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Very annoying article on Raw family

I found this article and the comments seem more annoying than the article.

The article tries to spin lack of D vitamin generated by your body as what caused their children to be sick. It almost seems like this article was written by the meat and dairy producers

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1028854/How-strict-vegan-diet-children-ill.html

Comments

  • "A Trading Standards study into nursery food recently found that many nurseries were feeding toddlers a diet too high in fruit and vegetables, and too low in calories and fats, putting them at risk of nutritional deficiencies."

    WTF? How can they say this? You see little kids running about that are OBESE, not just on the chubby side. I can't believe it...

    Tara

  • OMG, thatis the stupidest thing I've ever heard. I mean really...isn't it the OBESE children who are the ones with nutritional deficiencies from a LACK of fruits and veggies? Argh...stupid, stupid, stupid. AND insulting, to think that anyone could swallow that crap (lol, pun wasn't intended, honest!).

  • swayzeswayze Raw Newbie

    It's interesting how the article never says what exactly she and her children were eating. Of course the children would be underweight, if the focus of their diet was on low-calorie greens instead of fruit.

    Swayze

     

  • My question is how a child could crave butter if they never had it???

  • derrycklderryckl Raw Superstar

    It sounds like the person writing the article has a pro-meat agenda (if that was not obvious) - but if this is is a real case, it is the thing that we have read about before - I know tons of kids who are raw - and not in this sort of state!

    My take (from the little amount of real information that there was in the article) is that the kids are nutrient- and possibly calorie deficient.

    She probably got some bad advice (soy?!?) and maybe not organic food (can be expensive in the UK) - and/or was just thinking of the kids as little adults - i.e. eat the same stuff as me, but just enough for a little person.

    I think that the parents need a more proactive hand in watching the nutrient intake/mix of the kids - and let the kids' bodies tell them if/when they need more calories. Sounds like this one has bailed out, and is safely back in the meat world.

    I don't know too many daily mail readers among my friends... but I do wonder what sort of feedback the article might have had if it was written for a more "broadsheet" newspaper (like the Guardian or the Times). [the last thing I want to do is to put boxes around demographics, but the daily mail is kind of like USA Today, or the Toronto Sun, as opposed to the Washington Post, New York Times, etc..]

    BTW, I did post a reply to the article.

  • i think we must make allowances for the fact that this is a NEWSPAPER article written by the very same man who wrote the article "Can a pill make your brainier? This intrepid writer decided to find out...", where he becomes a guinea pig for a risky drug, saying, "A pill to increase my post-lunch productivity would be marvellous. I decided to see for myself if Modafinil worked." i wonder what he eats for lunch....he doesn't say.

    as for the people reading newspapers hoping to find something to gab about to others, they are not usually up for researching that far into anything good for them or their children. rather like someone who says "i don't like it" when you offer them something delicious they have never even tried.

    and if you want to go even further and have a look to see who owns the newspapers....

    holly is an aquaintence of mine, who happens to be a very good at researching nutrition and who wants the very best for her children. it's unfortunate that this article is one of the only times people will read about her, as i dont think she is one for being under the spotlight in ways some others who eat raw foods are.

    in the article holly says, "What I realise now is that the raw food movement is actually a cult - these people will do anything to explain away the fact that for some people, this diet can have very damaging health consequences."

    although 'cult' may be a little strong, i have been inclined to listen to my own body more rather than turning to some websites because of some all-or-nothing new age narrow mindsets i have experienced there.

    although i eat an all raw vegan diet, it would be foolish if i stuck to it rigid like a dogma while my bones crumbled. there have been times where i've been ill- maybe 5 months into all raw i had a serious kidney thing happening- but i felt sure if i kept going it would pass, it was probably kidney stones. eventually it did go and i felt like new.

    i've run out of steam now but has anyone seen anthony the model's new ideas?

    http://rawmodelcom.blogspot.com/2009/06/walking-away-from-veganism.html

    i don't think i'd be touching goats milk unless i was positive how they were fed and cared for but the coconut kefir with pear and ginger would be beautiful

  • Ok so she fed these kids veggies, (they didn't say anything about greens) nuts and seeds, raw goats cheese (That is not VEGAN) they ate Pulses (Beans) and grains (sprouted?) And soy products that

  • fermented soy miso in small quantities, perhaps. i'd suggest an article on environmental oestrogens from getfresh magazine spring 09

    here's a small taster:

    "...include fermented soya products. I know this will cause a storm among some people, and that

  • superfood2superfood2 Raw Newbie

    I think it's funny when people call raw foodism "new age" when it was actually the original way to eat. I guess it's "old age."

