It is a well-known fact that smoking and drinking before, during and after pregnancy is not wise and will result in long-lasting detrimental effects on you and your child. A growing body of scientific data proves that what you eat greatly affects you and your child before, during and after pregnancy.

A new buzzword – epigenetics: Scientific research into epigenetics is revealing astounding information on how the quality and quantity of the food we consume can change how our genes respond. According to Dr Luigi Fontana (PhD, FRACP), genes can be switched off – becoming dormant – or switched on – becoming active – by adjusting chemical tags on specific areas of our DNA.

Every single cell in our body contains the same information required to direct its functions. What we eat and drink, how and when we exercise or sleep, stress, and many other factors influence our future health and our genetic heritage.

Dr Luigi says most people are not nutritionally ready to procreate, which is why it is so important to have good holistic health as early as possible in life.

Unhealthy diets high in processed foods, animal foods, and sugar produce an imbalance in the gut flora, contributing to an increased risk of multiple chronic diseases. Diets high in vegetable dietary fibre result in healthier gut flora. This helps specific immune cells, which are crucial in preventing many allergic reactions and autoimmune diseases.

By looking at the science, we can see how important it is for both parents to be in optimal health before conception, during and after the pregnancy, and start life in a state of good health. A whole-food, plant-based lifestyle is optimal for achieving this, along with abstaining from alcohol, recreational drugs, and smoking, as well as maintaining a low-sugar intake and drinking at least two litres of water a day, which ensures we are well-hydrated and able to flush out toxins.

Following on from this, if possible, breastfeeding is optimal for a child’s start in life and brain development. But once the child is weaned from breast or bottle, most children are faced with a lifestyle of being overfed with ultra-processed, energy-dense food, excessive amounts of animal products and sugar. All of this results in detrimental, life-changing consequences with many adverse health outcomes.

Children fed like this start life with compromised gut flora. When we consider that most of our immune system is formed in the gut, and most of our serotonin is also formed in the gut, it’s not hard to see how children’s physical and mental health can be adversely affected. The other marker for children raised with junk food is rapid and excessive growth leading to high stature and early puberty.

The art of feeding children healthily has almost become lost. Much of what is now deemed to be healthy is often not healthy at all. Children are being raised to be snackers and grazers all day long. Because of this, they are often not hungry at mealtime and become fussy and picky eaters who are undernourished and sick.

What should be occasional treats have turned into everyday food. Most children today are exposed to a permanent overload of unhealthy fats, sugar, and excessive salt. It amazes me that when you remove the bad fat, sugar, and high-sodium load, the authentic taste of fresh fruit and vegetables shines through. Whole foods become delicious and highly enjoyable.

Diet quality in children matters

It begins in the womb. What a mother consumes is passed through to the growing baby. Eating habits are set in early childhood. Raising children on a plant-based lifestyle with no or very little sugar is entirely possible, but doing it sensibly and adequately with balanced nutrition requires parents to make a conscious decision to educate themselves on how to do so. It is not something you can do on the fly. You owe it to your child to be well informed about the key nutrients required for growth and development.

According to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), children raised on a healthful plant-based lifestyle have reduced risk for heart disease, cancer, obesity, diabetes, asthma, and other conditions. Adolescents raised on a plant-based diet often find they have an easy time maintaining a healthy weight. They also have fewer problems with acne, allergies, and gastrointestinal problems than their peers who eat animal products.

Children often have fatty streaks in their arteries before they finish high school. Children who eat a plant-based diet limit foods high in saturated fat and cholesterol, which contributes to heart disease and a big range of western lifestyle-related illnesses.

When it comes to milk, research shows that dairy products have little or no benefit for bones. A 2005 review published in Pediatrics showed that milk consumption does not improve bone integrity in children. Another study tracked the diets, physical activity, and stress fracture incidences of adolescents for seven years, and concluded that dairy products and calcium do not prevent stress fractures in adolescents (PCRM).

Children who are plant-based and sugar-free have much better health, fewer doctors’ visits, fewer allergies, generally maintain a good height to weight ratio, and are better learners. They also have better mental health, which, in turn, helps them to develop into healthier adults that can face life stressors more confidently.

