Nothing but raw food for vegan mum
IF YOU go round to the Danquah household for dinner this month, you are in for a big surprise.
Jessie, of Reachfields, Hythe, is surviving on nothing but nuts, seeds, raw fruit and vegetables, juices and smoothies for 28 days.
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Challenge: Jessie Danquah and her son Adam GIPM20110131B-003_C
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Phil Medgett. Pictured is Jessie Danquah who is starting a month long raw food diet for charity,also pictured is her son Adam(2),Kevin and Vicky Bennett also David Dickinson.
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Phil Medgett. Pictured is Jessie Danquah who is starting a month long raw food diet for charity,also pictured is her son Adam(2),Kevin and Vicky Bennett also David Dickinson.
Phil Medgett. Pictured is Jessie Danquah who is starting a month long raw food diet for charity,also pictured is her son Adam(2),Kevin and Vicky Bennett also David Dickinson.
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Charity effort: Jessie is raising money for the B-4-8s charity GIPM20110131B-004_C
The 27-year-old is completing a gruelling Raw is More challenge in order to raise cash for the B-4-8s children's charity in Folkestone.
Jessie is used to living on a restricted diet and will continue to prepare hot food for her son, but her friends are said to be expecting her to turn into a "twig" by the end of the experience.
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Normal meals such as pasta, rice and vegan sausages are out and cold salads and bags of nuts are in.
Jokingly referring to herself as the "nuts and berries girl", Jessie said: "It sounds crazy but I just want to be really natural.
"I probably will lose weight, anyone would if they were living on a bag of cashew nuts a day, but I'm not doing it for that.
"At the end of this I'm really looking forward to tucking into some vegan sausages and a big bowl of chips."
Jessie is still cooking hot meals for her young son "because he needs more fat", but it raises interesting questions about bringing a child up on a restricted diet.
Jessie firmly believes that eating completely naturally can transform your mind and body as well as giving you high levels of energy.
She became a vegan a month before falling pregnant with Adam just over three years ago, citing animal welfare as the main reason.
But she says improved health has been a major bonus to her decision.
She said: "Health-wise, turning vegan is the best thing I've ever done. I feel lighter, less sluggish and my skin is better."
What happens if Adam, when he is old enough to make his own free choices, fancies a big juicy steak?
"He might want to try things and I can't stop him. I'd like to think he'd come back to his vegan diet but it's up to him.
"He has lots of nice things at the moment, though. His favourite is spaghetti. I feed him a wide variety of natural things. He's getting all his nutrients, loads of olive oil and it's easier to be a vegan nowadays because of all the substitutes. There's vegan spread and even things like vegan fish fingers."
Dr Emma Williams, a nutrition scientist at the British Nutrition Foundation, said that great care is needed when putting babies and toddlers on a vegan diet.
She stressed that parents must consult a qualified dietician to plan properly and manage the child's intake.
Dr Williams said: "It is essential that the child gets sufficient amounts of nutrients that are normally provided in large amounts from meat (such as protein and iron as well as selenium and vitamin B 12) and dairy (protein and calcium).
"Plant foods such as cereal, rice and pulses contain some protein, but they don't contain all the essential amino acids (the building blocks of protein) that the body needs.
"So you should ensure that vegan children eat a variety of these foods every day. A good example of a plant-based meal is beans on toast, which contains pulses and cereals."
Jessie, meanwhile, is looking forward to something less healthy, but fully deserved: a big mound of chips, come March 1.
What do you think about children and food? Does your child follow an unusually healthy or unhealthy diet? Get in touch with the newsdesk on 01303 851 656 or e-mail mike.sims@KRNmedia.co.uk
Herald reporter Eleanor Jones is adopting a vegan diet for a week and started on Monday. Read about her struggles next week.
Comments
by Jen, London
Thursday, April 07 2011, 7:18AM
“There are so many myths in this article...
Most of the time vegans do not have any problem at all obtaining enough protein. It is rather meateaters who get too much (just look at the numerous cases of obesity/overweight we have in this country these days). Having said that, there are also a few overweight vegans, which often eat a lot of vegan fastfood such as veggie burgers, veggie sausages, cakes, crisps, chips, etc. This is of course not healthy either, even if it is healthier than the equivalent made of meat (saturated fat, etc.).
B12 is a vitamin also meateaters should be cautious about getting enough of, not only vegans. So B12 supplement is to recommend for everyone, whether vegan or meateater/omnivore.
Raw food: people can also gain weight on a raw food diet. I have met quite a few who have done that. Although, it is difficult to become overweight on a raw diet. It is often claimed that people on a raw diet reaches their natural weight (this is if they are eating a balanced raw diet). By cooking food you do not make it fatter. It is the fat you add to it and you can, as a rawfoodist eat extra virgin oils, which is a way of getting a much healthier type of fat. Nuts are also quite fat in themselves.
Before writing an article like this, it would be of help to get the facts right...
Good luck with that!
Best wishes”