World Vegan Day... My Family's Journey

I remember people telling me all the outfits Nya would go through in a day because of spitting up, and which type of gas pills would be best for those painful episodes. 

Neither turned out to be true in our case.

Nya did spit up twice in her first 3 weeks of life, but after that, not once.  She didn't experience painful gas after those first three weeks either.  What exactly the reasoning is behind it, I cannot prove.  The only thing I changed, as she was a breastfed baby, was my diet. 

Before Nya was born, Jamie and I talked in great length about how she would be raised; namely, what kind of diet she would eat.  We even got in arguments over it.  I was a strict vegetarian at the time, Jamie was not.  We came to the conclusion that she would be raised vegetarian for the first year of her life, then we would gradually introduce meat -- organic and local only -- a few times a week.

However, once she was born, and the more information we stumbled across, the more our views changed.  No longer did we feel the occasional meat and dairy would be healthy for her. Because of this,  we have decided to continue raising her 100% on a whole foods plant based diet.

Jamie has drastically changed his diet over the past year, as well.  He's not vegan, and says he never will be, completely. (I believe anything is possible). He only eats meat 2 - 3 times a week, and he has even stopped drinking milk.  I am SO proud of him.  I know this wasn't easy, especially with his job and the people he is surrounded with on a daily basis.  He doesn't like to talk about it much, nor will he say why he's changed.  There are numerous days in a row he eats a diet that is completely whole foods plant based.  And if you know Jamie, this is HUGE.  What I have learned from him, is that I can't push him.  I can't tell him why he should or shouldn't be eating something.  And honestly, I don't really want to.  But what I can do is share information with him, and let him form his own conclusions.

Do we get a lot of criticism for raising Nya on a whole foods plant based diet?  Absolutely!  Sometimes I just want to hide away because of the snide comments people make. 

"Maybe that's why she's so small." (She's tall and thin -- high percentile for height, low for weight)

"You're taking away her right to choose." (Excuse me, but do you let your child choose to have cigarettes and ice cream for breakfast?)

I always thought I had thick skin until I had a child.  Every comment does affect me on some level.  Yet she's happy.  She's healthy.  She's smart.  And she's alert.  She's only been sick once in her 13 months of life.  Is it just her diet?  I don't know.  She's flown on numerous airplanes across the country.  She's been around sick babies and children with their toys in her mouth.  I've been sick, and I'm her primary caregiver.  Yet she remains unaffected.  Will we ever truly know why?  Possibly not.  But we can infer based on experience and available information.  I believe it to be a combination of things. And I do believe her diet plays a major role.

We are all doing the best we can with the information we have.  Our end goal is the same: to raise happy, healthy children.  Through extensive research, my husband and I believe we are doing that.

Now, this is not to say that we will never allow her that slice of cheese pizza.  I don't ever want that slice, my husband likes it on occasion, but we won't provide that for Nya.  If she's over at a friend's house and they're having it, she is welcome to try it.  THAT will be her choice.  And our job as her parents is to educate her and make her aware so she's able to make the best choice for herself, knowing all the facts and consequences of her actions.

By eating a whole foods plant based diet, I strongly believe we are not only showing compassion for the other animals that inhabit the Earth alongside us, but we are disease proofing ourselves and helping the environment as well.

Below, are a few links regarding the issue.  If you would like more information, please ask or research on your own.  Knowledge is power!

http://www.diseaseproof.com/archives/healthy-parenting-dont-stuff-kids-with-milk-and-meat-update.html

http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/nutrition/meat-and-dairy-toxins

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/07/05/harvard-milk-study_n_3550063.html

http://www.pcrm.org/health/cancer-resources/diet-cancer/facts/meat-consumption-and-cancer-risk

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/jun/02/un-report-meat-free-diet

"The beef industry has contributed to more American deaths than all the wars of this century, all natural disasters, and all automobile accidents combined. If beef is your idea of  'real food for real people,' you’d better live real close to a real good hospital." 

 

~ Neal D. Bernard, MD (1953 - present)

 

"When we kill the animals to eat them, they end up killing us because their flesh, which contains cholesterol and saturated fat, was never intended for human beings."  

 

            ~ William Roberts, MD (1932 - present)

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