# Feeding toddlers the Mercola way



## Lil' Whitney (Feb 14, 2004)

I'm a big Mercola (and WAP somewhat) fan so we eat very few grains, and if we do, they are sprouted grains. We do those for to maintain our health, not for weight loss. I also rarely bring refined sugars or any processed food into the house.

My dd (22 mos), who is still BF, showed very little interest in food until 18 mos and still doesn't eat that much. But I know if I would let her, she would eat tons and tons of pasta, crackers, bread. and cereal. I watch the kids around us eat lots of grains and I wonder:

1) Do kids crave the grains because they need the extra carbs for energy? Or do they just taste better than veggies?

2) Is my dd going to nurse FOREVER? She's so inconsistent eating meat and veggies and all that leaves is fruit, nuts, and dairy...

I guess I'm wondering if anyone has any experience feeding their toddler this way. My dd is growing and is very, very healthy. I just get the feeling that BM is going to make up a good share of her diet for awhile. The recipes in Mercola's books are not real kid-friendly--except the Tarragon Turkey Burgers. They are awesome!!


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## toraji (Apr 3, 2003)

I'm going through the same thing right now with my 21 m.o. DD so I'm interested in hearing the responses to this. Right now we are not worrying too much because she is still bf'ing a lot and we don't eat anything that we don't feel comfortable with her eating as well. For some reason she mainly plays with the food in her bowl but will eat a lot out of my bowl. She likes baked potatoes, veggies in stew, amaranth porridge, and bread. Finger foods are the big winners, especially anything she can dip.

If I think of anything else I'll post more.


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## Persephone (Apr 8, 2004)

Mercola has books? What are they called?


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## toraji (Apr 3, 2003)

http://www.mercola.com/forms/total_health_book.htm

He has two, one called "Dr. Mercola's TOTAL HEALTH Cookbook & Program" and the other is called "The No-Grain Diet". I've heard they are good though I have not personally read them.

Oh and I try not to give her just a grain by itself, I'll spread butter on bread and porridge, or add chopped veggies/fruits/meat alongside it. Even if she does not eat everything in her bowl, I want to reinforce the idea that meals do not consist of just one thing and that a variety of foods is ideal.


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## Lil' Whitney (Feb 14, 2004)

I forgot another favorite around our house. Eggs. Thank goodness she eats eggs consistently. A good alternative to bread that my daughter likes is Ezekial wraps. I spread peanut/almond butter on them and roll them up. I juice green veggies about 5x a week and dd will often drink some of the juice (which amazes me because I often don't like the concoctions I come up with!) So all in all I think she is eating a very balanced diet, I just wonder if she is getting enough calories. I offer her food all the time. And even though I know she is always game for Annie's bunny crackers (like goldfish crackers), I almost never give them to her. I guess I would rather her have BM instead refined grains. In my mind I kinda rationalize this out--that maybe that's part of the reason toddlers nursed for so long before all this yummy kid friendly food came around.

I have both of Mercola's books, but after getting his newsletter for a year, I already knew just about everything that he wrote in his book. THere are some good recipes though.


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## toraji (Apr 3, 2003)

Have you tried raw blended soups? Also known as blended salads? It's kind of the same idea as Mercola's green juice with the pulp mixed back in. I just throw salad ingredients in a blender, lettuce leaves first with a cup of water, stomp it down with a celery stick, then add in the celery and add it with carrot, tomato, broccoli, (basically any veggie that sounds good), a clove or two of garlic, raw extra virgin olive oil, vinegar or lemon/lime juice, salt, pepper, and a bit of evaporated cane juice to take the bite off. Seasoned right, it's really tasty and DD has started eating some out of my bowl and apparently enjoying it after looking at it weirdly the first few times. I guess she figured that I was enjoying it, so she should try it too.









Any grains that I give her are soaked/fermented to neutralize phytic acid, so I don't feel too bad giving her homemade bread or porridge as long as I give it with other things as well.


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## guestmama9924 (Mar 16, 2002)

disclaimer I am not a Mercola fan, at all. I find subtle but nevertheless bad information (edited to add: I ubsubscribed after reading bad breastfeeding info on his site...) on his site, and his style is a little too "heroic" for me. That said,
toddlers and children need grains precisely for the reason you suggested.

