Disease-Proof Your Child

In the world of plant-based eating, there seems to be a shortage of resources about feeding the kiddos. My suspicion is that most doctors spend their time working with older patients who have developed full-on chronic disease. However, healthy eating as a child is just as important as healthy eating as an adult, because, during this time of growth, the body sets the foundation to prevent chronic disease. On the contrary, unhealthy eating and other behaviors can create a perfect environment for disease in both the short and long-term.

In his book, Dr. Joel Fuhrman details how we can prevent disease (cancer, heart disease, diabetes, asthma, allergies, digestive disorders and more) with optimal nutrition. Prevention allows us to decrease the risk of having to be in crisis and treatment mode in the future. Feeding kids healthy from the get-go is like being on offense rather than defense.

Fuhrman points out that, sadly, most kids in developed countries get about 90 percent of their calories form dairy, white flour, sugar and oil. In the U.S. about 1/3 of children between the ages of 4 and 19 eat at least 1 meal from fast food every day and 25% of kids eat french fries daily. With these eating habits, its no wonder that our childhood obesity rates are consistently increasing right along with childhood disease rates.

Dr. Fuhrman recommends kids’ diets center around foods that have the most nutrients per calories. What foods are the all-stars in nutrients per calories? Veggies and beans, of course! Along with these, a disease-proof diet includes fruit, raw nuts, seeds and whole grains.

The foods most kids are consuming every day – mac & cheese, chicken nuggets, sweetened cereal, hot dogs, cheese sticks – are simply toxic. They provide minimal nutrients and are disease promoting. Dr. Fuhrman offers strategies to get these foods out of your child’s diet and transition them to a disease-proof diet that they enjoy. Some of his tricks include:

  • Only permitting healthy foods in the home
  • Offering new foods multiple times because it can take a child 8-15 times to accept a new food
  • Setting a good example since children eat what their parents eat

Looking for some kid-friendly recipes? Check out: Chocolate Pudding, Peanut Butter Acai Bowl, Veggie Hummus Wrap, Sweet Potato Black Bean Quinoa Burger, Better than Cheese Queso

This book can be found on Amazon: Disease-Proof Your



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