Ethical to put children on low carb?
 

Seven months old and he eats veg, fish, meat, butter, full fat yogurt, cheese, apples and some other bits of fruit as well as breast milk.
My peers feed their babies rice cakes, porridge, bread, fruit and some veg.

Think I'm doing the right thing, but it's getting trickier to say no thanks to the offers of bread and rice cakes from well meaning friends and family. I'm starting to doubt myself, so fed him porridge this morning. - I tend to assume porridge oats, potatoe and rice are better as they're not so refined.

I read that kids brought up to be vegetarian can struggle to cope with meat if they try it later on; they don't have the enzymes. I've recently been concerned that if I feed no carb rich foods, maybe he won't adapt to eat them and when he tucks into sandwiches and cake at his first party he'll be ill. I don't want this.

So am I doing the right thing or experimenting with my baby? (He's happy and thriving so far).

Dr Jay Wortman, a LC doc in Canada, has a daughter that he and his wife are raising LC. She is thriving. Here's a link to his blog:
http://www.drjaywortman.com Scroll down to the Feb 7, 2013 post to see a video of his young daughter skiing. There are more posts about her as well.

This gal has been zero carb for many, many years. went through a pregnancy and now raising her children zero carb. she is a WEALTH of information on raising children on a healthy program.
Her baby must be about 7 now... if I recall.

I guess hunter & gatherers, especially ones close to the arctic circle, are/were unethical.

:lol:

Peter at Hyperlipid has some really cute pics of his child being raised like yours. Very little starch and sugar. I would not make a big deal when out with friends, he can have little bits later.

LOL why not. Sounds like a great lesson for drug-like food. Well, the cake anyway. Sandwiches not so much.

I have friends with kids who seriously save cupcakes to only eat after meals, because the kids themselves don't like how it feels to eat such intense refined sweets between meals. That took a lot of learning though and experimentation and the kids were older.

I sympathize with you trying to do what you know in your heart is the right thing, when there is so little or no pediatric medical advice to support you - and so much uninformed contrary advice from family, friends, teachers and anyone who comes in contact with your child.

My understanding, but do your own research, is that it takes very little of a substance for the digestive enzymes to form. Sweet potatoes or yams (they are not technically the same thing) are starchy yet far less harmful than white potatoes. Possibly a little of that once in a while would solve the enzyme worry? Oats and rice, the jury is still out even for adults. Some do okay others (like me) find them harmful.

No matter what you do, your son is going to be exposed to all manner of sugary, carby food that is going to taste good. Hopefully you will be one of those amazing parents who found a way to give him a firm basis of knowledge so he'll refuse more of it than he'll accept. It can be done. I know a stunningly beautiful, 19 year old girl (daughter of a model and a dentist) who never had anything sweeter growing up than an apple. She's slim, but very fit and healthy. By the time she could make her own decisions she preferred to eat the way her parents raised her.

Thanks for the links and support. It IS fine. I just have to stick to my guns!

Adding this new article, only a year later.

http://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb-kids

Low Carb Kids – How to Raise Children on Real Low-Carb Food

Long guest post from the pharmacist and mom of 3 behind the Ditch the Carbs website.

The cutest choo-choo ever... A vegetable "train" https://www.facebook.com/fittasticl...?type=3&theater

Gives Dr Eenfeldt's Animal "cakes" a run for prize in the cute kids party foods

http://www.dietdoctor.com/4-year-ol...-not-much-sugar

[QUOTE=RonnieScot]Seven months old and he eats veg, fish, meat, butter, full fat yogurt, cheese, apples and some other bits of fruit as well as breast milk.
QUOTE]
7bmonths is a little early to introduce such a wide variety of foods, I think. If I were you I would mostly keep breast feeding him and add a few soft foods slowly. He doesn't have enough teeth yet to chew apples so cooking it would be better if you want him to have that.
I've also ready many times that Yoghurt should not be fed to children younger than a few years old because it can create an imbalance in his gut bacteria and right now he is getting all of that from you in your mother's milk.

There is so little on the topic of feeding LC to kids, when I saw this new video, thought to add it here. Dr Jay Wortman mentioned above gives more detail on a brand new FB live video series from the Adapt Your Life folks: https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/ad...141539215924861

An article on feeding kids Low Carb, with a clear Infographic on the Top Ten Myths about Low Carb for kids. https://www.ditchthecarbs.com/top-1...-low-carb-kids/

Libby Jenkinson's website and her other social media is one of the best in the world (she's a pharmacist in NZ) where the recipes are always attuned to kids, especially her creative lunch boxes.

She also wrote an article for Diet Doctor: https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb-kids

She also favors recipes using coconut flour, not almond flour, for a number of reasons, one being nuts of all kinds are prohibited in many schoolrooms.
Good article on pros and cons of both: https://www.ditchthecarbs.com/ultim...s-almond-flour/

I made her coconut flour choc chip cookie for holiday guests, simple and filling. Trader Joe's has cocoa nibs. https://www.ditchthecarbs.com/cocon...e-chip-cookies/

Thanks Janet for posting the link and bringing this subject to the top.

I have just kept pushing the LC thing at home and fighting the tide of public school which is where i first got the push back.

My kids eat better than most but still not as good as they could. So far they are very thin compared to most kids, but their pediatrition is HAPPY with them both.

I am reminded of how I tricked my little ones into their veggies. As dinner time approached and the hungry little ones started to pester me for food, I had a vegie ready to serve asap. Served that up and mylittle hungry mouths tucked into those tastie vegies. I saved the sweet fruits for LAST. Because once that fruit was eaten no other food passed their lips.

First or last, the fruit decided consumption of that meal. SAD sweetened oatmeal had the same effect.

I used my noodle to get my kids to like vegetables and clean meats--- a hungry mouth will eat anything. lol

Another website with simple recipes and short animated clips about "Vintage Eating" is Eat the Butter. https://www.eatthebutter.org

Jenni Calihan has good resources and newsletter, has a focus on healthy family meals. She now writes for DietDoctor with the weekly news post, but Jenni's own website is useful with vintage grocery list, 70 sec clip in the grocery store, etc. https://www.eatthebutter.org/about-us/