‘Cutting down carbs for children’

WHILE most adults use lowcarbohydrate diets to shake off the extra kilograms, paediatric dietician Kath Megaw’s has a new book which encourages families to feed toddlers low-carbohydrate meals and in some instances to cut out carbohydrates.

Her book called Real Food, Healthy Happy Children shows how toddlers can cut out refined carbohydrates.

She is not the first medical professional to advocate a lowcarb diet for young children.

Professor Tim Noakes is appearing in front of the Health Professionals Council of South Africa (HPCSA) after he tweeted to a mother to wean her baby off milk by following a low-carb high-fat diet.

His Banting diet – promoting low carbs has a large following in South Africa.

He is charged with unprofessional conduct. The charge was laid by the president of the Association for Dietetics in South Africa (ADSA) Claire Julsing-Strydom.

The book will be on shelves in August and offers a lowcarb solution for the whole family, with a special focus on kids, including toddlers.

Megaw has been a dietician for 19 years and a paediatric dietician for 15 years.

She says she noticed the concentration level of epileptic children improved when they were on a ketogenic diet. She decided to incorporate a similar but moderate eating plan with her children seven years ago by cutting out refined carbs and sugars.

She said the food plan should be incorporated gradually . Parents should not have fruit juices in their fridges as the high sucrose content puts a strain on the liver.

“It is critical for parents to follow the diet as well as they are teaching their children how to eat. In the long term eating healthy can prevent obesity, type 2 diabetes and heart disease,” she said.