Quote:

Do kids crave the grains because they need the extra carbs for energy? Or do they just taste better than veggies
And yes, it should be whole grains, varied grains ( brown rice, wheat, quinoa, oat, sprouted, etc) and without added preservatives, colors, sugars or artificial stuff. Babies and toddlers burn HUGE amounts of fuel just processing all that they are learning throughout the day. Not to mention the walking, running, etc.

The food pyramid can easily be adjusted to suit a healthy body, and your own preferences. I do not consume meat or milk for instance, neither do my kids, but we still get the suggested amounts of foods and servings ( well, most of the time! :LOL). My kids are slim, active, super healthy and radiant







so I trust that how I am feeding them is working for their little bodies.

If you baby is happy, healthy, active and playful, then I am sure your feeding style is working. BTW breastmilk has a nice balance of carbs for toddlers, and many will snack for that reason


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## Nankay (Jan 24, 2002)

KeysMama, I agree. I have a hard time believing that something people have eaten since the dawn of time (grains) is inherently bad.







Of course, lay off the processed stuff and stick with a variety of whole grains.


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## toraji (Apr 3, 2003)

Not to be argumentative, but just because Mercola says one bad thing does not mean that everything else he says is all terrible. I don't agree with Dr. Sears' stance on vaccination but I do think that he has good things to say so I still recommend his books to people wanting to learn about AP.

Some people are very sensitive to grains. Grains became a staple in diets after people started being based in agriculture as opposed to being hunter/gatherers. I have heard (though have not researched enough about this) that if you look at anthropological records, there is a greater incidence of degenerative diseases like tooth decay once cultures become agriculturally based.

Grains are very concentrated, and I think instinctually people tend to latch on to concentrated foods because they are hard to come by in a normal world (i.e. being in a hunter/gatherer situation). Same thing with high fat foods like butter, ever see a child dig into the butter tub or eat pat after pat of butter? Another thing to think of is that our modern grains have been bred for maximum yield and protein/etc. so they are not as gentle to the system as the wild grains like wild rice which is what hunter/gatherers would be eating.

So I have difficulty saying that "children need grains" when there are so many modern incidences of gluten intolerance and grain allergy, and how our hunter/gatherer ancestors made it just fine without eating grain-based diets. JMHO. Off my soapbox now.


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## Lil' Whitney (Feb 14, 2004)

Plus I have my personal experience to convince me. I do Mercola's diet to avoid insulin spikes which are detrimental to the body in many ways. AND since I've been avoiding grains and sugars, I've had alot more energy. In fact, I notice a remarkable difference in my energy level if I've had an "off" day. Just last week I got a yummy loaf of whole grain bread. It was soooo yummy that I proceeded to eat about 4 slices of it with orange almond butter spread on top. I felt horrible the whole next day. I couldn't get out of bed even after 9 hours of sleep and I had no motivation to do anything. Sounds like my college years when all I ate was pasta. Hmmm. Is there a connection?

Anyway, I can't help thinking what's good for me (and my marathon running husband) is probably good for my daughter. My husband runs over 20 miles a week and he doesn't eat many grains.

And another reason: DD will just not let me brush her teeth as much as I'd like. Since all those starchy foods (whole grain or not) break down to sugar, I get concerned about tooth decay since I had it pretty badly as a child.

Lastly, my child is very even tempered and easy to get along with--as long as you don't want her to sleep. When I see kids the blow up so easily, I wonder if it's because their insulin levels are out of whack from juice, crackers, etc. If it makes us as adults cranky and tired, couldn't it have that effect on children? I know this is just one person's experience with her small family, so I mean no offence. I'm not the type to tell you I know everything that's best for everyone, I was just hoping for some feedback from other mom's who feel the same way about grains.

I'm not sure what you read about Mercola and BF? He is extremely supportive of BF. One thing I've learned is not to take suggestions on parenting from people without children too seriously. They just lack the personal experience. At the same time, I'd never take nutrition advice from a M.D. because the just don't have the training in nutrition. Mercola (a D.O.) himself used to recommend whole grains. I respect the fact that he had the guts to change his mind and admit so.


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## toraji (Apr 3, 2003)

I tried a search on Mercola's site about breastfeeding and just turned up positive pro-breastfeeding results. ???

