Chiro says raw food not good for kids???

[NicoleF]

Hi Everyone. My son seemed to be having some strange symptoms so I took him to my chiropractor. He was very thorough, and after our visit, consulted with two different nutritionists. My son has cracks around his mouth, puffiness and redness around the eyes that comes and goes, pain in his foot (not growing pains) and is pretty small for his size, although not abnormal. He's about in the 10th percentile for his height and weight. He's been vegan since birth, and he eats healthier than anyone in the family. He doesn't like sweets, he eats raw broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, lots of raw fruit, almond butter on raw crackers, cooked beans, brown rice, sunflower seed butter occasionally, oatmeal occasionally, and vegetable soup. I also give him a multivitamin everyday, hemp protein occasionally, and probiotics. It's obvious to me that he's got B vitamin deficiencies (I'm a nutritional consultant, so I know my vitamins).

So anyway, my chiro came back and said that I'm giving him too much raw food, and that (like I suspected) he's deficient in B vitamins. He said that the two nutritionists he talked to said that children under the age of 10 cannot digest raw food. That they lack the enzymes to digest raw food. Whuuu? I though raw food CONTAINED enzymes that digested your food for you! I don't know what to do! I know he's deficient in B vitamins, but wouldn't the multivitamin I give him take care of that? I feel like a terrible mother that my son is actually deficient in vitamins. He is VERY picky, but I thought that since the foods he does eat are healthy, that everything should be ok. How can this be?

Thanks

[Aleesha Sattva]

why not add some natural vitamin b alternatives instead of focusing on a pill form? I know one little amazing boy who raw and is soooo healthy. Here's a link to his blog and to an article which may assist you.

http://rawtoddleralex.blogspot.com/

http://www.timelessspirit.com/NOV08/raw.shtml

[freshlight]

I wouldn't listen to the doctors, have they ever been raw? probably not and they don't really want to have any healthy patients either. A daughter of my friend grew up as a vegan raw foodist and even though the doctors kept telling her mother to stop doing that because her child is not big enough and deficient on v.B12, she carried on with her magic diet and is now (and always has been) the healthiest person on earth.......she is very tall indeed :)

[JennaBoBenna]

I work with a chiropractor that believes in raw food. he isn't 100% by an means, but he made his whole half of the office go raw for 5 days to cleanse. They weren't too happy, lol. Of course raw food is fine for children. Just make sure he is getting his B vitamins. There are lots of foods that contain B vitamins, just do a quick search. I would supplement with B12, just to be safe.

[rawviveyourself]

there are lots of health professionals that don't agree with the raw food diet - for anyone, especially kids. go with your instincts.

digestive fire/strength does need to be functioning well in order to do well on raw food. sometimes as teeth change, children go through phases where they aren't chewing as well, in which case, all of those raw cruciferous vegs may not be getting digested as well as they should be, or as they have in the past for him.

there are some wonderful enzyme supplements, if that is what you choose to do -- alissa has some on her site and my personal favorite are loomis enzymes (chiro-zyme is the label - you can ask your chiropractor if she knows about them, as they are packaged specifically for chiros)

i didn't see green smoothies in your list that your son eats --- greens are really important - rotate, rotate, rotate. and minerals, too, especially for growing kids, so research the best food mineral sources for you/your son.

last, i'm a reflexologist, so if you'd like to tell me about the place on his foot that is giving him problems, i'd be happy to help out.

[michigan roman]

SEEDS GROUND INTO POWDER IN BLENDER :

- flax . for omega's , protein .
- sesame . for calcium , protein , good fats . used to put weight on .
- walnuts . protein and fats , will put weight on .
- almond . calcium , protein .
- sunseed . vita e and protein .
- pumpkin . zinc which males need alot of , protein .
- add this ground seed mixture to things like banana / fruit / almond milk smoothies and oatmeal .

DARK GREENS :

- find his faves , spinach / romaine / dandelion / chard / etc , calcium , iron , vita A .

MUSHROOMS : FOR THE B's

WHEAT GERM : MASSIVE B's

BANANAS

AVACADOS

RAISINS : IRON

SEA WEEDS : IODINE / IRON . getting him eating that though shall take a pro ma as hideous as they taste

TO ME HE ISNT GETTING ENOUGH PROTEIN AND FATS , HE NEEDS PROTEIN FOR GROWTH . JUST LIKE YOU SEE WEIGHT LIFTERS WOLF DOWN PROTEIN !!
THEY WOLF IT BECAUSE IT FEEDS MUSCLE GROWTH !!

