Vegetarian Era 
One Can Never Be Too Young to
Benefit from a Vegetarian Diet
By Sister-initiate Ling Gao, Chicago, Illinois, USA (Originally in English)
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Master has long mentioned that vegetarian diet is the best for adults and children alike. It is still interesting to see exactly how kids benefit from this diet.
For example, my 4-year-old daughter, a vegetarian since before birth, lately developed an interest in putting together complicated puzzles. At first she could put together 60 pieces, then 100 and soon after, 200. She seemed to enjoy quietly accomplishing each project all by herself and then would proudly present it to us. At first I thought this was common for her age. Later, I realized that many other kids her age wouldn’t even try the challenge of this game, or they gave up very soon because it took too much patience and concentration. We also noticed that in a memory game, my daughter can beat her 8-year-old half brother. Even adults have to focus carefully in order not to lose to her. Thus, I became curious to see if there was any information available about how the vegetarian diet affects children’s IQ development.
To my surprise, there is plenty of research being done on this subject already. For example, a study published in Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that while the average IQ of the American child is 99, the average IQ of vegetarian American children is 116.24! In the US, there is a famous “vegetarian for kids” advocate named Dr. Antonia Demas, who helped implement a vegetarian food program in 60 schools throughout 12 different states. The results have been very positive in respect to improved health, improved grades and improved behavior among students who participated in the program. Dr. Demas, who also founded the Food Studies Institute, is currently designing a more comprehensive study of the students who participated in the vegetarian program. If the results can clearly prove the benefit of this diet, it could have a larger impact at a national or even international level.
Studies also suggest that the meat diet is linked to brain cell damage, which might lead to Alzheimer’s (loss of mental function) when a person gets older. According to Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, the “risk for AD [Alzheimer’s disease] is greater in people who consume diets high in cholesterol, saturated fats, and total calories and low in fiber, vegetables, and fruits.”
From my personal experiences as well
as these scientific studies, it can be concluded that the vegetarian diet
is indeed the best for children’s development, mentally and physically.
Through Master’s timely Alternative Living message, we can now help
continue to spread this good news and educate people about the benefit
of the vegetarian diet.
