Dr. Yami (vegan): Intuitive Eating for Families, Part 3 of 3

In addition to helping children to take responsibility for themselves, Dr. Yami encourages kids to take part in making foods in the kitchen early in life, given that it’s safe and under a parent’s watch. And, most importantly, it’s a wonderful time spent together!

Dr. Yami touched on another aspect that affects children’s relationship with food and that is appearance. She believes it is crucial to help kids gain an acceptance of themselves in terms of how they look so they can be self-confident and avoid eating disorders. “The conversation isn't about what size should I make my child's body. The conversation is, what habits, behaviors, what lifestyle habits can we look to improve or change or tweak a little bit so that we can have a healthy life, a long, healthy life, where we have joy and happiness.”

Dr. Yami talks about what types of foods need to be included and what supplements are a good idea for both kids and parents. “So, whenever you're feeding children a plant-based diet and whether you're pregnant, you do want to get a variety of plant foods, lots of different fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts and seeds. And then there are certain supplements that are important. The most important one is the B12 and then the next one is vitamin D.” “And you can easily get enough calcium from a plant-based diet. For children who may not eat a lot of food and may eat small quantities of food doing a fortified plant-based milk, whether it's a fortified soy milk or a fortified pea protein milk. They usually also put the vitamin D and B12 in it.”

“And I really want to see more schools adopt a plant predominant menu, adding more whole foods, more fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans, especially beans, into the menus. But even on a larger scale, I would love to see policy changing in the United States to acknowledge and include the importance of whole plant foods.”

“Practice and give yourself grace. And just find different ways to include more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts and seeds. Don't be afraid to be creative; don't be afraid to have fun, and never be afraid to include your child. But most of all, I just want you to enjoy the journey.”