I have been asked by several people if I think Going Primal is okay for kids. The short answer is: yes. Feed your kids real food, people! It's more than worth it. Do your best to give them grassfed butter, organic meat (if possible), and a lot of fresh vegetables, some fruit and nuts, and a little honey every once in a while.
The question is: Do kids need more grains than adults? I couldn't figure this out. Three out of four of my kids have really done well with being Primal and on minimal grains (usually sweet potatoes and squash soup), but my one carbaholic child has been in a slump for weeks. One problem could be that she just misses carbs. Another reason could be she wants to feel like she fits in with her friends. And another reason could be, maybe, that she actually needs some more grains than she is currently eating.
So what is one to do? I am thinking kids burn starches so fast that it might be a bad idea to cut them out of a child's diet. I should note that my kids are not overweight, they run around and play a lot, and they don't sit down and eat in front of TV. If your kids do this (not a judgement) then they really won't burn those extra grains so easily, so maybe pull back on what and how much they are eating.
Anyway, Tom and I happen to know this awesome lady named Karen DeCoster. She is pretty awesome with things like guns, personal liberty, fitness, and then I find out she's also Primal!, so I wrote to her to ask her about kids and Going Primal.
She very, very kindly responded to my email, and she gave me a ton of great info. I asked for permission to share with all of you, so if you have kids, you might feel a bit better about what to feed them when GP. See her email below. And be sure to check out her website KarenDeCoster.com
So I wrote to ask about kids and carb-flu, and dehydration due to lacking in grains, she wrote back with:
"There
is absolutely nothing to this. Folks tend to take stuff off the web and
the stories grow bigger - and the facts get more distorted - each time a
tale is told. This kind of thing will often be mentioned where
conventional wisdom is spewed about ketogenic diets, but your kids are
not on a ketogenic diet. But carbs are carbs, and water is hydration.
Almost no one keeps properly hydrated because water is usually replaced
with sweetened beverages (just look at that aisle in any grocery store).
Eliminating sweetened beverages and replacing those with water will not
allow for any hydration
problems.
Here are some quick thoughts on things.
I
would be concerned if your kids really are having any "carb flu"
symptoms. Remember that you and Tom, as adults, have had plenty of time
to wreak metabolic havoc upon yourselves by eating a diet rich in carbs.
For the kids, that will not be true. They, I suspect, are likely
addicted to carbs - with all the juice, bread, desserts, baked goods,
pastas, etc. in the home over the years. You and Tom are also addicted
to carbs. The kids will want and demand sugar (carbs), like an alcoholic
will desire a drink. Make no mistake - most Americans are addicted to
carbs. Like heroin or tobacco, carbs
are tough to give up without uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms. Most
people I know - the workplace is a great working laboratory - are
enslaved to carbs.
But
those kids have not had the time to become insulin resistant or leptin
resistant, like an adult. They have not destroyed their pancreas, other
organs, etc. So remember that the
formula for long-term quality of life/health for those kids is not
low-carb so much as it is _real food_ (which is paleolithic foods by
definition). You and Tom necessarily need to absolutely restrict your
sugar/carbs for a period of time because you are both addicted to carbs,
and you have both caused metabolic damage, and you need to clean things
up. Weight is the visible effect; extensive blood panels and wellness
exams reveal
the more serious effects. Now the kids don't need carb restriction as
much as they need to learn that bread and grains (and all simple sugars,
processed foods, industrial oils, sweets, etc,) need not be in the
diet.
For
the kids, give them lots of fruits. Put heavy whipping cream on top.
Make homemade cranberry sauce from a bag of fresh cranberries and put
that on their meats, etc. (something like this, only I use pure maple
syrup in place of the stevia http://www.primal-palate.com/2010/11/tart-cranberry-sauce.html).
Give them dried fruits. Use honey and real (pure) maple syrup to
occasionally sweeten certain foods for them. Or even some organic brown
sugar. These are all better alternatives to the constant simple sugars
and gluten-loaded foods that they were accustomed to having every day.
Plus, they can get carbs from
many vegetables, as well. They should only be restricted to eating real
foods, without getting too caught up in the macronutrient balance. As
you and Tom restrict, heal up, and then modify your food life, those
kids will be accustomed to real foods and they will eventually reject
the junk stuff.
I've
been there, done that -- I was a weekend endurance athlete, and I
carb-loaded for years. I can't even look at that kind of food now.
You'll all get there (the human body is so resilient and self-healing),
but you have to peel away from all of those bad habits and smash them.
Hope that helps.
Karen DeCoster"
So given this info--and I completely trust her judgement--I think I will add some organic basmati rice back into the kids' diet. I have never liked rice and since I have weight to lose so I won't be eating it. Tom is at his ideal weight now, and the kids would be ecstatic, so I think it will be fine. However, I will really watch them and see how they react to it. I'm hoping it really helps Veronica to perk up.
I'm sure I will take some flak for this. As much as I want to have everyone's approval, I still have to do what is best for my kids. If nothing else, I have to say that I did what I thought was/is best for my kids.
