A Rise in Kidney Stones Is Seen in U.S. Children - This really gets me upset - my ramblings

I was reading the news today, and I saw this article in the NY Times titled A Rise in Kidney Stones is Seen in U.S. Children and I was astonished! But, I wasn't at the same time. I have been to my daughter's school and I have seen the food that the students eat. I have watched people in the grocery check out lines, and I see what they buy for their family. In fact, I used to buy that stuff too. The article states that children around the age of 10 years old are getting kidney stones, a problem usually afflicted on older generations, because they are eating too many salty processed foods and not drinking enough water.

When I gave birth to my daughter, I decided to raise her to be healthy and as a vegetarian (not knowing later that we would switch to raw vegan) and at the time, I didn't know how to prepare any food. When my daughter was a year old, I went to college and we shared a dorm. All of our meals were prepared for us, which meant that I never had to learn how to prepare food. I spoke with other mothers at my college, and maybe 1 or 2 out of the MANY that I knew actually knew how to prepare a meal. I mean a real meal, not Betty Crocker in a box. Luckily, for me, while I was in college I met my husband, who can make anything, but not everyone is that lucky. Most of the women I knew from college are now married and have children, and they buy them Betty Crocker in a box, or Hamburger Helper, because they know how to make it. When I talk about raw food, or even healthy food, they always say that they don't even know how to make real mashed potatoes! I think this is where we are failing. Somewhere along the line, parents stopped teaching their children how to make food, and schools stopped teaching students how to make food. Now everyone thinks that meals come from a box. It's difficult to make homemade meals these days! It's hard just to find the ingredients in the grocery store.

So these poor kids are eating processed food, but what about their drinks? I have actually seen with my own eyes, a mother give soda to an infant in a baby bottle. I have seen it, and it was in my family! People actually believe that drinks like Gatorade are good for them on a daily basis. Even water is flavored these days. A friend of mine has a flavored water filter in her sink! I think right now it is cherry flavored. If people could drink more real, fresh water, they would be more able to flush out the toxins that are put in their bodies from food.
In the process of making meals in a box, the manufacturers need to make processed food taste good. This means adding more salt, preservatives, and other nasties. The consumer buys their products, and eat them for each meal, 24/7 and wonder why they get sick! I feel bad for these children with the kidney stones, unless they can see beyond these boxes, they may live their entire lives in misery.

I'm no saint either, I still feed my daughter vegan food. This week I bought her soy dogs. I had told myself that I would not buy her anymore processed soy foods, but sometimes they are just easier. She also eats whole wheat bread, which is full of sugar and other yucky ingredients. I realize that I have to work on things in my own home, and I am proud that my family has come so far as we have. My husband is 100% raw, I am working on becoming 100% raw, and my daughter is about 60% raw. This is so much better than we used to be. We used to eat pretty much nothing but cheese, pasta, and soy products. My husband has lost a ton of weight, my daughter used to be overweight and is now "normal", and I am in the process of losing weight.

Even if people do not embrace raw food, I truly believe that the dynamics of American health will greatly improve if parents learn how to make food homemade, and if people just began drinking more water.