今は亡きBenjami Spock医師は、Dr. Spock's Baby and Child Careの最新版で、“肉からではなく、植物性食品から栄養素を摂りながら育つ子供達は、体重の問題、高血圧、一部のがんを患う可能性が低い”と書いています。
3、4歳ぐらいの子供達が、後に心臓麻痺へとつながる動脈変化の初期兆候を抱えています。多くのAmericaの子供達は、10代前半で心臓病の兆候を抱えています。The New England Journal of Medicineでの研究は、少なくても子供や若い大人達の60%に粥状動脈硬化（100の動脈）の損傷があるということを明らかにしています。Hot Dog、Sausage、Baconが、生後19ヶ月から2年の間の子供達の25%の日々の献立である事を考えれば無理もありません。
植物性製品のタンパク質、鉄分、Calcium、Vitamin Dが体によってあっさりと吸収され、動脈を縮める脂肪を含んでいないため、栄養士や内科医は、植物性食品が良い栄養源であるという事を学んでいます。植物を元にした食事は、高血圧を患う危険性をほぼ70%削減させ、子供達に高血圧に対する最良の予防を提供します。The American Dietetic Associationは、“よく設計されているVeganの食事は、妊娠中、授乳中、乳児期、小児期、青年期を含む、全ての生涯過程においてにふさわしい。”と述べています。
Healthy Hearts for Children A Vegan Diet for Kids Can Prevent
Adult Heart Problems
Many children who are raised on the “traditional” American diet of cholesterol and saturated fat-laden chicken nuggets, hot dogs, and pepperoni pizza are already showing symptoms of heart disease, the number one killer of adults.
The late Dr. Benjamin Spock wrote, in the latest edition of his book Dr. Spock's Baby and Child Care, "Children who grow up getting their nutrient from plant foods rather than meat ... are less likely to develop weight problems, high blood pressure, and some forms of cancer."
A surprising number of children as young as 3 or 4 years old have the early signs of artery changes that can lead to heart attacks later in life. Many American kids have signs of heart disease by their early teens. A study in The New England Journal of Medicine found that at least 60 percent of children and young adults have early atherosclerotic (hardened artery) damage. It’s no wonder, considering that hot dogs, sausages, and bacon are on the daily menu for a stunning 25 percent of kids between the ages of 19 months and two years.
The number of obese adolescents has tripled since 1990. Pediatricians are reporting an alarming increase in the number of children diagnosed with type 2 diabetes (typically an adult disease), and 85 percent of those cases involve overweight kids. Kids are becoming sick and developing lifelong, debilitating diseases because of the traditional, animal-based American diet.
Dr. Dean Ornish raves that the "vegan diet is the most powerful protection against chronic disease we can offer our children.
Nutritionists and physicians have learned that plant foods are good sources of protein, iron, calcium, and vitamin D because they can be easily absorbed by the body and don’t contain artery-clogging fat and cholesterol. A plant-based diet offers kids the best protection against high blood pressure, reducing their risk of developing this disease by nearly 70 percent. The American Dietetic Association states, “Well-planned vegan … diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including during pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence.”
Caring parents should start kids off right by teaching them to make healthy eating choices that will protect them from a host of painful ailments. The best way to prevent and control obesity, diabetes, and ensure healthy hearts is to feed kids a low-fat, cholesterol-free vegan diet and to make sure that they get regular physical activity. After all, our kids deserve to be able to run and play with their own kids someday.
Healthy Eating for Life for Children by Amy Lanou, Ph.D.
Nourishing growing children is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The foods we eat during pregnancy affect not only our child’s development, but his or her health later in life. And the tastes babies learn early on will influence which foods they pull from the refrigerator as teenagers or pick from a menu in adulthood.