We have had tooth decay issues in our family too, which is the whole reason I switched from my previous vegan diet to a whole omni diet. And, I'm proud to say, we have stopped DD's tooth decay (cavity stabilization, no more white lesions) and it actually looks like it is healing now 4 months after we switched. Hurrah! I think that cutting the grains/starches down was a big part of that, as well as adding fat-soluble vitamins.

I don't have guts to go completely grain-free right now, but I did notice that switching to amaranth porridge instead of the oats we used to eat has made a big difference in how we feel. We also don't eat as much bread as we used to, and if we do it's always long fermented.


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## guestmama9924 (Mar 16, 2002)

toraji- I appreciate your love with Dr Mercola- however, I do not care for him. Yes, I do 99% of the things he advocates for, but his ideas are certainly not new or original.
And to please note, I never said he had anti-breastfeeding info, I said I read some bad information with regards to breastfeeding on his site. Since I work in lactation, and am majoring in it, I am picky with that type of thing.
Some like him, some don't








Kids can benefit from grains and a vegan diet, so obviously I part ways with him on that and have plenty of MD sites to back up my beliefs as well.
As I said before, do what works for you and your child, and if that includes whole grain, then that is okay too


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## toraji (Apr 3, 2003)

keysmama, I am truly puzzled by the "bad information with regards to breastfeeding on his site". Maybe I did not read the same things you did? That's all I was asking for clarification on. Now I'm totally curious as to what he said about it!

And just because I pointed out an inconsistency in your logic does not mean that I am by any means in "love" with Dr. Mercola. I respect a lot of what he says but just like any other public health person, I don't intend to follow any guru, MD or otherwise. I take what makes sense and leave others, and keep searching to find my own truths. And he's a bit too mousy-looking for my taste. :LOL

ITA with what you said here: "As I said before, do what works for you and your child, and if that includes whole grain, then that is okay too"
My only addendum to this is an openess to discerning what works for you and your child, and if that includes whole grain, then to please soak/ferment it. But some people don't work well with grain, that is my whole point.


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## ericaz (Jun 10, 2003)

Hmmm, don't know if I would agree that kids can thrive on a vegan diet.







:

And, yes, many cultures (no, not all) have eaten grains for hundreds and thousands of years - the main difference was that they were gathered whole, taken to a community grinder and grinded and then used almost immediately. They were also soaked in some sort of soured medium prior to eating - or they were sprouted.

That's a far cry from how most of our society eats grains.


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## PurpleBasil (Jan 28, 2004)

What is this? bad info about breastfeeding at mercola.com?

I can't find any bad info. Will someone please post what it is that is on that site (that is bad about breastfeeding)?

Mercola says:

Quote:

I would encourage all women who are able to do so to try to breastfeed, as it is the single most important thing a mother can do for her baby.
http://www.mercola.com/2001/jan/14/breastfeeding_IQ.htm
and

Quote:

Breast milk is always the best choice though, so if it's at all possible I encourage you to breastfeed your child. The longer you do this, the better, but even a short time of breastfeeding is better than none at all!
http://www.mercola.com/2004/may/19/breast_feeding.htm

I could go on and on but it's stuff we all know and agree with and cannot be disputed.


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## PurpleBasil (Jan 28, 2004)

Anyone? Bueller?


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## vegmom (Jul 23, 2003)

We are Dr. Mercola fans! And no my dd (23months old) did not thrive on a vegan diet or a vegetarian diet. She was classified as failure to thrive this past winter. That was kind of a slap in the face. She also started having tooth decay and we are now trying to stop it following the Mercola diet and the WAP diet.

I do soak most of her grains that she eats. We only eat oats in the morning and I cook only 1-2 times a week with whole spelt flour. DD gets about 1 slice of spelt bread every few days. But she is not a big fan of it. We did flour free for a few weeks but I did not feel very good doing that so I added flour/bread to our diet about every other day. We soak our oats/nuts/rice and legumes. I have not tried sprouting my grains yet to use them for cooking. Little baby steps i guess.

dd has gained since the winter (almost 3lbs) . I thought that I had stopped the tooth decay but two of her other teeth are showing signs of demineralization and are bleeding when I brush them. Although her black marks on her two front teeth are not getting bigger. I just received my cod liver oil yesturday that I ordered through the internet and I am going to mix it with raw organic butter. I had problems with costums since I live in Canada. And my dd would eat a whole stick of butter on its own if I let her. She justs loves it. On toast she scrapes it off her bread.

