Keeping Matthew Well

Coughing. Sneezing. Crying babies and whiny kids. Waiting. And waiting. And waiting. I don’t know about you, but I hate doctors’ office waiting rooms, these vaults of worn magazines, mazes of chairs, and ill patients eyeing each other with suspicion. They are ill-planned quarantines, the places where the infirm pass more illness on to each other, then carry it to their friends, family, and co-workers.

I hate doctors’ offices, but when my cranky child has a runny nose, a fever, a cough, and none of us has slept well for days, I go, hoping for a miracle in the form of some drug. Hours later, I walk out of a pharmacy with some nasty syrup that my son hates with side effects that I don’t want him to experience.

Matthew helping me pit cherries

About a year ago when my son was two years old, I started reading about the health benefits of raw foods. My son has never eaten meat before (the idea of our son eating a dead animal has always freaked out my husband and me), so the change from his vegetarian diet to a vegan diet wasn’t too much of a stretch. Out went the “cows’” milk, replaced by soy milk. Matthew still occasionally has cheese and Daddy likes to make him green eggs once every few weeks.

The results have been absolutely amazing!

Matthew has only had two colds in the past year. When I say “colds,” I mean trouble sleeping, runny nose, and a cough. Each cold only lasted three days! I can remember before I went vegan with Matthew, he had these same symptoms from allergies several months a year and had a week-long cold at least once a month.

Remember the frenzy over the H1N1 vaccine? We skipped it and the annual flu shot. None of us has been sick until my cold/allergies, etc. the past few weeks.

I don’t feed Matthew raw foods exclusively. He has a cup of soy milk before bed. He also eats homemade wheat bread and butter spread (never margarine!), cooked veggies, and applesauce. Sometimes he eats crackers and mashed potatoes. He loves raisins and bananas. Once in a great while Matthew gets french fries from a fast food chain.

Earlier this week my husband, Mike, and Matthew had ice cream from Dairy Queen. Sure enough, the next day it appeared Matthew was fighting allergies or a cold. After the milk was out of his system a day later, he was back to his vibrant self.
Matthew is a happy, healthy, smart little boy. When we tell people he hasn’t eaten meat before, people drop their jaws here in Nebraska where beef is considered a food group of its own.

Since we switched Matthew to a vegan diet, we haven’t had to take Matthew to the doctor. I plan on taking him to get a physical before he starts school in a few years, but hopefully I can get an appointment early and avoid all those sick people!

I highly suggest reading The Raw Food Detox Diet: The Five-Step Plan for Vibrant Health and Maximum Weight Loss