Meet Grace Cooper, a 2 and a half years old girl who has never even tasted a bite of processed sugar in her life.
Grace’s mother, Shan Cooper, explains to the public that when Grace is all grown up, she will be able to decide what she likes to eat and what she doesn’t. Ms Cooper says that she won’t be a part of that decision. But for now she is trying to create a strong basis for her child’s health.
However, Ms Cooper is not strictly forbidding processed food to her baby. It won’t be the worst thing if she eats a piece of bread, said Ms Cooper for the Daily Mail when Grace was 13 months old.
Ms Cooper is also aware that Grace is going to go to kid’s birthday parties and eat what is served there.
“I’m never going to go to Grace: you can’t eat anything at this party, but I packed you some kale, here you go.”- says Ms Cooper.
Ms Cooper has been fighting food allergies for long time, and was working on cutting out gluten, processed food and dairy products of her everyday menu and completely redesigning her diet.
Then her baby was born and it was only expected that she would pass that fruit-and-veg packed diet to her daughter.
The diet involves cutting out grains and dairy products completely, as well as sugar and anything else which has been processed.
Grace is a girl with strong immune system, and her mother is confident that that’s because of the nutrient-heavy diet.
Ms Cooper thinks that the diet has many benefits to her daughter. For instance Grace is playing with a lot of children all the time. Many of those children have coughs and runny noses which are easily spreading through germs. However, Grace has never had these kinds of problems.
She has got a cold only once until now, which is a real victory considering how prone to such diseases young children are.
According to Ms Cooper adults eat emotionally while the kids eat intuitively. So her hopes are that she would succeed in teaching her daughter the difference between the food which makes her feel good and the food which doesn’t.
Grace is only 2 and a half years old now but she is healthier and more vital that most kids her age.
Ms Cooper knows that in a few years, Grace will be old enough and able to choose what kind of food she likes to eat.
Ms Cooper is aware that Grace will probably come home after a birthday party having overeaten sugar and say that she doesn’t feel well. But she’ll remember that feeling and the next time she’ll eat only three cupcakes instead of twelve.
Ms Cooper thinks that females have a lot of problems with eating disorders and her wish is to see Grace eating what makes her feel healthy.
This is the real reason why Ms Cooper is trying to teach her daughter to follow this diet. She feels that is her obligation to show her daughter the right way, the diet which makes her more energized and healthy, and when Grace is old enough she will decide for herself.
Ms Cooper thinks that many parents don’t show their kids the better way. So how do we expect them to know better when they are all grown up?
However it’s not the end of the world if your child eats something “unhealthy” from time to time. But it’s very important that your child is aware what types of food make them feel better, more energized, lighter and most important, what type of food make them healthier.
“That’s the reason I eat this way. I don’t think eating a piece of bread is going to kill me.” Ms Cooper says.
She also adds that whenever she goes out with friends she eats whatever is on the menu in the restaurant.
Renowned dietitian, Dr. Rosemary Stanton says that parents should be careful if they decide to follow Ms Cooper’s path.
Dr. Stanton thinks that it’s not healthy to put a child under such strict diet especially if there’s no need for that. When you deprive your child of grains and legumes, the child will definitely have difficulties achieving balanced diet.
So, Dr. Stanton hopes that Ms Cooper knows what she’s doing and is well educated about nutrition. Luckily, Ms Cooper is breastfeeding her daughter and that makes up for the lack of dairy products, added Dr. Stanton.
Ms Cooper is really surprised how some people could criticize her kid’s diet, when all she does is focusing on feeding her daughter with healthy food instead of processed one which is full of calories.
She asks why are people criticizing her for feeding her daughter with a plate of veggies and don’t criticize parents who give their kid a plate full of bread. According to her, that’s ridiculous.
But her intention is not judging other parents. Instead, her idea is to show them that there is always a better way and let every parent decide what’s best for their child.
Making even a slight change in your child’s diet will make a big difference in their health. All you have to do is reduce the intake of sugar and processed food and add more natural food in their everyday diet.
I assure you that you’ll notice the difference in no time. Your child will be healthier, happier and full of energy.