Just wanted to let you know we are following the mercola diet but not 100%. We are experimenting to see what makes us feel good. Oh! and dd hated veggies when she was eating lots of grains and now she devours them and loves them.


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## RAF (Aug 13, 2002)

Hello, I recognize lots of faces from the NT thread. We are on an almost grain free diet, but were completely grain free for a year or two. Children do not "need" grains. Children need high quality protein and fat mostly, like from animal products and avocados, coconut oil, etc. I get this info from several sources and experience. Read _Nutrition and Physical Degeneration_ for information about how desperately children and pregnant women need cholesterol and animal fats. Also check out http://paleodiet.com/ for interesting information about grains in the human diet. Also www.beyondveg.com

Anyway, what we eat around here is meat, eggs, nuts and veggies and lots of cultured dairy. Do you guys eat dairy? Like snacks for my kids, (they don't get *any* processed foods ever because we get sick from it very easily), boiled eggs, crispy nuts (NT recipe), raw goat's milk kefir or yogurt mixed with berries, avocadoes, hamburger patties on a large piece of romaine lettuce with tomatoes and NT ketchup. We used to make pemmican, which is dried meat, pulverized into a powder and added to melted beef fat, honey, nuts and berries. It is the original candy bar.







It is sooo good and kids really seem to like it. We also include whole mashed potatoes with lots of butter sometimes too. We used to rely on squash for lots of carbs for the kids. It is really good baked with lots of butter.

Anyway, I don't know if this is helpful to anyone, but my 4yo and 1yo are doing really well healthwise, despite not getting their servings of grains.







Anyway, hope some of this is helpful. Oh and my first (now 4) did not eat much until pretty old, and until we went gluten and casein free. Grains are addictive; unless you rid the gluten from the diet, they will crave it!


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## elainie (Jan 5, 2002)

I eat grain and dairy free and my last two children did not eat ANY grain until they were over the age of two. And then is was soaked and fermented.
Starchy tubers are a wonderful replacement for grains and dinners in our house are grain free for the most part (unless dh cooks some quinoa forhimself and kids) and I make tubers, roots or ground vegetables such as squash in place of grain. I used to be a grainatarian (macrobiotic vegan ) and have become extremely intolerant of grain not to mention I also have celiac. We don't do legumes either.


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## Lil' Whitney (Feb 14, 2004)

Toraji--That's great about your DD's teeth! It's encouraging to me since I really don't want my DD to have dental issues. Her teeth look good to me so far, but the only time I get a chance to see her molars is if I hang her upside down and tickle her







Did you do anything different brushing teeth-wise to reverse the tooth decay or was it all thru diet? Oh, and the raw soup sounds like a good idea for us. Thanks.

RAF--We do eat dairy. I get raw milk and have made kefir with it, although not as regularly as I should. My daughter is so inconsistent with dairy, unless shredded cheese is involved! She loves cheese. She used to talk about it in her sleep :nana: .

Pemmican sounds interesting. I've never heard of it. I'm glad you mentioned grains being addictive. I know they are for adults--I just forget that they would be for toddlers too







. That answers my first question of why kids go crazy for crackers, pasta, pizza, etc.

I'm really glad to hear some other mommas are feeding their kids this way. I feel a little isolated locally, so it's nice to hear from some of you.


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## toraji (Apr 3, 2003)

Lil'Whitney, it was all through diet. She rarely lets us brush and I don't want to traumatize her by forcing her to brush. The few times I did force it, I felt really bad and she did too for a long time afterwards.

vegmom, I am so sorry to hear about the other teeth. But happy to hear that the existing cavities don't look any worse. I think the cod liver oil was a big part in helping our tooth decay situation so I hope it works for you too. We are also supplementing with calcium/magnesium to ensure that there is plenty in our systems to help with remineralization.


