Gwyneth Paltrow and avoiding carbs for kids - what do you think?

[JaneGMumsnet]

Hi,

You may have read news stories today about Gwynneth Paltrow avoiding carbs for the whole family, including her children aged eight and six:

"Sometimes when my family is not eating pasta, bread or processed grains like white rice, we're left with that specific hunger that comes with avoiding carbs."

We'd be interested to hear what you think about this story.

Does your own diet influence the way you feed your children?

Thanks,

MNHQ

Did HQ ever come back to this thread and tell us why they were gathering opinions?

rup it is fine, indeed useful to low carb when you're overweight.

But DC who are not, absolutley should not be placed on a high protein, low carb diet IMVHO.

There's low carb and low carb though. My son eats a healthy diet and I watch the carbs....doesn't mean he can't have them.
So his bread is no more than 10g of carb per slice...I don't buy wraps which rack up 30g per wrap.
He has vegetables and fruit which give him extra carbs....he rarely has pasta which is a useless starch IMHO.
He has cheese, cream, butter, meat, fish, eggs.

High carb diets have caused the health issues we have in this country. My own diet now consists of 70% fat, 20% protein and 10% carbs.....I am shedding weight on this and my GP is aware and has given me her blessing to keep going. No it wasn't balanced before....it was carb heavy and my weight went up. It's now fat heavy and my weight is going down. In some parts of the world this is now an accepted and advised way of eating. In Sweden as their butter sales have risen so their obesity levels have started to fall for the first time in 30 years.

My son does not need the same ratios I do as his nutritional requirements are different but he no longer has sugary cereal aka as "shit in a box" in the morning but a protein based breakfast....even if its a slice of toast piled high with peanut butter. Far far better than cereal for him.....lunch is chicken and salad with fruit and whatever else is to hand...carrot sticks or an occasional bag of crisps. I am not a complete dragon....he can still have his sweet stuff if he wants it but its just less often.

I find all the "but I can eat as much butter, cream, oil as I like on a low carb diet" really annoying, tbh. I don't much like any of those foods! I don't like greasy, creamy, fatty textures.

You can't eat as much cream as you want in a low carb diet.....it has a moderate amount of sugars within it....about 7g per 100mls.

I do like a bit of butter on my vegetables though....makes them very tasty.

I think it's good for children to have carbs. Pasta, potatoes, bread etc - good to have in there. Ds1 is so slim and eats a fair bit, he needs it.

I don't need it. But I do eat rather indulgently considering my low carb ways.

I agree that children do need some carbs....I tend not to eat potatoes now but still do them for DS.

Same here, everyone else has pasta, potatoes and rice except me.

I would go with the proportions on the eatwell plate or you can equally google 'healthy food pyramid uk and get a similar result.
Keep off processed food as much as possible is the best bet.
A healthy child diet is not the same as a healthy adult diet to lose weight.

I can't see why you need to give up potatoes, rice etc.

Also it is very bad for children to see you eating a different diet-it gives a very skewed idea about food.

My kids get some potatoes, though will use sweet potato for oven chips & rosti. No pasta and they have brown rice. Bread with the least white flour in it as possible. Lots of veg, moderate fruit. Lots of meat, fish & eggs. A treat or 2 atthe weekends (crisps or a cake etc). I think their diet is fine!

It's a weight loss things for me.....I will still have potatoes occasionally but for now am focusing on foods that don't provoke an insulin response.

.... because the body converts them to sugar, and they have the same effect on your body as sugar.

You can have small quantities of them if you like/don't need to lose weight, but we eat way too much of them in this country. It's not just about avoiding processed food.

exotic... There is a wealth of evidence out there to support this way of eating. Google Dr John Briffa...his blog is an eye opener. My DS eats the same diet I do but has the potatoes etc I don't....we eat the same meat and vegetables other than that though.

I eat the complete opposite of the food pyramid! Lots & lots of fats, medium amounts of protein and no starchy carbs. Lots of veg. Ive lost more than a stone in a half in the last 9 weeks eating that way.

I don't agree with that.....food is food. My DS has different needs to me....even Briffa says there's nothingness wrong with potato in children's diets.....adults just need less of it and while losing weight perhaps none.

The woman seems obsessed with food, and sharing with the world what she eats (or doesn't).

Not feeding your family processed carbs is one thing, but for a child to have "that specific hunger that comes with avoiding carbs." is just wrong. Infact, it shouldn't happening, as brown rice, sweet potatoes, etc are fulling, and have never left me with any hunger.

I do get a special kind of hunger when I don't eat chocolate though......

Thing is if she was doing it properly her children would not be hungry...the fact that they are tells me she is overdoing it and excluding too much.

Actually, I never experienced real hunger until I was 18, and wasn't provided with 3 square meals a day by somebody else. And I certainly wasn't unhealthy or anywhere near over weight as a child.

I would prefer to go with NHS, British Heart Foundation, Diabetic society etc etc

I lost weight by keeping off processed food (didn't eat much anyway) having smaller portions and not snacking. It has now been off for 3 years and I don't have to measure anything and only step on the scales once in a blue moon to check I am the same-which I always am. If I am eating out socially I just compensate by having less the next day. I run regularly and never use the car if I can walk.
My DSs are all of slim build-they eat healthily because it is what they are used to. This is very heartening because they have all left home and are entirely responsible for themselves. They are all good cooks. They have a lot of exercise.

.even Briffa says there's nothingness wrong with potato in children's diets.....adults just need less of it and while losing weight perhaps none.

There is a lot wrong with it if you eat together and the DC can see that you are different. It is easy to have the same but take less.

Nope.....I simply say I am not that keen in it. No problems...DS likes it and has it but knows that Mum isn't keen just as he is not keen on gravy and doesn't have it. I really don't see it as an issue.

I can see it is OK with that approach but I wonder how many parents manage not to discuss it in front of DCs? I think it a huge mistake to label food as 'good' or 'bad'.