The question I am most asked when presenting seminars on this topic is, where do I start?

The first thing to do is to decide if you are ready to commit. If this is not something you see as long term or can commit to, it will not be sustainable.

Secondly, remember you are the one in control of the budget, the meal planning, the shopping list and the food going into the mouths of your children. The child is not in control of this and needs your loving guidance and kind teaching on why certain foods are not going in your shopping cart.

In the supermarket, we have all seen children just putting whatever they want in the shopping cart. If a parent says no, a major tantrum erupts and concludes with the parent giving in for the sake of peace. This is very unhealthy behaviour from the parent and is modelling unhealthy actions in front of the child. It is where poor food choices start for children.

Modelling healthy food choices

Involve your child in budgeting. Sit down with them and patiently show them how much money is budgeted for food after other expenses have been accounted for. You will be surprised by how much they understand and will then be inclined to want to help you be accountable for that food budget.

You can teach math skills in the weekly food shop. Teach them about the price per 100 g, tags on the shop shelves. Children who are taught these skills from a young age tend to be less demanding of junk food and more aware of the value of a dollar, recognising that it must be earned through hard work and that many hours are required to earn the budgeted money.

Involve your child in learning to read labels. Show them the amount of saturated fat, salt and sugar per 100 grams on the nutritional label. The general rule of thumb regarding whole food plant-based eating is that if a packet has more than five ingredients, it is too processed and considered dead food.

Give your children whole food plant-based recipe books. Sit down and look at what inspires them. If a particular recipe looks appealing to them, then get cooking! Have fun in the kitchen with them. Show them how to prepare the ingredients and how to cook them. Children who learn to prepare and cook healthy food and stand beside you in the kitchen, helping, are gaining a great skill and are spending quality time with their parents. It is also another amazing area to teach maths and science.

Grow a simple vegetable garden that your children can work alongside you in. Show them how vegetables grow and that they don’t just morph into vegetables on a supermarket shelf all on their own. Let your children grow simple, easy vegetables such as broccoli, lettuce, spring onions, tomatoes, carrots, Lebanese cucumbers. Again, another opportunity to teach maths, science, and organic gardening principles. These moments teach your child solid life skills.

Find a whole food plant-based recipe book containing recipes for healthy treats that children can help you make. Revive Cafe cookbooks by Jeremy Dixon, Oh She Glows by Angela Liddon and Raw and Free by Sophie Steevens are a good start. Many wonderful, healthful treats can be made. They won’t feel deprived and will learn to understand how to choose healthy treats by themselves.

Homework for parents

For a positive, fun time that will be successful for you and your children, consider the parental checklist below before starting to cook with your children. Being prepared will give you the best start and the best outcome.

1. Have I spent enough time on steps 1-5 above?

2. Have I scheduled enough unhurried time for this?

3. Am I in a patient mood?

4. Am I feeling positive?

5. Am I prepared to put up with mess and spills?

If you can answer yes to all five of the “Homework for Parents” steps, then get in there, go for it, laugh and have fun – then enjoy what your eager beavers have created and give them positive reinforcement and praise. Then, don’t forget to get them involved in the cleaning up in a fun, positive manner. Each time they help clean up, it will help them to be more aware of their surroundings, and they will be inclined to be more aware of the effort that goes into healthful food preparation.

There can be challenges to raising children this way, but I chose to ignore people’s ignorant comments. I was told that I was controlling and not allowing the children to choose by raising them vegetarian and plant-based. Some people were downright nasty about it and had no qualms in telling me what a “bad mother” I was.

After all the scientific evidence and the fact that our children were thriving, we stuck to our chosen way of life. Our son is 6’3″ and doesn’t look at all like he is malnourished. All three of our children have clear skin and bright eyes and are continuing to thrive. My point is this – your children are not going to come to any harm if you choose to be a whole food plant-based family.

They will thrive if you, as a parent, approach a whole-food, plant-based lifestyle with an educated mind and in a sensible manner. Don’t worry about what others say who have not educated themselves on the matter. I strongly suggest you do what is right for your family and embrace this incredible journey.

FOOTNOTE: This updated article was first published in the Winter 2021 print edition of Whole Food Living.