The Standard American Diet or S.A.D. is what most Americans eat these days. And there’s a reason that it’s abbreviated S.A.D. If you were to list the factors that increase the risk of cancer, heart disease, stroke, digestive disorders – just about any illness, including most childhood illnesses – the standard American diet has them all: High in animal fats. High in unhealthy fats: saturated and hydrogenated. A diet that is low in fiber and highly processed.

We all want the best for our children and healthy kids are a top priority. But the statistics are not good:

• Autism is now diagnosed in 1 in 50 children

There is 200 times more autism than there was 30 years ago. There is emerging evidence that autism is an epigenetic disease which means that genes turned on to become disruptive due to our toxic environment and food supply.

• Attention Deficit Disorders are 1 in 10

• Asthma and allergies are 1 in 8

Asthma has been increasing since 2001, and now is at its highest level.

• Childhood obesity is 1 in 3

One of the most alarming things I’ve read came from former Surgeon General Richard Carmona, who characterized the threat as follows:

“Because of the increasing rates of obesity, unhealthy eating habits and physical inactivity, we may see the first generation that will be less healthy and have a shorter life expectancy than their parents”.

We need to turn this thing around.

All of these childhood diseases have at least one commonality. There is a gut connection. When the gut is suffering from inflammation caused by processed food, pesticides, herbicides and toxins it leads to malabsorption of nutrients. One of the ways that I teach my clients to fight chronic illness is to ditch the Standard American Diet and opt for real food.

This book is meant to help busy moms put real food on the table fast. By cutting out processed, chemically-laden food and adding in more nutrients through clean, whole foods your children will inherently be healthier which can help set them up for a future that is free of disease.

Leann Forst