A raw foodist girl feeds her child raw vegetables. Children and raw food diet

Is it possible to consider such a diet as a raw food diet acceptable for children? This question is of more interest not even to the raw foodists themselves, but to their opponents - relatives who are worried about the kids. Often relatives try to impose meat-eating or boiled food, as necessary, in their opinion, for the proper development of the growing body.

To reassure grandparents, as well as all people who consider it a dangerous deviation from the norm, we will start from the opinion of experts and the experience of experienced raw foodists.

What is known about the raw food diet at the moment?

Everyone knows the indisputable fact that heat treatment destroys the structure of vegetables and fruits. Destroys enzymes - enzymes contained in raw foods that contribute to their complete absorption and digestion.

The invention of new cooking devices helps reduce cooking time, but still does not help preserve nutrients. And even a double boiler, a device that preserves microelements in food as much as possible, is not the best solution.

Only raw food products will provide your body with fiber, calcium, iron, potassium and other components of the healthy functioning of the body.

All nutritionists and researchers in the field of proper nutrition unanimously agree that the amount of fresh vegetables, herbs and fruits should be at least 70% of all food consumed.

It turns out that 70% is the minimum, and therefore it is quite logical to assume that a higher percentage will only make the body’s work easier, and cannot do any harm.

Of course, we must acknowledge the fact that there is no reliable scientific research that affirms a raw food diet as the ideal of proper nutrition. As well as those refuting its undoubted benefits, which were felt by people who became adherents of such nutrition. Therefore, basically, when they talk about a raw food diet, they start from the experience of the raw foodists themselves.

No one has ever observed raw foodists for several decades. But adherents of meat-eating were observed... The result was that the WHO assigned meat products the highest category of carcinogenicity. And although there is a reservation, they say, we are only talking about sausage and smoked meats, the essence is clear - any cooked meat contributes to the formation of malignant tumors.

Is a raw food diet good or bad for children?

In what cases do children become raw foodists? There are only two options:

The first is the lifestyle of his parents, which he absorbs from birth.

The second is the child’s illness, and a raw food diet helps him overcome it and lay a good foundation for health in the future.

• It is an absolutely reliable fact that children who eat raw materials do not know what diathesis is.

• They do not know such diseases as allergies, constipation, iron deficiency anemia, acute respiratory infections, gastritis, appendicitis. And even if the baby catches a cold, it will be 1-2 days of mild illness.

• The body of a raw-fed child overcomes the disease incredibly quickly, because it does not contain toxins and decay products from rotting and fermentation of meat foods, or excess boiled food.

• Raw food-fed children have an absolutely healthy gastrointestinal tract.

• There are no skin problems in adolescence due to hormonal changes in the body.

1. Raw food diet from birth.

Of course, the best option for a child is a raw food diet from birth. This happens when the mother and father have already formed their opinion and have many years of experience as vegetarians, which subsequently led them to a raw food diet (this is usually what happens).

In the case of a raw food diet from birth, the mother feeds the baby with breast milk, which already contains all the products that she will feed him with as he grows up.

That is, a woman should consume, for example, bananas or carrots in advance if she plans to start complementary feeding with them. Raw foodists should continue breastfeeding for as long as possible.

1. Switching to a raw food diet.

If the child is already accustomed to meat and thermally processed food, then a psychological approach is important here. The transition to a raw food diet should be gradual and both parents, as well as other family members, should lead by example. Agree, if grandma cooks pies, it will be very difficult for the baby to accept this situation!

**Adults cannot teach a child anything in words!

Children see only actions and take an example from the behavior of an adult. Therefore, an environment must be created for a raw-food child in which he will see the ideal of proper nutrition, then he himself will love and accept the new standard.

A gradual transition to a raw food diet provides the child with psychological comfort. First, “chemical” and “yesterday’s” food is removed, then meat and fish, then multi-component boiled and fried food. The child refuses dairy products and any thermally processed food at the last stage of the transition.

** A raw food diet for children should be joyful. No screaming or punishment if the child “breaks down” with the grandparents.

Properly explain the situation to your family and set priorities! But you cannot reproach the child; he himself will gradually understand and subsequently begin to refuse the “harmful” things. In this case, it is necessary to talk with him and explain the reason for such changes.

Involving a child in the preparation of raw food dishes will help in the correct understanding; for example, children really like to watch cereal sprouts. Make him “responsible for the seedlings,” let him observe and inform you when “everything is ready.”

It's no secret that beautifully presented food will attract a child's attention and curiosity. So you will have to use a creative approach to serving new dishes. Let every meal of raw food become an expected miracle for him.

Rules for feeding a raw food baby.

