Studies show that children practising a vegetarian lifestyle are much slimmer than their peers, whereas their intellectual development is slightly above the norm. Specialists stress that if done correctly, vegetarianism proves to be healthy at every stage of life.
The vegetarian diet is a style of nutrition that excludes meat, fish, seafood, and products containing the said ingredients. The vegan diet, however, does not include any animal-based products (i.e. dairy products, eggs).
People who do not eat meat and intend on introducing this diet in their children are often told that it may impair a child’s development. Parents whose children decide to exclude animal-based products from their diet are more apprehensive, though. However, according to nutritionists, a well-planned vegetarian diet is suitable for people of every age, for pregnant and nursing mothers, and for athletes.
And what about physicians?
In response to the petition of the WegeMaluch.pl portal, the Ministry of Health consulted the Food and Nutrition Institute, National Consultant in the field of paediatrics, the Children’s Memorial Health Institute, and the Council for Diet, Physical Activity, and Health on the impact of vegetarian diet on the health of children and young people.
They explicitly stated that a well-balanced vegetarian diet can be safely used in the case of children.
According to studies conducted by the the Children’s Memorial Health Institute, the physical development of vegetarian children is harmonious and remains within the norm. Such children are generally slimmer than their peers, and their intellectual development is slightly above the standard.
The Food and Nutrition Institute also supported the vegetarian lifestyle, assuming that the diet is well-balanced, i.e. all nutrients are provided in line with the nutritional requirements.
What to focus on?
The Institute points to the fact that despite vegan children ingesting more food rich in iron than their peers who derive it form meat, it is, to a large extent, a poorly absorbed iron of plant origin. This is the reason why products that contain iron should be consumed together with products rich in Vitamin C.
Moreover, due to the fact that in vegetarian diets, zinc is poorly absorbed, one should also remember to reduce the use of tea, hot spices, miso-like fermented soybean products, and also tempeh.
Vegetarians should, however, remember to eat more products like canary seed, linseed oil, walnuts, green leafy vegetables, soybean and soybean products, soybean oil, and rapeseed oil.
What is more, the Institute draws attention to the fact that the vegetarian diet may lead to a calcium deficiency, hence it is of high importance to include the following products in the everyday menu: poppy seed, almonds, leguminous plants, amaranth, sesame, dried apricots, figs, peanuts, and fortified products.
The vegan diet also involves the necessity to supplement intake with Vitamin B12, which is only present in animal products.
The President of the Empatia Association, Dariusz Gzyra, whose children have been on the vegan diet for over a dozen years, admits that in the case of children, such a diet can be difficult to enforce due to social factors.
“There are difficult moments, for instance when children at school offer chocolate to my kids, or when the entire class goes to McDonald's. School trips have proven the hardest for us. However, everything can be easily arranged with the form teacher. It is necessary to speak openly about our choice and the rules that we follow," Dariusz Gryza claims.
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