Vegetarian Diet and Your Child
Vegetarian diets are becoming more common. The relevance to a child's nutrition makes it worth a discussion here. Strictly defined, this means never eating any animal product, meat, fish or poultry and consist mainly of grains, vegetable, fruits, legumes and nuts. However in reality, there is quite a spectrum-Here are some definitions of vegetarian diets!
●Semi-vegetarian: Occasional meat. Some may avoid red meat but eat fish and chicken.
●Lacto-ovo-vegetarian: Milk, dairy products and eggs.
●Lacto-vegetarian: Milk and milk products eaten, but not eggs or meat.
●Macrobiotic: Emphasis on whole grains, brown rice, vegetables, fruits (locally grown), legumes, and seaweed. Occasional white meat or fish.
●Vegan:ALL animal products, including eggs, milk, and milk products, are excluded from the diet. Vegans may avoid honey and prefer non processed, organic foods. They might even avoid leather and similar animal products.
Is any one diet healthier than another?That is hard to say! It is lifestyle rather than diet alone that determines health. Vegetarian diets are associated with lower BMI (body mass index), blood pressure, and cholesterol and hence lower rates of obesity, diabetes and heart disease. This may however be related to vegetarian lifestyle choices like regular exercise, avoidance of tobacco, and alcohol etc.
Vegetarianism in children.
It is important to ensure that the content of the diet meets the needs of the growing child especially for energy, protein, iron, zinc, calcium, vitamin D, vitamin B12 (cyanocobalamin), long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, and dietary fiber.
Calories/energy: Young children have high energy needs and may have low stomach capacity. High fiber, low calorie foods may give a false sense of fullness before the need for calories has been met. Giving meals or snacks more frequently, and giving a good variety of foods can help. Calorie boosting foods include whole grain breads, enriched cereals, nuts, nut spreads, avocados, dried fruits, soybeans, sesame seeds. Dairy is also a great source of calories, protein, calcium, vitamin D, potassium and magnesium.
Iron is important not only for growth but also brain function and prevention of anemia.This is especially important in pubertal/menstruating girls. Not only is iron scarce in plant based diets, it is also poorly absorbed. I suggest being aware of iron containing foods and including them in your child's diet (iron enriched bread, cereal, pasta, dried fruits, green leafy vegetables, legumes, soy products etc) Eggs and dairy are a poor source of iron. Since vitamin C helps iron absorption, I suggest 1-2 oz orange juice to wash an iron rich meal down.
Calcium: Calcium helps build bone mass, strengthens bones and reduces the risk of fractures. Vegans and those who avoid dairy have to be attentive to calcium since dairy products provide most of the calcium in our diets. Non dairy sources include kale, broccoli,bok choy, dry figs etc (rather hard to consume in adequate volume, don't you think?). Fortunately calcium fortified foods are easily available like soy milk/cheese/yoghurt, cereals, bread, pastas, juices, waffles etc. Vegan children should take one calcium rich item for every meal or snack in lieu of dairy.
Vitamin D helps absorb calcium from food and is provided by the sun. 1 hour of sun per day for light skinned folk (more in dark skinned folk) and about 600 IU of Vitamin D in the diet provides the needful. Now, we are talking about early morning and late afternoon sun to avoid UV radiation exposure, skin cancer and whatnot (especially whatnot).
Few foods naturally contain vitamin D. We mainly rely on fortified foods. Salmon, tuna and cod liver oil have Vit D. Vitamin D supplementation, especially during the winter months is very important for those without dairy intake!
Omega 3 fatty acids are important for brain, eye and heart health-these are available for vegetarians in flaxseed, walnuts, canola oil, and soy.
Protein: Protein is available in PLENTY in diets that contain meat, eggs and dairy. While vegan food has quite a bit of protein too, (soy, grains, cereals, pastas, legumes, potatoes etc), individually they might lack one or more essential amino acids. They might not be well digested or absorbed. Animal protein generally is complete and better absorbed. Giving children adequate variety and quantity of protein rich foods takes care of this!
Zinc: Though animal and plant based foods have zinc, again, it may not be as well absorbed in vegetarian diets. It is available in dairy, grains, legumes and nuts. Soaking/sprouting beans, leavening breads etc helps present more zinc to the body. Kids need more zinc, and zinc prevents infections.
Vitamin B12: Ok, this is important, particularly for vegans-it is ABSENT in plant based diets and must be either supplemented or obtained from fortified food (check for presence of cyanocobalamin).
To summarize, vegetarian food choices can be healthy and delicious but please be attentive to the nutrient content! As always, eat a balanced diet!
And please don't forget-flu vaccines are available now! Get them! Children with asthma need their asthma action plans updated and inhalers refilled!
