nutrition for non-vaxed kids

[thatblondegirl]

i see people who don't vax say things like "as long as they have good nutrition...". what is "good nutrition"? i think that we eat pretty well, but we don't always. i guess i'm rather clueless.

what do you eat? what should my non-vaxed kid get more of?

[angie7]

We eat mostly organic foods. We have fresh fruit and veggies everyday and everything they drink (milk, etc.) is organic. My twins favorite food is rice and fruit, they can not get enough of it!!! They are 2.5, have never had any fast food. We have tried to give them some (pizza, etc.) and they will not have anything to do with it, they want meat, potatoes, fruit and veggies

[tanyalynn]

There's a great thread, really long, over in the Archives (it's the Nutrition/Immunology 101 sticky). Let me find it...

http://mothering.com/discussions/sho...d.php?t=406983

It's in the Archives under the Immunity sub-section. I have re-read it a couple times and each time I get something new from it.

The one thing that I wish we'd asked MT (the thread starter) is more on cultivating a healthy gut, which is obviously necessary in order to maximize what we get from our foods. She says it's fundamental, but doesn't talk in detail about it. The folks over in Allergies have done a lot of work on this (and it's educational to lurk over there).

[inkedmamajama]

im guessing it would be lots of veggies and fruits, whole grains, no hormone meat or dairy, and very little to no processed food-basically how everyone should eat.

[runes]

Yes, sometimes this subject is challenging to discuss for 2 reasons.

1. The definition of "good nutrition" can be subjective.
2. People in general get pretty defensive about their food choices, and they're also fairly attached to their food choices.

So with the caveat that this is my definition, "good nutrition" means:
-as organic as possible
-as local as possible
-as unprocessed as possible
-as seasonal as possible
-as colorful as possible (not talking about artificial colors!)

Regardless of vaccine status.

I wouldn't feel comfortable about feeding a child boxed mac n cheese, frozen pizza and jarred applesauce just because they were vaxed.

[Gitti]

Not vaccinating a child per se will create a healthy immune system. Giving a fairly healthy diet as pp mentioned is an additional benefit.

-as organic as possible
-as local as possible
-as unprocessed as possible
-as seasonal as possible
-as colorful as possible (not talking about artificial colors!)

[Deborah]

There is huge thread up in the archives on how to eat right for your immune system: http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=406983

[JaneS]

See WAPF link in my sig... it was an eye opener for me and a beginning to a great journey about what exactly is a healthy diet from an anthropological standpoint, before advertising and food processing existed.

For us its a big part about quality animals foods as those are the most nutrient dense. It's all about what is highest in nutrients. We get as much organic local produce as possible but vegetables are not the highest in basic nutrients.

We take high vitamin cod liver oil and eat grassfed or wild animal foods such as liver and seafoods, bone broths, raw grassfed dairy, pastured eggs. Traditional diets contained 5x the amount of mineral and water soluble vitamins and 10x the amount of fat soluble vitamins as "modern" diets and those are the basic amounts which the human body needs to function properly for good health.

Saturated fats are very important for the immune system as well, the whole modern hysteria is just plain wrong and canola and other rancid engineered vegetable oils are not healthy. We do grassfed butterfat and tallow, lard from free range pigs, coconut oil, palm oil and unfiltered olive oil.

[JaneS]

Originally Posted by TanyaLopez

The one thing that I wish we'd asked MT (the thread starter) is more on cultivating a healthy gut, which is obviously necessary in order to maximize what we get from our foods. She says it's fundamental, but doesn't talk in detail about it.

I have and she said kefir, the Rolls Royce of probiotics. But we've also talked about how complex it is, as you well know!

[Pariah]

I also loved that Nutrition and Immunology thread. We cook from scratch and use organic, unprocessed ingredients...as close to their natural state as possible, without any additives, coloring, artifical flavors, etc. Our DS is not a picky eater at all, which we are thrilled with, so he gets a pretty wide variety in his diet. He's still BFing, too.

[mammal_mama]

Originally Posted by kidspiration

So with the caveat that this is my definition, "good nutrition" means:
-as organic as possible
-as local as possible
-as unprocessed as possible
-as seasonal as possible
-as colorful as possible (not talking about artificial colors!)

Regardless of vaccine status.

Bolding mine. I certainly don't see why anyone would assume that unvaxed kids need more nutritious foods than vaxed ones. I think good nutrition's important for everyone.

Unvaxed kids have a headstart 'cause their immune systems haven't been tampered with -- but of course it's still important to eat right, starting with exclusive, child-led breastfeeding, which continues after solids are introduced (sometime after 6 months of age), for as long and as often as the child wants to nurse.

I've done this with both my girls (still am with my 3yo), and it never occurred to me to do it any differently with my second (who has never been vaxed) than with my first (who we stopped vaxing after her 4-month shots).

[zoe196]

lots of good info here but just wanted to add that avoiding sugar is a very good move for keeping the immune system working at its best. Even small amounts of sugar lower the immunity...great book on this subject is Sugar Blues by William Duffy.

Zoe, mama to Thomas 1/06

[alllyssa]

This is what I think "good" nutrition means

Having enough food. Period. When researchers talk about the "olden" days before adequate nutrition and proper santitation they are talking primarily about people consuming enough calories and a wide enough variety of foods so that they don't have huge vitamin/mineral deficiencies.

Of course, organic, low in sugar, lots of fresh fruits and veggies, lean healthy proteins, etc. are all GREAT, but I think that it much more basic than any of that. People all around the world have lived on the brink of starvation and relied, since agriculture began, on main food groups, which can often lead to nutritional deficiencies, which leave individuals suseptable to disease. That's my opinion anyway.

[JaneS]

Well sadly there in the U.S. most everyone overeats and most everyone is nutrient deficient in all major ones according to studies.

[tanyalynn]

Originally Posted by JaneS

I have and she said kefir, the Rolls Royce of probiotics. But we've also talked about how complex it is, as you well know!

I wish there was an easy answer for the dairy-free among us because kefir really does seem impressive. But we'll keep plugging away with our stock and fermented veggies and see where we are by spring.

[JaneS]

I hear that!! I do know that water kefir grains have different organisms so I don't know if they work the same. And the sugar/fruit juice that it requires are going to be issues for some too, they were in my DS. I've been meaning to try it again with him though now that he is stable.