The raw food diet has its own benefits even for adults, especially for children. How to determine the start time of complementary feeding? It couldn't be easier! If your baby begins to show interest in your food, it means he is ready to grow up. Start feeding with the tip of a teaspoon.

This can be live oatmeal jelly, or diluted freshly squeezed juice, or live porridge from buckwheat and rye sprouts, mixed in a blender with water until smooth. Remember (!), mom feeds her with what she eats herself.

As the child grows up, the following components must be introduced:

• Honey is only allowed for children over 3.5-4 years old!

• But small doses of omega-3 fatty acids are given from birth. These are flaxseed, hemp, olive oil. The principle is as follows: how many months, so many drops of oil with expressed milk. From six months you can already give 15 drops along with complementary foods. From 1 year to 3 years – ½ teaspoon.

• Seaweed is a source of minerals and proteins. So let your baby chew 1.5 cm2 pieces, increasing the dosage as he gets older.

• Fruits, vegetables and herbs are only seasonal.

• Nuts and seeds – carbohydrates, proteins and fats. Be sure to soak them before using and grind them into a paste. It is also good to give to a child .

Final conclusions.

So, a raw food diet is possible with a serious and thorough study of human anatomy, the mechanisms of synthesis of proteins, hormones and other useful substances, with deep knowledge of the functions of organs and metabolic processes.

A raw food diet is safe for children provided:

• Rich variety of food.
• Environmentally friendly products grown in the area where you live.
• Absence of GMO products and “artificial” imported vegetables and fruits in the diet.

If you refer to the Vedas and the principles of Ayurvedic nutrition, they say that VEGETARIANism is the basis of health and specific human nutrition. 85% raw food and 15% boiled, baked, steamed - these are the recommendations of Ayurveda.

A 100% raw food diet can be considered as a temporary diet for health, or as a seasonal diet (we are talking about people living in cold regions). At a minimum, there are vegetables that maximize their beneficial properties only when cooked.

And if we start from the experience of raw foodists themselves, then usually no one eats raw food for more than 4-5 years. And vegetarianism can last a lifetime; the Indian experience is a clear example of this.

Feeding a child is a big responsibility for parents. How you teach your baby to approach food choices is how he will live in the future, and whether he is healthy or sick is up to you to decide!

In order for a baby to become a raw foodist from birth, it is necessary to switch to plant foods at least a year in advance. The transition to a raw food diet for both the male and female body is a powerful cleansing. A huge amount of toxic substances are released into the blood. During pregnancy, toxins that enter the bloodstream will immediately enter the fetus, causing harm to it. After birth, the child, looking at his parents, copies all their habits. Therefore, if you want your child to be a raw foodist, you need to be in the know yourself.

The main rule is a varied diet. In winter, you can feed a raw foodist child with oatmeal or flaxseed porridge, with the addition of dried fruits or berries. For your next breakfast, you can eat a variety of fruits. For lunch, you can prepare a salad dressed with vegetable oil. It is better for your baby to grate vegetables, so they are easier to absorb in the body.

Sprouted lentils and buckwheat are added to a light salad for satiety. In the event that the baby is not fully transferred to a raw food diet, as an option, cook buckwheat porridge or bake vegetables. For an afternoon snack you can drink fruit juice. Dinner should be light. Vegetable salad and baked vegetables are perfect. If you want something sweet, you can give honey or dried fruits.

In order for food to be not only healthy, but also tasty, dishes should be made interesting.

Thanks to the bright colors of the dish, the child will be happy to eat new food. The recipe for children is practically no different from the dishes of adult raw foodists. The only difference is the bright and colorful presentation of the food.

It is important to remember that if for some reason a woman does not have breast milk, then she cannot immediately switch to a raw food diet. A child under 3 years of age should have at least a mixture in their diet. A child should not be allowed to develop iron deficiency anemia or have problems with the digestive tract and stool.

You should not replace the mixture with nut or hemp milk, otherwise you can cause great harm to the baby’s health.

If the baby receives a sufficient amount of breast milk or formula, then from the 9th month honey is added to the diet as complementary foods. You should definitely watch your child’s reaction to a new product. If your baby has any reactions - colic, skin rash, diarrhea - then you need to cancel it.

It is worth paying attention that a woman who is breastfeeding should eat the foods that she will feed the baby with. Breast milk is a reflection of what the mother eats. If the mother eats one thing and gives the child other foods, incompatibility will arise and the child may have allergies and an upset stomach.

When consuming dairy products, calcium does enter the body, but all of it is not absorbed. It has been noted that children who consume dairy products every day have more viral colds. It is worth slightly limiting the consumption of dairy products - the immune system becomes stronger, and there are fewer colds.