  • i just meant some people mix it up with spirituality when it's more physical

  • I have to agree with superfood2, lol. How can it be a new-age way of eating? People have been doing it since the beginning of time and pretty much up until the modern era

     

  • This article contains no facts, no references, nothing to show where they got their info from.... and what's this crap about the daughter gnawing on a stick of butter?? You have to reach high to get the REAL butter; everything else is just margarine. I swear this article was written by the dairy industry.

    And what's this about a lack of vitamin D? Vitamin D is fortified into milk so that the calcium can be absorbed. If the kids were out in the sun enough or eating the right vegetables, they wouldn't have a problem getting their Vitamin D.

    She also says that they took a vitamin supplement to make up for anything they might be missing. Then where's the problem?? Oh, that's when they change their tune to a protein deficiency...

    Absolutely absurd. That right there is an example of biased opinion in open journalism and the unfortunate truth is that so many people will believe it simply because it's published. Ugh, such rubbish.

    Misty

     

  • This documentary is one that helps me stay off cow based products

    http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6361872964130308142

    It is VERY GRAPHIC, and may make you cry as it really lays out the facts about exploiting animals like no other film I have ever seen.

    Sorry but I thought I might share.

  • This article along with the comments seriously gets my heart pumping. To suggest that the free-will consumption of live, nutritious whole foods is somehow "cultish" is beyond absurd. The kids' deficiencies were clearly a result of a mother improperly feeding her children - a well-balanced raw diet hardly leaves you lacking.

    Ugh. UGH!

  • joannabananajoannabanana Raw Newbie

    wow that was total garbage. the mother obviously wasn't providing her kids with enough nutrients. i'm surprised how upset i got reading that!!! haha i left a comment, but i doubt they'll accept it. i thought the mention of the cult was hilarious, too, but i'd rather be in a cult of healthy raw foodists than one of obese meat/dairy eaters.

  • I wouldn't get too upset about it. I don't mean this in an insulting way- but I don't think the writer is really an expert on nutrition. Just a writer who is interviewing people. At first, I too thought it must be just a veggie bashing article. But, there is also mentioned someone who just feeds their kids MEAT, FISH and salad (no carbs according to the article). And how unhealthy THAT is.

    I think that article is trying to get at "fad" diets and how they can negatively affect children very quickly.

    Though the article made conclusions it didn't really support with facts, and it was kind of a hit and miss article all around- there is a kernel of truth even in this article (imho). And, that is that children need to be nourished as children (they DO have different needs than us adults). I don't agree with the author's assumption that a vegan diet can't work for a child. But, we do need to be very careful with trying "new" eating habits with our kids. Vegan and raw is a newer way of eating for many of us (at least those of us in meat and potato communities).

    People have been eating raw food since there was raw food, but not ALL raw generally in our recorded history. So, I do think some caution as we transition our children is in order. Their health is more important than ideology.

  • Soon, I think you bring up some good points about listening to your body over identifying with a label. I'm glad to hear that the lady in the article really tries to do what's best for her children nutritionally (from your personal experience). You have to be careful when reading an article when you form an opinion on something. The article may really not have represented her well (that happens). I agree with you that the word "cult" is a pretty strong word- but we don't know what raw community she got information from.

    Some people (unfortunately) out there can act pretty narrowminded. It scares me when I read stuff that explains too many fail to thrive symptoms with "it's just detox."

    I didn't bother reading the comments to the article. Usually those aren't very nice on most news sites anyways.

    But, I really would like to read an honest article about the first woman (and her daughters) experiences. Just because the author of the article did a poor job of delving into the story doesn't mean there isn't something legit there. Obviously something in their diet didn't work for them, and I would be interested in a less slanted article that gets into it more. We (those of use with children) could learn some valuable information from it possibly. Constructive criticism can be helpful somethings. It can help us make needed adjustments.

  • VITAMIN D??

    Go outside say hello to the sun.

    Not one mention of eating lots of fruit. Maybe that's why these children were unhealthy. If any of these people even exist. The whole article is a fake. Sounds like an ad for big business.

  • swayzeswayze Raw Newbie

    Amen, dreamwithin. :)

    Swayze

     

  • freewitheftfreewitheft Raw Newbie

    swayze, the other reason the children would, of course, be underweight is that they are using charts formulated with a bias towards obesity, beginning with the inclusion of formula-fed babies! It just goes downhill from there.

  • swayzeswayze Raw Newbie

    Double amen, freewitheft :D

    Swayze

     

  • Good lord that article is a load of BS.

    for starters, human bodies are not designed to eat dairy. No-one will ever 'naturally crave' dairy. If their teeth were poor, then they probably didn't get enough calcium or Vit. D, but that can still be incorporated into a vegan/raw diet easily. From the severity of the problem it sounds like they may also have had no flouride in their water....

