Children and Whole Food Diets
Dr. J. Shawn Leatherman
During at least some of their childhood, you've probably watched your son, daughter, nephew or niece notice, "the grass is definitely greener on the other side of the fence." One of the biggest challenges to your family's healthy lifestyle is your child's perception that other people are privileged simply because they eat differently. As a parent, your strategic awareness and preparation for your child's fascination with the Standard American Diet (SAD) is paramount.
Adults are just as bad, conforming to the SAD just because so many other people are doing it. Or, they ascribe to some new fad diet which promises to work especially for them. You must not conform to all majority cultural practices, especially practices that are kind of dumb, and definitely not good for your health?
At no time is the parents' advantage greater than in earliest childhood for understanding the crucial role of food in setting the course for either chronic disease or a lifetime of good health. You must establish a healthy routine. By the time a child is ready to start their schooling; he or she has already developed a strong interest in being like their friends and doing what their friends are doing. Don’t let them conform.
Capture the natural head start of early learning and use it to your advantage. The example you set begins with the prenatal diet, as well as the quality of your child's food sources and choices. Before your child is pulled by the influence of those outside your family, manifest healthful choices at home.
Use family time to create an atmosphere of a near-perfect healthy lifestyle. Your child will get used to this and will associate home and family with health for the rest of his or her life. Changing to a whole-food diet can of course be accomplished later, but it will be harder. Tantrums, grumbling and other exaggerations of angst may make your quest difficult. The earlier you do it, the easier it will be.
Create a Routine
An easy, healthy routine is your greatest strength. Become accustomed to buying, preparing and eating whole organic foods. Make them the first impulse for meal preparation. Your goal is to build a solid dietary foundation for your child, improving their overall habits for a lifetime. Eventually it will become second nature for them to reach for whole rather than processed foods and to value those produced without synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, MSG, artificial colors, sweeteners and preservatives.
Kids learn from experience to appreciate the great energized feeling they get from a handful of carrot sticks, a meal with dark leafy greens, or a glass of organic whole milk. Make raw vegetables and fresh fruits available instead of boxed or bagged chips, cookies etc… Not only are they better for child’s health, they don’t have extra packaging or get stale in 30 minutes.
If you are just now transitioning to a whole-food diet, let your children binge on as much whole healthy food as they want. The inherent advantage of eating whole fresh foods is their sheer bulk replaces the chemicals and denatured food derivatives that we might otherwise eat. Now they won’t be full of crap, just full. Some suggestions for starting your kids off:
Either get rid of the TV or keep it in a room that always remains locked. Plan to view occasionally with your child and explain why sweet foods on TV are not good choices. Yes, this will force you to actually interact with your children more, but aren’t they worth it? Don’t you want to keep them away from pressure marketing? Don’t you want them to be free thinkers? Obviously you are not going to get rid of the TV. But the concept is to be aware of what they watch and monitor what exposure you allow them to have with television as well as their diets! Remember that their lifetime nutritional choices start with your choices, you are MOM and DAD, you are everything. Make your input count.
Adults are just as bad, conforming to the SAD just because so many other people are doing it. Or, they ascribe to some new fad diet which promises to work especially for them. You must not conform to all majority cultural practices, especially practices that are kind of dumb, and definitely not good for your health?
At no time is the parents' advantage greater than in earliest childhood for understanding the crucial role of food in setting the course for either chronic disease or a lifetime of good health. You must establish a healthy routine. By the time a child is ready to start their schooling; he or she has already developed a strong interest in being like their friends and doing what their friends are doing. Don’t let them conform.
Capture the natural head start of early learning and use it to your advantage. The example you set begins with the prenatal diet, as well as the quality of your child's food sources and choices. Before your child is pulled by the influence of those outside your family, manifest healthful choices at home.
Use family time to create an atmosphere of a near-perfect healthy lifestyle. Your child will get used to this and will associate home and family with health for the rest of his or her life. Changing to a whole-food diet can of course be accomplished later, but it will be harder. Tantrums, grumbling and other exaggerations of angst may make your quest difficult. The earlier you do it, the easier it will be.
Create a Routine
An easy, healthy routine is your greatest strength. Become accustomed to buying, preparing and eating whole organic foods. Make them the first impulse for meal preparation. Your goal is to build a solid dietary foundation for your child, improving their overall habits for a lifetime. Eventually it will become second nature for them to reach for whole rather than processed foods and to value those produced without synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, MSG, artificial colors, sweeteners and preservatives.
Kids learn from experience to appreciate the great energized feeling they get from a handful of carrot sticks, a meal with dark leafy greens, or a glass of organic whole milk. Make raw vegetables and fresh fruits available instead of boxed or bagged chips, cookies etc… Not only are they better for child’s health, they don’t have extra packaging or get stale in 30 minutes.
If you are just now transitioning to a whole-food diet, let your children binge on as much whole healthy food as they want. The inherent advantage of eating whole fresh foods is their sheer bulk replaces the chemicals and denatured food derivatives that we might otherwise eat. Now they won’t be full of crap, just full. Some suggestions for starting your kids off:
- Start early and maximize the effectiveness of your efforts.
- Breast-fed babies have a huge lifetime of health advantages over formula-fed babies. You will never again have the opportunity to make such a strong health impact, and at less expense than formula feeding. If circumstances only allow you to breastfeed your baby for a short time, the multitude of advantages is enormous, and will manifest throughout your child's life.
- The first solid foods a child eats should be whole foods. Cooked squash, carrots, broccoli and other vegetables, avocado, banana and watermelon are good choices.
- Snacks and meals for toddlers and preschoolers should be entirely whole foods. Their beverage is water, and that's it, until you find an organic/raw milk source. And even then, the main beverage is water. As a matter of fact your infant should not have any milk other than breast milk until the age of 1 year. Toddlers don’t need to know that empty foods like pasta, cookies, and ice cream exist. They might fill you up, but they do not nourish! You should additionally stay away from citrus, strawberry, and peanut butter for the first year as they may trigger allergic responses. Also never give a child under the age of 2 honey!
- Parents shout, "How can I feed them healthy food? Hot dogs, and macaroni & cheese are the only things that they'll eat?" Obviously these parents started off with the wrong items in the kitchen. They are going to have to endure some tantrums to establish a better way of eating. This will be made easier if you keep the TV away from them.
- Television indoctrinates the ingestion of processed foods and pharmaceutical lifestyle.
- “You deserve a break today”, or “I’m lovin’ it!”
- Eat out, or open a package to get your ready-made food.
- Pour yourself a glass of colored liquid … “OH YEAH!”
- Your life is just not happy until you take a pill, or two.
- If Superman likes it, so will you!
- And my favorites … “enriched” or “wholesome”
Either get rid of the TV or keep it in a room that always remains locked. Plan to view occasionally with your child and explain why sweet foods on TV are not good choices. Yes, this will force you to actually interact with your children more, but aren’t they worth it? Don’t you want to keep them away from pressure marketing? Don’t you want them to be free thinkers? Obviously you are not going to get rid of the TV. But the concept is to be aware of what they watch and monitor what exposure you allow them to have with television as well as their diets! Remember that their lifetime nutritional choices start with your choices, you are MOM and DAD, you are everything. Make your input count.
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