13 Aug 2015 Sequel to ‘Real Meal Revolution’ published

Is SA in for another cookbook publishing phenomenon? Raising Superheroes, the sequel to the massively successful The Real Meal Revolution, has now hit the shelves. Desbribed as a “real food” cookbook that “provides parents with scientifically-supported nutrition advice and delicious recipes to raise the healthiest, brightest kids possible”, it is co-authored by Tim Noakes who has been researching infant nutrition for the past four years.

According to the book, whose other authors are Jonno Proudfoot and dietitian Bridget Surtees, the three fundamental pillars of advice for children’s nutrition are to eliminate (or drastically reduce) sugar and refined carbohydrates from the diet and to include real, non-processed whole foods.

To avoid any confusion about its message, the new book is very deliberately blue, not following the red branding of its predecessor.

“The red book is about Banting. It is what we consider the cure for obesity. The blue book is about what to feed children, to avoid them getting obese in the first place. It is our answer to preventing obesity,” says the Real Meal Revolution (RMR) website.

Says RMR: “With Raising Superheroes, we have set out to revolutionise the way we feed our children. It is time to challenge the children’s food industry and our old assumptions about what children need.

 “It is time to give our children the best nutrition possible, and the best chance of a long and healthy life. It is important to note that Raising Superheroes is not a Banting cookbook; it doesn’t offer no-carb eating for kids. It does, however, advocate low-sugar, low-refined-carb, real food eating. It is the Real Meal Revolution’s next step towards changing the world.”

Raising Superheroes can be purchased in leading bookstores countrywide as well as online.

See more here: http://realmealrevolution.com/real-thinking/to-infinity-and-beyond

Here are some summary excerpts from the book released through PR agency Mango:

Why is breastfeeding so important?

Breastfeeding is nutritionally superior to formula feeding, a point that may not be sufficiently stressed in major feeding guidelines. Breast milk is truly a miracle food. Thus the health messaging around breastfeeding should be simple: ideally, breastfeed exclusively until weaning begins (at around 6 months), then continue for as long as possible in conjunction with first foods, preferably to 2 years.

But don’t infants need a combination of carbs and protein as soon as possible?

A high-fat diet is optimal for brain development in newborn infants and babies, while carbohydrates should be considered a non-essential foodstuff. The current dietary guidelines over-emphasise the need for carbohydrates in part because they fail to appreciate that humans of all ages, but especially newborn infants and babies during the first two years of life, are perfectly adapted to eating low-carb diets. Though there is uncertainty about the correct timing of the introduction of foods to babies, both premature weaning and the late introduction of potentially allergenic foods are best avoided.

But what has changed – what were the guidelines?

The age of introduction of first foods dropped quite markedly in the US during the 20th century and particularly after the success of commercial baby foods from the 1920s – to the point that weaning typically began as early as a month after birth in some populations. There was even that set order of foods: “white cereal rice first, followed by apple-sauce or mashed banana, and progressing on to puréed vegetables and meat”.  This rigid American approach was and is not followed universally, however, indicating a lack of consensus on the matter. Today advice on “complementary feeding” can vary greatly between countries.

So what would be a better way of weaning?

Wean onto real foods. Not onto non-foods such as white rice cereal or porridge, as some guidelines will have you do. The traditional weaning of infants onto white (or even brown) rice cereal is not based on some magical nutritional value exclusive to rice cereals without which infants will not thrive. Rather, it is because that is what was decided was good for babies some eight decades ago. The reality is that rice cereal is a nutritionally deficient foodstuff that contains little other than cheap non-essential carbohydrates. Its popularity has been sustained because of the perception that it is a safe foodstuff that is unlikely to produce allergies, and because it is easily digestible (and thus more suitable for premature weaning).

What impact does the first 2 years’ nutrition have on an infant?

Optimum nutrition in the first 24 months of life is critical, and it’s absolutely essential to focus on the foods and nutrients that assist brain development in this time, especially fats, vitamins, iron, iodine, copper, zinc and selenium. The emphasis of the Feeding of Infants and Toddlers Study authors is to encourage infants to eat more carbohydrates in grains and some “healthier fats”, while drinking low-fat milk. In fact, the focus of early infant nutrition should be on restricting carbohydrates and emphasising the essential fats, proteins, vitamins and minerals provided by nutrient-dense real foods, especially for the proper development of the brain and circulatory system.