    If you were silly enough to jump on a restrictive diet without checking how to do it properly then that's dumb, but it doesn't make the diet dumb.

    If the kids were lacking protein, then the same thing applies - my guess is that they were eating entirely the wrong proportions of things.

    if the kids were lacking energy they might be anaemic (genetically) or a host of other things, if they weren't sleeping properly perhaps they werent getting enough exercise - the article describes them as drawn and skinny - but they dont look it, pale, certainly, but not unhealthily so.

    Calcium is everywhere. and if they drink soy milk it would've been fortified. you do need adequate levels of Vit. D to absorb it -

    Vitamin D is only found in animal products but -

    Your body can get enough Vitamin D from 15 minutes of sunlight 4 times a week on the face neck and hands.

    It shouldn't be a problem unless you're literally stuck inside all day or you're in an area with long, dark winters.

    And if you are, then you can supplement it - nutritional yeast and many milks (not so handy for raw, but at least for vegans) are fortified with it. And you can buy it in pill form of course.

    "Ok so she fed these kids veggies, (they didn't say anything about greens) nuts and seeds, raw goats cheese (That is not VEGAN) they ate Pulses (Beans) and grains (sprouted?)"

    that sounds like a fairly standard vegan(apart from the goats cheese) diet, and assuming they ate a range of fruits and veges there's no reason they should have any nutritional imbalances.

    "What I realise now is that the raw food movement is actually a cult - these people will do anything to explain away the fact that for some people, this diet can have very damaging health consequences."

    yeah, because a modern diet isn't damaging to your health at all.

    I remember watching oprah one day - an episode where her chefs were teaching 'american families' to eat healthier and on a budget - i couldn't BELIEVE the diets that were considered standard american family diets. Sometimes I wonder how the human body can even survive that much abuse. I'm sure the only reason half the modern world doesn't have scurvy is because soda's sometimes have fruit extract and people mix booze with oj.

    How can people not know how to cook for themselves? Why isn't it taught in schools? Cooking* is a LIFE SKILL, it is definitely as important as learning math and english.

    As for the 'soy is dangerous' argument, that is a much-bandied-about load of crap. I wrote about it here

    http://a-lady-sniper.blogspot.com/2009/08/soy-is-making-your-kids-gay-horror.html

    the second half deals more with the actual research and science behind it.

    *Cooking/preparing food.

  • Interesting... they should check out GreenAndCrunchy.com - a HEALTHY raw vegan family of 7. This mother (in the article) simply needed to know more about her and her family's diet. She should not have relied on the fact that a raw diet is healthy - there are obviously going to be some vitamin deficiencies if you don't know how to combine foods and/or don't read up on important vitamins to supplement.

  • juicefastfanjuicefastfan Raw Newbie

    i agree Jaimie! I wish it was taught in schools too. I'm a homeschool mom, and we are part of a homeschool group that meets every other Friday afternoons, and just this year I have started teaching a basic nutrition/"cooking" (we don't cook a thang though ;) class for the 8-12 year old group. It's a little easier because the majority of them come from very natural living type homes, but some are just amazed that the 100% juice found in JuicyJuice is NOT a source of fruit or nutrition!

  • These companies pay a lot of money to scare people to stay on their products.

    And a lot of people will skim the article, and think raw is bad. That is ok.

    Actually, the raw people are INTERESTED IN HEALTH.

    Those that do not take charge of their health, pay for symptom management.

    You can't convert a person that is not interested.

  • rawlizardrawlizard Raw Newbie

    About the study that found that daycares are serving too much fruit... I think that they are damn right.

    Only that they fail to tell you that the fruit they serve is all canned. Peaches, pinapples, ect. all cooked and deprived of nutrition. In addition, I assume that the so called study also counts the pasteurized "fruit" juices as fruit, which are technically (and officially?) considered "a fruit serving" (LOL).

    In that context, the article is right, too many empy calories and not enough nutrition !!!!

  • juicefastfanjuicefastfan Raw Newbie

    You are absolutely correct in your assumption RawLizard! Not only does juice count as a serving of fruit, so does things like jell-o and certain kinds of popsicles...applesauce etc... My aunt ran a daycare and was shocked when she saw the "suggested" menu items in her state daycare packet. She actually turned down being able to accept state funded kids just so she could make her own menu and things up without having to follow their guidelines. (At least this is the case for Michigan...I don't know about other states)

  • For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Daily Mail, this is actually quite typical of the crap they publish. It's a reactionary right-wing bigoted business-linked tabloid rag, and they employ self-professed fascists like Richard Littlejohn. It's common practice for papers to disguise advertising or corporate PR as articles, which this seems to be a particularly nasty example of. I doubted every single statement in it. As for the comments, AAAAAAARGHHH!!!!

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