Diet and Children with Special Challenges
A Natural Healthy Diet for Children with Health Challenges
Diet means everything and good nutrition goes a long way towards creating a well-rounded balance in the minds, bodies, and spirits of our child. And for children with ADD, Autism, Obesity, and other health challenges having a natural nutrient dense live food diet is essential.
There have been many people who came down with cancer and by changing their diet to a plant based whole foods diet… became disease free. And many parents of children with health challenges are putting their children on plant based whole foods diets and finding their health challenges disappear.- GREAT!
Juicing – Fresh natural juices are jam packed full of powerful nutrition that would normally take hours to eat, so it’s very important to drink at least 4 to 8 oz of fresh juice daily. This juice should include cucumbers, celery, kale, apples, carrots, and just about any other green veggie you can think of including chard, beet tops, collard greens, and more. Make the juice yourself, buy yourself a good juicer and make juicing a family fun time in the morning and in the afternoon.
Chlorophyll is very important for cleansing the body and for powerful energy and for sustained energy. Plus fresh juice micro nutrients go into the cells (within 15 minutes) and start scrubbing away all the toxins, thus all the cells become invigorated and start working correctly. Thus the immune system is given a boost… and invading bacteria, viruses, and toxins are flushed out or negated, thus children have strong and healthy bodies.
Eat Plant Based Whole Foods – Even nationally acclaimed MD websites have said that vegetarian eating would be of benefit for children. And it is! We only need about 5 to 6% protein and that is exactly what we find in plant based foods including nuts, lentils, beans, soy, and plant based foods in general. When we give our bodies processed white flour, sugar, salt, and other processed foods… we are giving it way too much empty nutrition that our pancreas changes into fat.
But whole foods don’t do that… whole foods are slowly digested and thus slowly breakdown and go into our system with long lasting results of increased energy without spikes in glucose… and they are pack full of good nutrition.
Lots of life giving nutrition is found in the skins of fruits, veggies, and the brown coverings of whole grains. Whole life giving foods contain live enzymes that are not found in processed foods. Whole foods contain fiber that promotes colon health, thus boosts the immune system. That’s why it’s very important to eat whole grains, whole live fruits, and whole live veggies that are organic and non – GMO.
Eating lots of fresh veggies, fresh fruit, and whole grains (cooked) is very important for healthy children. Plates of food should be colorful with lots of green, red, yellow, purple, orange, and other highly colorful foods, because colorful food is jam packed full of great immune boosting flavonoids that do the body good, plus live enzymes.
Cooked verses Fresh – The body sees cooked food as an invader and starts an increase in white blood cells to combat the invader. Not so with fresh live foods, fresh food is welcomed into the body right away… especially live juices, they are used within 15 minutes, not so with store bought juices. So in order to stop this cooked food immune response that can lead to autoimmune problems later in life it’s very important to eat at least 51% live foods and some people recommend up to 75%. At the same time children need whole grains and other foods that should be cooked such as brown rice, lentils, soy, quinoa, sweet potatoes, and more.
Spirulina and Chlorella are Very Important – These two algae should be added to the juices that kids drink. Why? Because they contain every nutrient the body needs. Every protein, every vitamin, every mineral – Everything! They are truly amazing whole foods that are powerful life giving easily digestible foods that are quickly absorbed.
Eat Organic and Non GMO Foods – Studies show that GMO foods over five years create cancer and diabetes. Not good! Feel your children non GMO Foods, and eat organic foods because organic soils contain 52 different nutrients, minerals, and trace elements that are important for health.
Agribusiness soils only contain 3 elements, phosphorus, potassium, and nitrogen and no trace minerals… these elements were depleted way back in the 1950’s and nothing has changed.
What to Stay Away From – 80% of our foods contains chemicals like MSG in different forms with different names that cause all kinds of problems for children including weight gain neurological problems and more. Processed foods are killing us and giving us disease… and they have to be avoided all together, including soda, white flour, and anything that is not found in the produce isle or as a whole grain.
Oils and Fats – Also all additional oils should be avoided… If we eat whole foods we don’t need extra fats. Because oils and fats go into our cells, and later the cell is swimming in a vat of fat. Try adding water to oil and see what happens… they don’t mix… cells full of fat can’t utilized good nutrition… all that fat has to be flushed out with juicing and sustained good nutrition.
Have your children eat foods that contain natural fats like nuts, avocados, coconut, flax seed, chia seed and more and limit these foods with common sense… kids don’t need to eat a pound bag of nuts, that’s a lot of fat that packs on the pounds.
Sugar – Sugar is the heroin of this day and age… stay away from sugar.
Salt – By kicking the salt shaker we can stop sudden death by 50% and have our children be much, much, healthier. Lots of children have kidney problems that are directly related to salt.
Learn to Read Labels – Manufactures of food products can say just about anything on the front of the package, but have to put down exactly what they have in the pack on the back. Read the labels on the back of the package. Foods are listed according to the amount used, and the first ingredient is always the most prevalent… and down from there. Look for the words “Whole Grain” on breads… and breads should not contain any added oils or sugars.
Cook With Your Children – Children become interested in cooking and good nutrition if they find their parents interested in good nutrition… and want their children cook with them. Put them to work mixing, chopping, doing things to make breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Make food fun, put faces on apples, make their plates look fun and exciting, be creative… and they will love their food. And they will love cooking, and they will learn to love eating whole foods that are good for them.
Vitamins – If you are worried that your children are not getting enough B-12 vitamins from a whole foods plant based diet then give them a B vitamin supplement daily, it won’t hurt, and they are water soluble… and that means any extra vitamins are eliminated in the urine.
And there are lots of iron men competitors, long distance runners, Olympic athletes, competition body builders, and long distance biking enthusiasts and more… who are plant based whole foods diet people.
And watch the movies – “Forks Over Knives”, “Food Matters”, “Fat Sick and Nearly Dead”, “Engine 2 Diet” and the book of the same name too. They are amazing and inspiring movies about the whole foods revolution that’s changing the world one person… and one child at a time.
It’s time to end disease, time for great health, and time for vitality!
And it’s time for healthy children too!
But remember the most important nutrient of all is LOVE!
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Dr. Paul Haider – Master Herbalist, Counselor, and Spiritual Advisor for over 20 years, helping people to recover and feel healthy. You can also find Dr. Haider on FB under Dr. Paul Haider, Healing Herbs, Center for Creative Living Church, Meditation for the Soul, and Relax Into Success, Punjab teas. www.paulhaider.com