Teenagers with such a diet do not develop acne. Raw plant foods cleanse the body and cure dysbacteriosis.

The child's body requires a huge amount of vitamins and nutrients for healthy development. You need to change your diet every day and try new options so that it is not only healthy for your baby, but also tasty. You should observe the child, this is the only way to understand what he needs.

Lifestyle

If parents of raw foodists want to switch their child to the same diet, they should do this carefully. Slowly offer new products and watch the child’s reaction. When a child refuses to eat raw foods, this does not mean that it doesn’t taste good to him and that he has given up on them forever. Perhaps it’s hard for him to digest raw fiber, or maybe he’s not in the mood.

There is no need to put pressure on the child, much less scold him for refusing food. Everything is done gradually.

Imagine if he came to a friend’s birthday party, and there was cake, candy and other sweets on the table. You can't limit it. Gradually it should be explained that a raw food diet is beneficial for the body. You should not put pressure on the child and break his psyche. Over time, he will get used to the family diet, and sweets will be completely unnecessary for him.

Sports and hardening

To accustom your child to a raw food diet, be sure to pay attention to his activity. Life in motion is the key to good physical and mental development.

Hardening plays an important role in a healthy lifestyle. A comfortable temperature for children is 18 degrees; after 22 degrees, the child’s body is more susceptible to infections. That's right, because if it's warm and you don't want to move. At cool temperatures, the child begins to become active and play to warm up. When in motion, the entire motor system of the body works.

From infancy, it is not recommended to accustom a child to a warm environment - wrapping him up, dressing him in warm clothes when it is not cold outside. Pouring cool water from childhood has a positive effect on the development of the respiratory system and motor system. As a rule, such children do not get colds, and even if they do get sick, the disease goes away in an unnoticeable mild form without complications.

In addition to healthy eating, activity, cleansing, hardening, a child needs a healthy nervous atmosphere.

You can't let your baby live in stress all the time. Stressful situations greatly affect the body - the balance of the autonomic system, digestive organs, endocrine glands is disrupted, and the immune system suffers. Subsequently, health problems will begin and raw food will not be digested.

Family atmosphere

If a child grows up in love and affection, his desires and needs are taken into account, then he will not have problems with a raw food diet. A good psychological environment is the key to a healthy nervous system. Only parents fully know their child, his character, abilities and skills. With proper upbringing, a child in adolescence will already be independent. A child needs love, but his freedom and independence cannot be limited. The main thing is not to strangle him with your love, but to allow him to fully develop and grow.

Health status

Children's bodies develop differently, so children can be both vegetarians and raw foodists. It is not correct to assume that such children have health problems. Their health is no different from those who eat meat. Raw vegetables and fruits contain a large amount of fiber, so there are no problems with the intestines, the body becomes alert and lethargy disappears.

A raw food diet is not a panacea for all diseases. In addition to nutrition, it is necessary to be active, toughen up, and be in the fresh air more often. Heredity, ecology, and psycho-emotional state play a big role.

If a child is switched to a raw food diet from birth and there are no reactions from the body, then he will adapt well to the nutritional system.

But you can’t rely only on appearance; you need to consult a pediatrician. Only a doctor can determine whether there are disorders in the field of gastroenterology. In the case when the child is not active, the skin is pale, and the appearance is painful, you need to sound the alarm and urgently go to the doctor. Perhaps the child needs to be checked for worms.

Before switching your child to a raw food diet, you need to study a lot of information. Many children find it difficult to switch to raw food diets, so they remain vegans or switch to a nutritious diet that is familiar to ordinary people.

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Levi Bowland's menu is pretty much the same every day. For breakfast he eats melon. For lunch, a full cup of shredded cabbage and three bananas. For dinner, fruit and salad.

Despite the fact that Levi is only 10 years old.
Since birth, he has eaten exclusively raw foods and adheres to a vegetarian diet. That is, not a single piece of animal products or food processed at temperatures above 118 degrees entered his mouth.

Before he was born, parents Dave and Mary Bowland "had addictions to junk food, sweets, pasta, fried foods," says Mr. Bowland, 47. He works as an Internet consultant in Ontario. “We didn’t want Levi to have the same addictions.”

The Bowlands are one of a growing number of families who raise their children exclusively on unprocessed foods: fresh fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts and sprouted grains. While most of these diets are vegetarian, some include raw meat and fish, as well as fresh, that is, unpasteurized milk, yogurt and cheese.

Is the child a raw foodist from birth?

