I apologize for being MIA for the past week or so, it's been a ridiculous month of October for me in nursing school! I have a big exam on Friday and a paper due on Thursday so prayers are welcomed! In other news, continuing with the theme of World Vegetarian Awareness Month, I came across this wonderful article by John McDougall, M.D concerning children and diet. There are many opinions out there about what food is best for children as they are growing up with their various needs and what not. I don't have any children myself, but when I do, I hope to provide them with the fundamentals for a diet that will keep them healthy and disease-free way into adulthood. Food is a topic I am very passionate about because I believe it's crucial to our health. I've come to believe that a plant-based diet is ideal for growth and health. Here's an excerpt from his article. You can find the complete article HERE where he addresses specific concerns parents have about deficiences and diet.
"Once weaned, children are just like small adults when it comes to nutrition. Starches (potatoes, corn, rice, sweet potatoes, beans, etc.) must provide the bulk of their calories in order for them to thrive. Meat and dairy products, along with oils and simple sugars, make them fat and sick. You never need to worry about children getting enough protein, essential amino acids, calcium, iron, zinc, or essential fats when they are eating a starch-based diet, as I recommend. However, extra attention does need to be paid to providing sufficient calories for growth.
Food industries have built their customer bases with the marketing strategy of “unique positioning,” where each big business tries to make its food product stand apart by overly promoting one of its more plentiful nutrients. Their efforts have been very effective, and as a result, calcium has become synonymous with dairy foods, as has protein with meat, poultry and eggs, iron with beef, and essential omega-3 fats with fish. Without these animal-derived foods in their daily diets, the public, both lay and professional, has come to believe that people, and especially children, will suffer from deficiencies. These beliefs are scientifically untrue, as discussed in detail in my book The Starch Solution.
The undeniable consequence of these multibillion-dollar promotions of unhealthy foods has been a pandemic of chronic illnesses among children living in Western countries. One in every three children in the US is now overweight or obese, and underneath all that extra body fat is sickness. Weight gain lays the foundation for type-2 diabetes. Sadly, one-third of all children born in the year 2000 are expected to develop diabetes during their lifetime. Additionally, artery disease (atherosclerosis), leading to strokes and heart attacks, and common cancers of the breast, colon and prostate, also begin in childhood. These trends have led to the conclusion that the current generation is expected to have a shorter lifespan than their parents. Misinformation about the nutritional needs of children is the first and foremost stumbling block to regaining their lost health and appearances.
Industry, working with government, actively spreads lies about the superiority of animal-derived nutrients. For example, cattle rancher and US representative from Wyoming, Cynthia Lummis, introduced congressional bill HR 804 on September 21, 2012. This resolution asks that the US House of Representatives: “(1) recognizes the importance of animal-based protein as a component of the balanced diet of most individuals in the United States, and (2) encourages the Department of Agriculture to continue promoting the health benefits of and consumption of animal-based protein under the science-based 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.” You must defend your own family because help is unlikely to come from outside."
Read the rest of the article at Forks Over Knives and discover how a plant-based diet can cover all the bases for the nutritional needs of children and adults.
With Love,
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