP, USDA Organic, Non-GMO, and more!
Country Life also owns Desert Essence, which offers a full range of high quality personal skin care products, from body care and face care to hair care and dental care products (all of which work really well and I use them all the time, especially the fragrance-free lines, they are fabulous).
The company’s Pledge of Integrity underscores its mission – Authenticity (the purest form of each ingredient), Cleanliness (clean ingredients), Freshness (fresh and tested raw materials), Consistency (consistent product formulations with quality inspection), and Accuracy (what is on the label is what is on the product).
Country Life Gut Connection for Kids
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.
Did you know?
A balanced microbiome is important because 70% of the entire immune system is found in the gut. A healthy intestinal microbiome is a major factor in children’s growth and development.
We were able to review the following new formulas over these past few weeks:
- Gut Connection Kids Digestive Balance
- Gut Connection Kids Cognitive Balance
- Gut Connection Kids Immune Balance
- Gut Connection Kids Sleep Balance
Deeper Dive
Gut Connection Kids Digestive Balance
The Digestive Balance improves gut microbe health and reduces occasional digestive distress and bloating for kids, all in the cute shape and sweet and sour taste of a chewable hippo (“Hollie”) that kids will love (mine did). With fun and tasty animal-shaped chewables, Ollie will love taking this supplement if he's ever feel bloating or discomfort. I could also see Lillie taking Digestive Balance to even improve weekly bowel movements when she's a bit older (remember these are 4 and up).
Gut Connection Kids Immune Balance
I mentioned this one earlier but Immune Balance is our favorite add to our morning time routine. Immune Balance is a scientifically formulated blend of prebiotics balanced with other immune-supporting ingredients to support a strong & healthy immune system and improve gut microbiome health. The vitamins come in the shape of a polar bear, “Mollie", and the taste is such a hit!
Gut Connection Kids Cognitive Balance
The Cognitive Balance also helps improve gut microbe health and also promotes focus, attention, and memory and it does so in the shape of a chewable sweet and sour elephant vitamin called "Billie". Cognitive Balance also includes Epicor, Vitamin D, Folate, Vitamin B-12 (methylcobalamin), as well as NeuroFactor coffee fruit extract. Neurofactor is a clinically-studied ingredient derived from coffee fruit extract that increases the level of Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor in the blood to support brain health! How cool?!
Ollie loves taking Billie, the elephant, right after he gets home from school. He already has a little bit of homework trickling in and we've found it perfect for that 3-4p hour. He has found the color, flavor, size, and taste to be very good with no issues chewing it.
Gut Connection Kids Sleep Balance
We haven't been able to sneak in the Sleep Balance formula just yet in the Bahorich home. Sleep Balance is scientifically formulated with Epicor dried yeast fermentate to help maintain digestive and immune health while kids sleep. It promotes relaxation and helps little ones fall asleep faster. On average, it takes kids 54% less time to fall asleep and sleep time will increase by about 10%.
This product is not a chewable vitamin like the others. Instead it comes in powder form that you can mix into liquids such as milk or water, or into snacks such as yogurt or ice cream, about two hours before sleep time. This has been the hardest one to give to Ollie because it is in powder form and needs to be mixed in with something. I just always forget to try it! I'm hoping to sneak it in to see if it helps well in the next few nights!
The products are available at various grocery stores and retailers such as Whole Foods, as well as at online retailers, and of course, on the company’s web site at countrylife.com and at momsmeet.link/countrylifeshop.