This is a concern for many doctors. A raw food child's digestive system "may not be able to absorb nutrients from raw foods as efficiently as an adult's digestive system," explains Dr. Benjamin Kligler, a family physician at the Health Center in Manhattan.

Over the past year, Dr. T.J. Gold, a pediatrician in the Packer Slope section of Brooklyn with a deep interest in nutrition, has observed about five families who feed their children, including preschoolers, exclusively raw foods. Some children developed severe anemia, she says, and parents had to include a vitamin B12 supplement in their children's diets.
“If you have to add nutritional supplements, can your diet be called complete?” says Dr. Gold.

It’s hard to even imagine how many families have switched to a raw food diet. So many websites have popped up like Raw Food Family along with recipes, books, support groups and food for sale. More than 1,000 raw food enthusiasts are expected to attend the fifth annual Woodstock Fruit Festival in upstate New York this summer. About 20% of them are families with young children, founder Michael Arnstein reports for ofthefruitarian.com.

Dr. Anupama Chawla, director of pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition at Stony Brook Children's Hospital, says that despite the fact that fruits and vegetables are rich sources of fiber and vitamins, "they are low in protein." Protein-rich beans, lentils, Turkish city and red beans "should not be eaten raw."

Why is raw food dangerous for children?

Raw, unprocessed animal foods can harbor bacteria such as E. coli and salmonella. This is one of the main reasons why Dr. Chaula says the American Academy of Pediatrics advises against feeding unpasteurized milk to infants and preschoolers, and not to drink it to pregnant women.

There are concerns that strict adherence to such diets may cause pathologies.
In many cases, the diet becomes "an extension of the parent's food cravings and may even be a clinical eating disorder," says Dr. Margo Main, an eating disorder specialist in West Hartford, Connecticut; She is also the author of the book “The Myth of Your Body.”

Enthusiasts claim that they are raising children who never get sick.
Julia Rodriguez, 31, a mother of two from East Lyme, Connecticut, says eating a raw food diet has helped her eczema and acne, and helps her and her husband keep their weight under 150 pounds. During her second pregnancy, she followed an almost entirely vegetarian diet of raw vegetables and fruits. Her preschool children, who eat only raw foods, are perfectly healthy, she says. She doesn't understand the contradiction: "If I ate McDonald's all day, you wouldn't say a word to me, but I only eat vegetables and fruits, and you're trying to argue with me?"

Like others who eat only raw or “live” foods, Ms. Rodriguez believes that cooking kills immune-supporting minerals, enzymes and vitamins.

Andrea Giancoli, a spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, agrees that the cooking process can reduce nutrients. “Enzymes are proteins, and proteins are destroyed by cooking, to a certain extent.” But enzymes also go dormant in our stomach when exposed to acid. Research has shown that sometimes the levels of nutrients such as lycopene increase when cooked.

There are raw foodists who have changed their point of view

Some hardcore raw foodists are beginning to reconsider their point of view. Gingy Talifero, who runs an education company on the topic What Do Raw Food Children Eat?, and her husband Storm, of Santa Barbara, California, were 100% raw foodists for 20 years, but began to reconsider their diet about a year ago when financial constraints circumstances and other reasons, it became difficult to provide exclusively raw foods for their five children aged 6 to 19 years. “The biggest challenge has always been keeping them at a healthy weight,” she says, and keeping them on just cashew and almond proteins is expensive.

Children also faced social problems. "They were socially isolated and rejected," says Ms. Tallifero, who is now gradually transitioning her family to a diet that includes processed food.

Sergei Boutenko, 29, a stage director from Ashland, Oregon, was a raw foodist from the age of 9 to 26, and his family preached a raw food diet for many years. But he says he "couldn't shake the feeling of hunger" and other raw food children he met seemed "underdeveloped and emaciated."
Now he is about 80% raw foodist, and sometimes consumes meat and milk. “When raw lasagna takes just 15 minutes to make, it erases two days from your life. So it's better to just make a vegetarian or vegan lasagna and stay in great shape all day long,” he said.

How to raise a raw food child

Planning a pregnancy

Issues related to pregnancy and the birth of a child in a family of raw foodists receive special attention from absolutely everyone who works seriously in the topic of “raw food diet.” I mean not only specialists who carry out an approach from a medical point of view, but also the views of some practitioners who claim to be teachers, and the opinion of people who run serious forums on the Internet (such as, for example, the forum of Valentin Yuryevich Nikolaev).

This is necessary so that during detoxification you do not “rock” the body or its internal state. For the female body, as well as for the male one, switching to a raw food diet can be just such a powerful cleansing, when a huge amount of different toxic substances that were previously located in adipose tissue are released into the blood. And in a pregnant woman, toxins that enter the bloodstream will automatically also enter the fetus, which does not need it at all.

