The Paleo diet is one we have heard about recently that seems all the rage. With childhood obesity on the rise, you have to look for a diet will work in a natural way with your childs body rhythms so as not to throw the balance off. Here we will let you know what we have found about the Paleo diet and if it is safe to put a child on it or not.
So is it safe?
According to recent studies, the answer is a resounding yes! It is safe for babies of Paleo parents when they are breast fed from a mother that eats the way the Paleo diet directs. The Paleo diet is not a ‘diet’ for weight loss, it is simply a way of eating that brings us back to what we were supposedly eating as cave-people in the Paleolithic period of man. This meant the hunter-gatherer type of eating and preparing food with some minor modern adjustments. This way of eating promotes the natural flora in the gut and produces excellent digestion and a great immune system that modern preservatives tend to kill and mutate into disease, even in our kids.
When can my child start eating Paleo?
Normally we start our kids on cereals that are composed of rice and or barley. This is wrought with all kinds of toxicity issues that arrive inside all our grain products. There are also chemical additives and anti- immune chemicals that will kill off flora and irritate the gut. This is a common issue that kick starts their little immune systems in the wrong direction as well as their body’s digestive habits. That is correct, our bodies, from birth, develop their own little digestive habits and it is hard to get the pattern to change in a day but it can be done.
How?
Placing them your kids on this way of eating will, in 30 to 90 days’ time, change their digestive habits and replace the flora that has been damaged. This is because we replace old cells with new ones between 30 and 90 days in some areas of our body like the liver. The rest can take up to a year so after using the Paleo diet for a year, it would be safe to say you are a new person and you will feel and see the difference.
The Paleo diet will also knock out the cravings for starches and sugars that can be damaging. When we try to go back to the old way, our bodies will rebel against it. It's also important to understand that you must ease a toddler into the Paleo diet if you haven't been eating this way. Toddlers are wired to reject new foods, so if they do not start as an infant from breast feeding time, they will fight you for a while. Don't give up but introduce them nice and easy to this diet.
What is the difference between the adult version and kid version of Paleo?
The answer to that is nothing except you need to bump the carbs up. Maybe sweet potato fries and some nuts in their snack box! You also must remember to allow them a few kid snacks on occasions where they are being social. You do not want them to be ostracized and then rebel against the diet at home, you want them to eat birthday cake and go out on Halloween. Let kids be kids and don't stress it too much.
You can make the Paleo diet fun and make mini versions of the adult stuff like mini pizzas with Paleo flour, you can make Paleo crackers from nut flour and you can make mini meat loaves etc. A lot of the Paleo diet food can be found online in bulk so that you can be sure you are getting what you are looking for and these are the specialty items. The rest of the diet revolves around food we have today with a few adjustments. Some say that all legumes are off the menu but it's up to you. There are lots of people who adhere to the Paleo diet who love legumes. It is more red meat, fish , poultry, fruits and veggies and less of an agrarian diet which is still easy to follow.
Is Paleo a fad?
Maybe, maybe not. The worse thing that could happen is you try it out and it doesn't work for you and your family, but you should at least give the Paleo diet a chance. There are lot of people seeing great success with it and it's worth a look. Plus it's good to know it's safe for your little one's.