Chiu-Nan Lai, Ph.D.
At What Age Can A Child Be Put On A Raw Diet (Not Including Fruits)?
What Should Be The Amount Of Intake? Is More The Better?
Dr. Gabriel Cousens, an authoritative specialist on raw diet, suggested that when a child starts to eat solid food, try only one type of food on each meal, then observe the response, see if there is any allergic reactions such as itchiness, irritability, rings under the eyes and so on. Try another new kind of food after an interval of two to four days. It is best to breast feed a baby younger than seven months old, a baby seven months or older can start trying the following food, choose local and seasonal food such as: papaya, sapote (a type of fruit in South America), mango, coconut juice, peeled apple, peeled pear, cucumber, soft avocado, tender coconut meat.
Mash the food and add a little water until it becomes more liquid. It is best to serve the food close to body temperature, avoid serving the food cold. For an eight-month old baby, include almond milk, sunflower seed milk (seeds soaked and sprouted), broccoli and okra. Cut broccoli into tiny pieces and add a little olive oil.
For a nine month old, add spaghetti melon, asparagus, spinach, kale, sprouted buckwheat (blended); cucumber juice or vegetable juice may also be consumed.
The diet for a ten-month old may include various kinds of sprouts and other dark green vegetables.
For one year old, the child may try to take oranges, lemon, grapefruits and other types of food, each slowly added to the diet for trying out. Kids have basic instincts, they would spit out food that do not suit them; do not force children to take the type of food that they spit out.
Would Children On Raw Diet Be Intaking Bacteria?
Generally, cooked food placed in room temperature for some time will start to decay. However, unheated fresh fruits, sprouts or melons still remain fresh for many days. This shows that fruits and vegetables with life force do not get invaded by decaying bacteria; on the contrary fresh fruits and vegetables are the source of friendly bacteria, for example, for the bacteria that generate B12 bacteria, it is most important that the fruits and vegetables come from rich and unpolluted soil, and cultivated through unpolluted organic farming.
There Is A Saying That “Raw Diet Is Not Suitable For Orientals” Or That “It Is Not Suitable For Orientals To Take Large Quantity Of Raw Food.” Are These Sayings Correct?
Originally, natural foods for human beings were fruits and seeds. Leafy greens were basically medicine. Later on, due to the fact that human beings lost their original state of health and damaged the natural ecology, the green “medicine” has become the food of necessity, what is worse is that human beings have lost their capability to digest natural food and have to rely on cooked, baked or fermented food. However, this process is bad for the body so much so that it is rare to have people living up to 90 years old. Human beings should be able to live up to 150 years old.
People from Northern China eat raw garlic and raw onions and consume certain raw vegetables in large amount, they have stronger body constitution than people from Southern China. Southern Chinese like fine food and place emphasis on flavour, yet their health is not as good. Children in villages eat wild fruits picked from the mountains; they also eat fresh vegetables and fruits picked from vegetable farms. Therefore, the saying that “raw diet is not suitable for Orientals” is not totally accurate, it depends on the living environment and whether there is a source of fresh food. Ninety percent of the residents in Hunza of Himalaya eat raw fruits and vegetables, many of them are over 120 years old.
Eating cooked food over a long period of time will deplete the enzyme in the body; the enzyme in a body that is over 50 years old is one third of that in a young body, for an 85 year old body, only 1/30 of the enzyme is left. Aging and falling sick has to do with the enzyme level. Only by eating raw food that has enzyme will help the body sustain its enzyme, this is anti-aging and anti-disease. “Raw food” does not necessarily mean “cold food”, it is fine to warm up the food briefly or keep it warm in an electrical pot, this way the enzyme is protected and not spoiled.
Extracted from Lapis Lazuli Light Magazine 2004 Aug Issue
Translated by Lapis Lazuli Light Singapore