And this poisoning of the fetus is still a minimal evil. It is much worse if a woman’s body perceives a raw food diet simply as fasting, a hunger strike, or a severe restriction of the diet. And at this moment what always happens in such cases happens: the body begins to support only vital, vital functions.

At the same time, he tries to get rid of all sorts of factors on which he is forced to spend extra energy, his extra substances, etc. And, unfortunately, in the first stages, the fetus will turn out to be such a factor. Therefore, if in the early stages of pregnancy you suddenly switch to a raw food diet, especially, God forbid, if you suddenly start a long fast, this can lead to a miscarriage.

Therefore, everyone recommends cleaning the body in advance, carrying out a basic cleanse, which will take about a year. In principle, of course, the body will cleanse and rebuild itself longer - four years, but the main cleansing is limited to a period of about one year.

And in a year you will be able to plan your pregnancy, which will then proceed well for you, and in general everything will be wonderful. The baby will have enough nutrients, no attacks from toxins threaten him, etc. This is a necessary condition for planning a pregnancy on a raw food diet.

Nutrition for pregnant women

During pregnancy, you need to listen carefully to your body. Let's start with the fact that women who have children know that there is such a thing as toxicosis. A pregnant woman's sense of taste changes. Now she doesn’t want much, some foods start to openly make her sick, and sometimes she just doesn’t want to eat.

During this period, you need to listen especially clearly to your body, because now it gives specific signals of what it needs now. And if during pregnancy, during this toxicosis, a woman’s body begins to reject some foods, well, let them leave the diet. This is all good, this is normal.

If the body stops accepting some protein foods, as was the case with my wife Yulia, that’s also normal. When she had this period, she suddenly lost the desire for any meat, fish - all that. During pregnancy, she ate only a few spoons of sour cream with pancakes and a piece of cheese - that’s all!

We are now talking about those young women who are just switching to a raw food diet, but are not yet truly raw foodists. Because raw foodists do not have toxicosis. You can call yourself a raw foodist after at least a year of raw food nutrition. For those who have been eating raw food for a year, everything is already going well for them, without any questions. And many women have questions when they are still in this previous state.

Therefore, from the diet of a pregnant woman, you must first of all remove any alcohol - everyone knows this, as well as all kinds of Coca-Cola, Pepsi-Cola, chips, pizza. This is the first thing to do with your diet.

Second: if the body rejects some foods - meat, fish, dairy, eggs, then there is no need to force them into yourself: there should be no fanaticism here. In general, during pregnancy it is better to slow down a little with meat products and eat less of them. Moreover, all raw food doctors - Marva Ohanyan, Anna Zemenskaya, Mikhail Sovetov - agree that pregnant women do not need meat products, they can be safely removed.

As for white bread or boiled potatoes, these are the foods that should be removed first, if anyone doesn't know. We already talked about this. I can add that white bread and boiled or baked potatoes, and especially fried in oil, are much more harmful than any animal products. The reaction of the body, even partially purified by a raw food diet, to this food is instantaneous, lightning fast. Within a day you will feel severe poisoning. Therefore, under no circumstances should you eat bread and potatoes. As for everything else, you need to look at the needs of the body, what it asks for and what it doesn’t ask for.

Nutrition for a nursing mother

During this period, nutrition problems are no longer so severe. It is easier to switch to a raw food diet while breastfeeding. But here you need to understand that if a young mother is quite overweight or obese, then, most likely, many different toxic substances have accumulated in the fatty tissues of her body. And when she switches to a raw food diet, a lot of things can happen in her body.

For example, the quality of milk will deteriorate or significantly decrease, or even completely disappear, lactation. The child's reaction may also be different. If a mother switches to a raw food diet while breastfeeding, the child may be very excitable or, on the contrary, will sleep all the time. He may develop a runny nose because, along with the milk, substances that are released from the mother will enter his body. And you need to clearly understand all this, keep track of everything, remove some products.

Again, first of all, Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola, pizza, bread and potatoes are removed, and then everything else, depending on the mood and condition of the child. Clean it up and see what's wrong with the baby. If there is excitability, some reactions appear, then you return something back.

In general, look at yourself. Mother and baby have a fairly rigid connection: they have the same reaction to certain foods, the same reaction to what is happening in their bodies. And if, for example, detoxification causes allergies and a rash in a mother, then it usually also causes allergies and a rash in a child. If a mother develops snot as a result of eating bread, it means that the child also develops a runny nose after the mother ate the bread.

