When to let children make food choices for themselves

DS and I were discussing modern diseases the other day. I said, The current belief about diet is that it is generally NOT recommended to eat more meat or dairy to help prevent diseases like diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and so on. Hasn't happened. What I *do* hear time and time again is "eat more fresh fruits and vegetables". Or as stated in La Leche League philosophy: "Good nutrition means eating a well-balanced and varied diet of foods in as close to their natural state as possible." As in... RAW fruits and vegetables.

Am I harming myself by subsisting on a diet of whole foods - of fresh, organic, raw fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds and sprouts? It's been 3 months and I wouldn't say my health is deteriorating at all. In fact, if you can wrap your head around it, I feel like my energy levels on raw food are amazingly high. I feel like my outlook on life is extraordinarily positive and that I am better able to cope with stressful situations. I feel like generally, I am in a better mood overall. And I wonder, as I watch one of the children have an emotional outburst or a melt-down, I wonder if their diet isn't contributing to it. I have read other blogs of children who are thriving on raw food. And then I start to seriously questioning, if I'm nurturing myself with raw food, why wouldn't I give the same benefits to my children? Up until now I've let my children make their own food decisions - and ds has, at 8, come to his own decision to be vegetarian. We already make certain food choices for our children when we start them on solids (even before then, it could be argued). At what point do you let your children decide for themselves? Do you only keep raw food in the house? Do you keep a variety of whole foods - including ones that can be cooked (like whole grains)? Do you keep dairy products in the house? Is meat a food option in your house? Are our children armed with enough knowledge to make these kinds of decisions on their own? So much to consider, and the outcome is not to be taken lightly. What we eat becomes part of us, it becomes who we are. How have other people reconciled this dilemma for themselves?