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## vegmom (Jul 23, 2003)

I just wanted to let everyone know that the remineralization of dd's teeth has started. Only a few days after starting her on the fish oil! I had faith in it so I was not to worried and we caught it early enough before new cavities started. Her gums don't bleed anymore when we brush and are nice, pink and healthy looking. We also supplement with floradix multi to ensure that we have lots of minerals for good strong teeth and bones.

We too are battling tooth decay with diet. We went to see the dentist about dd's cavities several months ago and he said that her teeth are hard and to come back in six months. I am hoping that dd will not need to have dental work done at all! But as she gets older I know she will want to share food in school and that she will want to eat what the other kids are eating (we are facing this problem at her playgroup). Right now if she sits far away from the kids eating crackers and drinking sugary "juice" she does not notice their food and only concentrates on what is in front of her. I try to fix her her favorite snacks so her attention stays on her food.

How do you deal with this kind of situation as the child gets older? If you refuse foods than the child will only want it more. Schools these days are filled with junk food and kids these days are eating more and more of it (especially all the bad carbs).


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## ericaz (Jun 10, 2003)

that's great about her teeth!

in re: to trying to keep kids away from junk -

you can't. it's impossible (in this society, especially). the best you can do is ALWAYS have healthy snacks around the house, prepare lots of nutritious/nutrient-dense meals (to eat at home and for her and siblings to bring to school) and hope she makes wise decisions when she's away from you.

if you instill good eating habits early you can bet she'll never go hogwild for super sugary foods. she's a kid - don't forbid her to NEVER EVER eat crappy foods because she'll resent it.
and when she does want to eat something that isn't as healthy as you'd like it to be it won't matter so much because the rest of what's going into her tummy is good for her


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## toraji (Apr 3, 2003)

OMG! vegmom, that is fabulous news!


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## MamaE (May 1, 2004)

If the USDA could ever put out a pyramid based on science instead of being bought by big business (hmm... can anyone say dairy and grain belt?), I think this no/low-grain business could be a whole new look for the optimal diet of the future.

I think you no-grain/low-grain mamas are right on the money! I'm a low-grain mama myself - both for myself and dd.

It started with the South Beach Diet - I went on it with my mom and learned about how bad refined grains are (always knew that, just didn't know HOW bad). That spiraled into my reading a few others... The No-Grain Diet, by Joseph Mercola & The Paleo Diet, by Loren Cordain. (I realize there are some problems with the South Beach Diet - namely his use of artifical sweeteners and some processed foods, but basically it's not too bad - proteins and veggies as primary.)

I think the biggest problem with grains is that they have a high-glycemic index. It's better to keep your blood glucose stable by eating low-glycemic foods that don't cause a spike and the subsequent rapid drop. Eating high-glycemic foods on a regular basis can eventually cause insulin resistance and from there, it's all downhill!

In The No-Grain Diet, Mercola deals with the idea of "grain addiction" and the notion that we were not designed to eat grain. Also talks about how the current USDA food pyramid, with an obscene 6-11 recommended servings of grain per day, was heavily influenced by the grain lobby in D.C. and is NOT based on science. He blames grains (and sugars) for insulin resistance and autoimmune diseases, among others.

The Paleo Diet focuses on good carbs - fruit and veggies + lean proteins. Correlates the introduction of grains in history with a rise in health problems - osteoporosis, infectious diseases, childhood mortality, cavities, vitamin/mineral deficiencies, all this because of their cereal-based diets, according to the author.

After reading these books, I have cut way back on grains in my own diet and my 14 month old eats very few grains. I have tried giving her some whole grains, but she prefers proteins and fruits and veggies. She's not a bread eater, doesn't like cereal (except oat o's), eats a few rye crackers here and there, and that's it. I'm totally comfy with that. I don't think toddlers need grains - I even saw one post (DaryLLL maybe) suggesting that toddlers can't digest grains until 18 months.

Great thread - thanks!

edited to add: I think it's no coincidence that I never liked grains as a child - hated cereal, not into bread, I even hated cake (except the frosting). I now feel that was my body's way of telling me I'm not meant to rely on grains as primary sustenance. I think my dd (with her dislike of grains) is the same. My problem was that grains kept getting pushed on me and I ended up an addict. I am off grains now, but still hooked on sugar - I know, maybe worse... but one thing at a time! At least I don't let dd have sugar. (She is still at least 50% breastmilk.)


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