Everything here is very connected, and you just have to keep track of everything. I would not recommend making sudden transitions. Or, at a minimum, they should be done under the supervision of one of the specialists who now exist in Russia and work with a raw food diet. And again, you need to monitor and control your condition with the help of tests. The simplest thing is to avoid sudden changes in nutrition.

How to introduce complementary foods

This important topic usually raises many questions. The baby begins to show interest in food when he is about 6 months old. What the parents eat is what arouses the child’s interest. The baby begins to pull his hands, asking to try.

At this stage, this is purely introductory feeding. This does not mean that the baby urgently needs to be given fruit or anything else to eat. For him, mother's milk is such a powerful food that at this stage he does not need any fruit. In addition to this, he has a microflora that feeds on milk, and not fruits or greens.

Therefore, complementary feeding at this age is purely for informational purposes, and it is advisable to let the child try as much as possible, that is, everything that is possible. Because the more food the baby tries, the better his body will be prepared for a life in which there is self-healing and self-regeneration with the help of some kind of food.

What is the easiest thing to give to a child during this period? Something he can try himself, with the number of teeth he has. At the moment when our son Miloslav was six months old and he began to show interest in food, we gave him melon, bananas, nectarines, mangoes, that is, those fruits that he could suck with his toothless or almost toothless mouth.

We gave him soft and juicy foods. As his teeth appeared, Miloslav began to eat more and more solid foods, and then he switched to a normal diet in a more natural way. At 2.5 years old, he stopped drinking breast milk - so he and his mother agreed, and now he is a raw foodist, practically a fruitarian. It is this option of complementary feeding that is introductory, when various complementary feeding products are introduced smoothly, without forcing any events.

I myself monitored the baby’s stool and watched how its consistency changed. The more teeth my son had, the more homogeneous his stool became, and the fraction of particles decreased. This was not due to the fact that Miloslav chewed better, but to the fact that he was digesting food better and better, stronger and stronger.

Well, think for yourself. So you have a baby who is 6 or 8 months old, and you decided to feed him something. You're not going to make him mashed potatoes - what our parents did for us at one time? No, you will give him something that he can eat or dissolve on his own. If they ask me if we gave him fruit puree, I will answer that no, we did not give him fruit puree. Why?

Because puree disrupts the natural process. If we give a child a banana, that’s one thing; if we give him an apple, that’s completely different. The apple is not yet available to him, he won’t even be able to bite off anything, because he also has no or few teeth. But if we grind this apple into puree, then yes, he can eat this apple, but how this sour food (this apple) will affect what is inside the child is, in general, unknown.

I'm not saying that solid foods are some kind of super food that can work miracles. We know that solid foods contain a lot of coarse fiber, dietary fiber, but here questions of physiology begin - I will not go into them deeply.

Yes, we know that harder products generally have coarser fibers, but it’s not a fact that for a baby, for a small natural at such an early age, this is exactly what is needed. Therefore, we gave him exactly those foods that at the moment he could somehow chew or dissolve - and swallow, get to know the taste.

Of course, these were some juicy fruits. Over time, the child became more and more teeth, the stomach and gastrointestinal tract along with the microflora worked more and more actively, and gradually the stool fraction became smaller, smaller and smaller, until, finally, the food began to be completely digested.

So, my recommendations for feeding your baby boil down to the following. Complementary feeding begins from the moment the child first shows interest in food. Everything is given to him, and he tries everything, but only in its natural, natural form. That's exactly what we did, and it worked out great. I hope that those who liked this method of complementary feeding will try it and get the same result.

Socialization of the child

The socialization of a raw food child is exactly the same as the socialization of any ordinary person. It is necessary, among other things, so that you are not told at first that, they say, your child will be an outcast, he does not communicate with children, you do not send him to kindergarten - but this is necessary, he will learn to live there , learn to communicate with children, etc.

You don't have to take all this literally. A child should be sent to kindergartens only in cases where the family has no other choice, when there is no one to look after the children. When mom and dad need to work, it’s good if there are grandparents - they are the only ones who can help, but if there is no such opportunity, then only kindergartens can save you.

Fortunately, in our case there was an opportunity not to send our child to kindergarten, so we did not send him, and the results are already visible. On playgrounds, my son communicates absolutely normally with all the children. He has no idea that he is a raw foodist, that his mother and father are raw foodists - he simply lives and does not attach any excessive importance to food.

If you want your child to be social, the most important thing is to simply take him to all sorts of playgrounds more often, that's all. If you bring him to a place where there are a lot of other children, then everything will be fine - they play, communicate, and have fun together.

