I gave birth to my son, Camlo in 1991 and I have raised him
on a fruit diet.
I believe that every child carer wants the best for their
child.
They want health and happiness for their children and their
family.
So I would like to share with you my experiences of the good
health and happiness that Camlo has enjoyed whilst eating a fruit diet.
One factor that I believe to be crucial to the success and
welfare of any infant raised on fruit is milk. By this I mean preferably breast
milk. What a new born needs is good quality milk, and as the child is gradually
weaned milk also provides a crucial role.
I believe that a child needs milk until he or she is three
and a half to four years old. Breastmilk is the most natural choice. Most
people think that breastfeeding a four year old is a bit strange and weird, yet
they would support the belief that milk is important for the infant.
Giving a four year old cows' milk is seen as acceptable
whilst breastfeeding a child of this age is regarded with suspicion.
Which is the more natural however?
If you are considering raising a child on a fruit diet then
the child also needs a source of milk ; I do not endorse the consumption other
mammals milk for both ethical and health reasons.
In many countries children are breastfed for several years,
in these societies there may be a lack of domesticated mammals that supply milk
therefore breastmilk is the only choice. The drinking of another mammal's milk
is not universal to all cultures and was only made possible when animals were
domesticated.
In societies where
breastmilk is the norm these children tend to be spaced at four years or more,
which allows the child to enjoy a source of milk and then become weaned before
the mother gives birth again.
Camlo had breast milk alone for the first seven months. I
then started to supplement the milk with small amounts of fruit. Apple , pear,
banana and grapes were favourites. Often, in addition to mashing the fruit, I
would chew it first for a bit to mix it with my enzymes and therefore make the
fruit more digestible.
I believe good fruits for infants include Papaya, Banana, Pear, chewed or mashed Apple, Mamey Sapote and Chickoo.
Fruits are at their most beneficial if they are properly
ripened and organic or wild-grown. Babies and infants are more sensitive to
toxins and sprays because their immune systems and internal organs are in a
state of development and are immature.
Therefore it is very
beneficial for children to have a diet of non-toxic foodstuffs that do not
compromise their bodily systems.
Unripe, overripe and
sprayed fruits all contain natural or chemical toxins. Under-ripe persimmons
for example contain certain tannins which dry out the mouth and taste pretty
nasty; it is not advantageous for the fruit to be eaten before the seeds are
fully mature so the plant ensures that the fruit is not good to eat until the
seeds are ready.
Children naturally love the taste of fresh fruits,
breastmilk is naturally sweet unlike cows' milk, this ensures that the child's
taste buds are geared up for the sweet treats to follow.
Put a child next to a bunny rabbit, a patch of grass and a
bowl of grapes, I bet the child will not try to eat either the bunny or the
grass.
If we were natural
carnivores like the cat family children would have an instinct to chase and
kill herbivores. The fact that we lack this instinct shows that we have
little natural survival skills for
killing animals. If it were left to instinct rather than learning, meat would
hold little appeal.
What is a child's
natural instinct on seeing a little squirrel; not to kill it like a true
carnivore.
The fact that we have instinct and nature on our side means
that it is pretty easy to raise a child on fruit, especially if he or she has
not encountered the taste bud corruptions of unnatural foodstuffs.
All children love good quality fruit. Children are geared up
to appreciate the taste of fruit, breast milk is naturally sweet so weaning on
to sweet fruits is a piece of persimmon.
In a recent survey (March 2003) in an Australian woman's
magazine 80% of children questioned said they preferred sweet tastes over
savoury.
If children are designed to eat sweet foods then it makes
sense that they are naturally attracted to them. It would also make sense that
that their taste buds are used to the sweetness of their first food- human milk-
in preparation for what is to follow.
Other milk is not so sweet, for example cows' milk, because
the calf's natural diet is grass and vegetation, which does not have a
naturally high sugar content.
Nature is pretty sussed and usually makes sense; humans are
given the tools to find, pick and eat fruit.
Sweet taste buds, good stereoscopic colour vision to spot the ripe fruit amongst the green leaves,
hands perfectly designed to pick it, and a digestive system suited to a
frugivorous diet.
A kitten could not pick a Mango any more than a child could
rip the throat out of a rabbit.
In my experience I have found that all young children love
fruit,
Camlo's friends would always want to share his grapes.
Over time, processed diet can introduce many addictive and
stimulating foodstuffs that can impair what foods a child would be naturally
attracted to, however a ripe Mango or sweet Grapes reach out and appeal to just
about anybody.
Bringing up a child is a joy, a beautiful experience that
can only be enhanced if the child is happy, healthy and balanced.
If a child is raised on good quality fruit combined with
human milk then I believe that these three requisites will be there in abundance.
Fruitarian Child Cappi Enjoys
Jackfruit Straight From The Tree.
