Children's diets are unhealthy

"The most recent scientific evidence is both overwhelming and shocking--what we feed (or don't feed) our children as they grow from birth to early adulthood has a greater total contributory effect on the dietary contribution to cancers than dietary intake over the next fifty years.  American children and most children in developed countries eat less than 2 percent of their diet from natural plant foods such as fruits and vegetables.  American children move into adulthood eating 90 percent of their caloric intake from dairy products, white flour, sugar, and oil.  Amazingly, about 25 percent of toddlers between ages one and two eat no fruits and vegetables at all.  By fifteen months, french fries are the most common vegetable consumed in America!

"Childhood diets are unhealthy, but the issue goes beyond simple nutrition.  Recent, compelling, scientific evidence over the past two decades has shown links between precise dietary factors and autoimmune illnesses such as Crohn's disease and lupus, as well as later-life cancers.  This means that we now know what helps to create an environment in our bodies that is favorable for cancers to emerge later in life, and we understand how what they eat now can prevent cancer in our children's future.  While the scientific evidence is in, parents haven't been informed that what their children eat during their growth years has such a profound effect on their later health and that the first ten years may be the most critical.  Unfortunately, many parents are unwittingly feeding their children dangerous, cancer-provoking diets.  My goal is to inform parents so that they can give their children the greatest gift of all: the opportunity for a long and healthy life." -Joel Fuhrman, M.D. in Disease - Proof Your Child

It is good that there is more evidence about the food we need to eat.  We need the nutrition to live healthy.  Children need it for a life of healthiness.

Renee Madison, MA, LPC, CSAT is a counselor in Colorado.  She can be reached for appointments at 303-257-7623 or 970-324-6928