ALMOND MILK SMOOTHIES WITH SAY BANANA / BERRIES , CAROB . THEN ENRICHED WITH THE SEED MIXTURE , MAYBE WITH WHEAT GERM THROWN IN .

[michigan roman]

oh and to the chiro and his / her nutritionist = if kids under 10 cant digest raw foods what did our ancestors survive / evolve on

we evolved eating raw plant matter and water just like monkeys do .
we started getting sick / weaker when we began cooking / heating the nutrients / star light out of plants .

the nutritionist / doctors are being taught by our lost government / ruling class whom are based in the fairy tale / fictional bible which has caused people to ' break bread ' (bad habit ) and other wrongful eating habits for centuries so we must think for ourselves .

[michigan roman]

also find the member ' raisingalex ' , its the very cool melissa whoms been raising 3 year old baby alex since birth on a raw vegan diet . she's also a blog you can read .

[NicoleF]

Thank you for all your replies. I do give him smoothies with wheat germ--I forgot to mention that. As for protein, I put hemp protein in his smoothies too, he eats beans and rice every single day, and also almond and sunflower seed butter. I do disagree with the nutritionists about the raw food.

Regarding his foot. He says it hurts on the bottom. He has always complained about his foot/feet, and now his hand. He says massaging it does not help. Sometimes I think he just wants attention, but I don't know. I figured all the food I give him has enough vitamins and minerals. He is very picky, and trying to get him to try new things in nearly impossible. I have to hide things. I hide the hemp and wheat germ in his smoothies. When I juice apples and pears, I slip in a Swiss chard leaf, some carrot, and celery. He likes broccoli and cauliflower, and otherwise is a very active child. I think he may have some food allergies because his eyes get puffy and red, and then his eye lids, and underneath the eyes start to peel after the redness goes down. It is the strangest thing. I took him to an applied kinesiologist, and he said my son is sensitive to wheat. He's got itchy eczema behind his knees that come and go too. He had it as a baby, then it went away for 3 years, then this summer it came back. It is so strange.

[michigan roman]

not sure of your wheat germ source but your thread got me searching it today , and reincorporating it into my diet , and ran across this farm ive always liked that sells raw wheat germ , link =

http://www.purcellmountainfarms.com/...0Wheatgerm.htm ..

[Nayeli_Raw]

You should talk to Holy Guacamole. She is very knowledgeable in vitamins. It sounds like you are too. But she might be a good person to talk to.

I personally would not hesitate to give my son a multi or a b vitamin if I thought he was deficient. That is only my opinion though.

[rawviveyourself]

Regarding his foot - I thought this might be an easier way for you....you may be able to identify what organ is most in stress by the location of the pain. check out the interactive link to see what the corresponding area is:

http://www.dorlingkindersley-uk.co.u...footchart.html

also - how about japanese acupuncture? i say japanese specifically because it is very gentle and small needles are used.

eczema and allergies are very closely related. wheat is a big trigger, but sorry to say that beans can also be a trigger for eczema. ultimately, it's not good to have the same food every day - no matter what it is. other triggers are extreme heat, extreme cold, stress, and the usual allergens - corn, dairy, soy, nightshades, etc. maybe remove one thing at a time - the wheat germ, the beans, etc. and see if his eyes clear up.

some essential oils that work really well for the eczema are calendula, lavender, chamomile, and yarrow. You can put them in a bath with some sea salt, or apply them directly to the skin with a nice gentle base like jojoba.

a good constitutional homeopath could probably work wonders with him, too.

good luck and keep hiding those things in the smoothies! (i do it all the time!):)

[Nayeli_Raw]

Regarding his foot - I thought this might be an easier way for you....you may be able to identify what organ is most in stress by the location of the pain. check out the interactive link to see what the corresponding area is:

http://www.dorlingkindersley-uk.co.u...footchart.html

Great site thanks!

[rawviveyourself]

nayeli_raw: i saw from another post you are preggers - you may also be interested in the corresponding uterus point on the foot, which you can't see on this map, but it is in the groove between the ankle bone and heel on the inside of the foot. helps get labor moving when you reach that point...makes many a mommy-to-be happy. :)

[Nayeli_Raw]

nayeli_raw: i saw from another post you are preggers - you may also be interested in the corresponding uterus point on the foot, which you can't see on this map, but it is in the groove between the ankle bone and heel on the inside of the foot. helps get labor moving when you reach that point...makes many a mommy-to-be happy. :)

Oh sweet thanks for the advice!!