We had such a funny incident. One day my son and other children were playing together in the playroom. Then one mother came, brought lollipops and began to treat all the children. My son Miloslav did not understand what was happening, where all the children rushed and why they were snatching up some strange balls. Until the children unwrapped these balls and stuffed them into their mouths, he didn’t even realize that they were food. Then, in order not to go into explanations of what it was and why I didn’t want him to eat it, I simply distracted my son and switched it over. And he and I went to another site.

There was no need to explain that the children would eat all this and then they would have pimples and runny noses: these explanations would not work, the child would only be upset that everyone could eat this, but he couldn’t - it turns out that he was somehow defective. In these cases, the baby just needs to be switched and distracted.

There are also fears among parents that their baby will try some food, that he will look at others and he will want it too. In fact, a child looks mainly - well, at least until the age of three - at what his parents eat, and is of little interest to what others eat. Now, if mom and dad eat bagels, then the child will also eat bagels, because he wants to be the same as his parents. He wants to be the same as dad, and not the same as Uncle Vasya from apartment 38. Therefore, the child looks specifically at the parents, and if the parents at least eat normal food in front of the child, then, accordingly, there is nothing to worry about and nothing to be afraid of.

Over time, the child will develop a healthy interest in other foods and everything in general. But at the moment I can say that in some situations it can be switched, in other situations unusual food simply will not arouse interest - for example, cookies are not interesting for him, they are ugly, faded and do not smell delicious. There were several times when my son tried something like this. I saw some cookies while visiting friends, and he wondered what everyone was eating. He took a bite, immediately spat it out - it didn’t taste good to him, and reached for the tangerine.

All this needs to be taken into account and not worry too much. Because only a person who has eaten it all his life and then switched to a raw food diet can fall for cooked food. A child who is initially on a raw food diet cannot break.

For him, boiled food is basically some kind of news; it doesn’t exist. He can try it, but, as a rule, he doesn't like it. At least until now there was nothing that Miloslav liked except sugar. Once he licked a piece of sugar in a cafe where we came. He asked what it was, took it and licked it. Since then, when we come to a cafe, I immediately put the sugar bowl on the next table - and there are no problems.

And regarding socialization, only one thing is needed: for the child to communicate with children as much as possible, that’s all. What they eat no longer matters.

Health of baby and mother

For people who are far from a raw food diet, the health of its adherents, especially raw food children, is of great concern. For example, they worry that this food system causes calcium deficiency. I hasten to reassure everyone: raw foodists do not lack calcium. All the people who were tested confirmed themselves and convinced others that everything was fine with them.

One of our raw foodists, Ivan Nikitin, who has 4 years of experience with virtually no breakdowns, began a detailed examination of his body. He has a whole bunch of tests, and these tests show that he has an ideal body. This is a real experience.

Both my wife Julia and my son Miloslav were tested, and Miloslav was given the most detailed analysis of all that exists now - a hair analysis, and all these tests showed that absolutely everything was normal with calcium. In fact, calcium is everywhere: in water, in food, and in the air - that is, I mean that if we breathe normal fresh air, we no longer lack calcium. The only thing we need for this calcium to be absorbed is magnesium, and organic magnesium, and not some kind of chemical additives to water. So calcium is okay.

Further, I am often asked if we took a blood test for vitamin B 12. There is also an interesting story here. Yulia’s wife has low iron levels, which is why B12 is low, and she took the test a year ago. Miloslav's iron levels are low, but everything else is fine.

Vegetarians and raw foodists often face the problem of B12 deficiency. I think it depends more on the characteristics of the organism. There is no need to approach everything with fanaticism and wait until all your indicators return to normal on their own, risking your own health and the life and health of your own child. For my part, I can say that if I go for a test tomorrow and find myself deficient in B12, I will either make up for it from some food, if possible, or simply take a course of vitamins and solve this problem.

The question arises, what kind of food can compensate for the deficiency of vitamin B 12. Let us remember where we started this book: human species food includes those products that he can obtain himself, without the help of special devices, tools, and at almost any age. Of all the animal food that exists, there is only one type that meets these requirements and that a person could physiologically consume in principle: raw eggs. Because finding a turtle or bird's nest and taking eggs from there is not particularly difficult - this is what most monkeys do now.

I know that, for example, now in America, experienced raw foodists who have been practicing this diet for a long time, when they were diagnosed with a deficiency of vitamin B 12, began to eat raw eggs - in quantities of literally several pieces per month. Thus, they close this shortcoming of B 12.

As for our domestic raw foodists who are tested and everything is fine with B12 - there are no problems, I want to immediately note that this does not mean anything. The fact is that the supply of vitamin B 12 in the body is enough for about 7 years, and in Russia we have practically no raw foodists with seven years of experience. We will hear about a real shortage of B12 among our raw foodists, perhaps in another 10–15 years.

