Non-carb eating child

[Inka]

Are you sure? How would Inuit children have survived on carb free foods?

Oh, the Inuit. They didn’t eat a completely carb-free diet and, as for the high fat, they have a special gene adaptation.

I’m presuming the young child on this thread isn’t Inuit.

I am sick to death of keto diets being pushed on everyone and particularly young children. Same goes for the comment above pushing vast amounts of fat to replace carbs. Totally inappropriate for a young child (and don’t bother linking me to the group I know you’re going to - ill-judged and totally unnecessary diet restriction which doesn’t even work and might have long term effects).

My child has epilepsy. All keto diets for epilepsy are done under strict medical supervision. They’re not harmless.

OP, I’m guessing the answer will be Yes, but have checks been done for things like coeliac that might be affecting food choices and weight gain?

 

[Drummer]

I am not pushing a keto diet - the child in question is eating plenty of fruit and veges anyway, and I don't know what group you are expecting to be referred to.
My two were not given biscuits crisps and sweets nor were they constantly snacking, their carbs came from vegetables and fruit, in the main - just like the child being worried about. As I wrote - my son is well over 6 ft tall, almost a foot taller them me, my daughter is about 6 inches taller than me - both have always been energetic, sturdy and strong.
I am puzzled though - where would someone living in the Arctic obtain carbohydrate?

 

[Inka]

Did your children not eat bread, cereal, potatoes, rice, etc? That’s very unusual.

To answer your query, the Inuit obtained carbohydrate from eating raw and frozen meat from marine animals, which contained glycogen eg in the blubber. Their diet was around 20% carbohydrate.

 

[Drummer]

Glycogen is not stored on fat cells, but in muscle and the liver - and I don't see how an all meat diet can be 20 percent carbohydrate.

 

[Inka]

@Drummer

Yiu H. Hui (February 1985) Principles and Issues in Nutrition: “Eskimos actually consume more carbohydrates than most nutritionists have assumed. Because Eskimos frequently eat their meat raw and frozen, they take in more glycogen than a person purchasing meat with a lower glycogen content in a grocery store. The Eskimo practice of preserving a whole seal or bird carcass under an intact whole skin with a thick layer of blubber also permits some proteins to ferment into carbohydrates”

And I specifically said marine animals eg whales:

Lockyer, Christina (1991). Body Composition of the Sperm Whale, Journal of the Marine Research Institute: “Carbohydrate which has been directly assessed (not deduced by subtraction of other components from total weight of sample) is significant in amount, reaching levels in the range 8—30%...The significant levels of carbohydrate, probably mostly in the form of glycogen, in both blubber and muscle, may represent an instant form of energy for diving via anaerobic glycolysis”


There have been a number of studies of diet and metabolism of the Inuit that place their carb intake at 15-20%. Carbohydrates are obtained from the sea animals they eat and optimised by the method in which they eat and/or store them.

I note you didn’t respond to my question about your children’s diet. I assume therefore, they did in fact eat some bread/cereal/potatoes, etc along with their fruit and veg. No-ones suggesting children should eat lots of biscuits and sweets, but there are plenty of other sources of carbohydrate apart from those.

If you want to discuss further, I suggest you message me rather than derail the OP’s thread any more.

 

[Drummer]

Oh - sorry - no cereal, potatoes, being a vegetable, yes, and about once a month we would bake a loaf - just to occupy their time with the proving and kneading, though of course they ate it and learned that the bought bread was not a patch on the home made.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

As low carb diets have gained popularity there have been studies undertaken to assess their suitability in children and adolescents.

While there will be individual anecdotes of success, the results fairly clearly indicated that they did not generally support growth and development, and that a more balanced diet including a reasonable proportion of carbohydrates was more suitable.

its good that your granddaughter enjoys veg and fruit - as has been suggested, many fruits contain good sources of carbohydrate. Carbs don’t have to be beige, and don’t have to be the default UK/Northern European staples. Kids often have wider palettes than we assume - my youngest loved olives at a young age, and my oldest used to hanker after Stilton! (not that those are carby... but you get the idea 🙂 )

 

[Drummer]

There is a big difference between a diet which is low on the high carb foods, but full of all kinds of fruit and vegetables, and one where the total number of carbs is restricted.
As I found out - feeding children on highly nutritious meals with free access to the garden with strawberries, raspberries apples, gooseberries and various colours of currant, plus what the local greengrocer could supply all year round results in adults far taller than their parents, both are highly intelligent, did well at school and in employment, and they were so well behaved - I don't know if that had anything to do with the lack of e numbers in the diet, but the way most children carry on, they seem half deranged with all their shrieking, shouting and mischief.

 

[Oblivious]

Are you sure? How would Inuit children have survived on carb free foods?

While it is not possible to cultivate native plants for food in the Arctic, Inuit have traditionally gathered those that are naturally available,[3][4][5][6][7][8][9] including:

• Berries including crowberry and cloudberry
• Herbaceous plants such as grasses and fireweed
• Tubers and stems including mousefood, roots of various tundra plants which are cached by voles in burrows.
• Roots such as tuberous spring beauty and sweet vetch
• Seaweed

from Wikipedia, so not 100% carb free. google 'eskimo ice cream'