The next concern of people who sympathize with raw food children is the possible lack of protein in their diet. In fact, there is no protein deficiency. A person does not need protein, but amino acids. Most of these amino acids are found in plant foods, and the rest are produced by our microflora, so raw foodists have complete order with protein.

Last year we talked with our most famous nutritionist Alexei Kovalkov about amino acids, etc. So, there are no essential amino acids! Almost all the amino acids that a person should receive are obtained from plant foods, and those amino acids that are not found in plant foods are synthesized by his microflora. The hair test we had on Miloslav last year was mainly an amino acid test. Everything is great there! All amino acids were normal, there was no deficiency or lack of protein.

Sometimes relatives worry about a raw-food child because it seems to them that he is lagging behind in growth compared to some of his peers. To this I usually answer that you should not look at the child’s growth, because different children begin rapid growth at different ages, and yours still has everything ahead. It is much more important how energetic and lively the child is, how many questions he asks per day, etc.

Features of baby food

I am not familiar enough with how other raw foodists feed their children, so I will focus mainly on the nutrition of our son. First of all, Miloslav is 80% a mono-raw food eater. That is, he can very rarely eat any salad if he sees that everyone is eating salads. And so, in fact, his food for the last six months, while there were flat peaches, was flat peaches for breakfast, flat peaches during the day, bananas, watermelons, melons, plums, grapes, figs. By the way, when fresh figs are in season in the fall (they have a short period), look for figs, Abkhazian or Baku, in the markets and eat them. Simply incredibly delicious!

Our Miloslav is predominantly a fruitarian, that is, he certainly prefers fruits and eats them much more often. When it comes to vegetables, which vegetables can be eaten raw? Well, carrots, cabbage, radishes, but they are rarely on our table.

My son often eats vegetables in salads. There can be no rules about what to eat more - fruits or vegetables. This doesn't matter. What the child likes more, what he wants more, is what he should eat.

This applies equally to adults. If you want carrots, eat carrots; if you want more plums, eat plums. The most important thing in this period of a child’s life - from the moment when introductory feeding begins until about three years old - is to give him the opportunity to try the maximum amount of fruits, vegetables and herbs. Because during this period, its mechanism for obtaining the necessary substances from certain products is adjusted.

Please note that a horse that is sick will eat grass in a specific area and not all around. Usually she grazes everywhere, but on this day for some reason she grazes here. Because grass grows there, which seems sweeter and juicier to her. And it seems to her that this is because her body needs this particular herb. He feels that this particular herb contains the cure for her illness.

In order for these mechanisms to work, a person must become familiar with the maximum amount of food in childhood. This is the most important thing, and it doesn’t matter what there will be more of - fruits or vegetables. But fruits, of course, are more pleasant - they are tastier, softer, sweeter, so I think there will be more fruits.

People often ask whether it is possible to give a child nuts. You need to be careful with this product. Nuts are heavy food, they contain a lot of protein, and they place a heavy burden on the digestive system. It is better to eat them less often.

I'll tell you one case. I have been on a raw food diet for two years now, without any nuts or even seeds. We went to the Caucasus and bought hazelnuts there - it was just their season. As a child, I simply adored hazelnuts; they were my favorite nut. In general, we bought hazelnuts, arrived in Moscow, and I ate them in the evening - not so much. But after about 40 hours, when all this reached the large intestine, I began to experience symptoms of severe poisoning. My head was pounding, I felt sick, my temperature rose. This lasted a little less than a day.

Since then, if I eat nuts, it is in very small quantities. I wouldn’t recommend eating a lot of nuts for children either, because pimples and a runny nose may appear - like Miloslav’s. Some people have food allergies to nuts, so it's best not to get carried away. My son can eat a handful of pine nuts, but in general he hardly eats them now.

By the way, a runny nose after some food may mean that this product contains a lot of protein or that a person is allergic to it. My son had a period this summer: every time he ate a banana, his nose would get stuffy. Maybe the bananas were fumigated with something - I don’t know. And sometimes a runny nose occurs in response to overeating, indicating that we are eating a lot. This is also possible.

And finally, the question of how to switch a child to a raw food diet if he has not had a raw food diet since birth. This can only be done by example. Your child should be more interested in eating your new food than his old food. Under no circumstances try to force anything on him, just entice him! For example, you made yourself a raw food cake - and you don’t offer it to him, you eat it yourself in front of his eyes. He sits and eats his porridge, but at the same time he will incredibly want what you have. Someday he will show it.