The short answer is yes, with the right planning and knowledge, a child can get everything they need following a vegan diet. The biggest concern with vegan diets in early childhood is nutritional inadequacy.
They may even offer kids health advantages, like a lower risk for chronic diseases as they get older. Plant-based kids eat more whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, fruits, and vegetables, and consume less added sugar and saturated fat.
Children who followed a raw vegan diet overall consumed calories, calcium, and Vitamin D well below the recommended amounts which may have accounted for a slower growth (6). We know that these nutrients like calcium and Vitamin D are essential for maintaining normal bone growth throughout childhood.
“Studies have shown that children raised on a vegetarian or vegan diet, when they become adolescents or young adults, they have a really healthy attitude about their body, they are very body satisfied,” says Louisa. “The rates of eating disorders are less than their peers.
Young children who follow a vegan diet without medical and dietary advice carry the risk of a number of nutrient deficiencies, including vitamin B12, calcium, zinc and high quality protein, which can have potentially devastating health effects, say experts. Is it safe to bring a child up as vegan?
Simply, vegan face is a name for a slack, wasted look that is caused by an absence of protein in your diet.
Plus, in 2009, the American Dietetic Association concluded that a well-planned vegetarian or vegan diet was safe for people at every stage of life — including for pregnant and nursing moms, children and babies — with the caveat that fortified foods or supplements can “provide useful amounts of important nutrients.”
In truth, vegetarians and vegans have perfectly healthy pregnancies and babies. Why is there any concern at all? Some of the most vital baby-boosting nutrients are more easily found in meats and other animal-based products. But it's still a cinch to get them elsewhere.
Experts say it is possible to raise healthy children according to a vegan diet. However, it absolutely must involve consulting with medical professionals for advice, be well-planned, varied, balanced, and ensure any missing vitamins and nutrients (such as B12) are given via supplements.
There's no set age when it's "OK" for a child to begin a vegan approach. Typically, mothers should breastfeed for four to six months, but once a baby begins solid foods, it's appropriate to replace meat products with mashed or pureed tofu or beans, along with soy yogurt and cheese, Johnson says.
While there are a variety of health benefits associated with following a vegan diet, eating a vegan diet won't make you age faster or slower in and of itself. If you're considering making the switch to a plant-based diet, here's what you need to know about the effects of veganism on aging and overall health.
If your child doesn't eat meat or fish, they'll get enough iron if you give them plenty of other iron-rich foods, such as fortified breakfast cereals, green leafy vegetables, beans and lentils. Children who don't eat meat or fish are more likely to lack iron, which can lead to iron-deficiency anaemia.
Nutrition drives the pubertal process, and deficiencies as often seen in a vegan diet result in delayed puberty, stunted growth spurt, ovulation prevention, delayed first menstruation, lack of menstrual cycle, and more.
When children eat a balanced diet and have adequate calories and carbohydrates from a variety of plant sources, they will likely meet their protein requirements. In fact, studies have shown that vegan kids meet or exceed their protein requirements.
A vegan diet can offer complete nutrition for anyone at any age and can be easy to follow. As a growing teen it is safe to switch from a vegetarian to a vegan diet. To stay healthy, it is important that you eat a variety of foods daily and focus on specific nutrients that help teens grow.
United States. Here in the U.S., it is not illegal for children to be raised on vegan diets, nor has it been formally opposed by American Academy of Pediatrics. However, malnutrition is still a criminal offense and the role of vegan diets in a number of these cases is considerable and concerning.
A study found vegan children were 3cm shorter on average then their peers. Dieticians have warned parents that babies fed a vegan diet could be at risk of serious health issues – including stunted growth.
Though virtually every vegan parent wants her children to be vegan too, it is unfortunately quite likely that the child will eventually decide to eat the way that all the other children do. Knowing that this is true, a vegan parent could react in different ways.
Vegans can, and often do, breastfeed their babies. And if you're a breastfeeding mother who has had an epiphany about the cruelty behind the gallon of cow's milk in the fridge, it's never too late to make the transition to a healthy—and compassionate—vegan lifestyle for yourself and your family.
But if you are questioning whether or not breast milk is vegan and whether breastfeeding supports a vegan lifestyle, the answer is a resounding yes!
Physicians often advise women to take prenatal vitamins, which usually contain iron, vitamin B12, folic acid and other nutrients. Not eating meat during gestation may even have upsides. A vegetarian diet in the first trimester was linked to a lower risk of excessive gestational weight gain, a 2010 study found.
The survey found 8% of children are following a vegan diet and of those who don't follow a vegan diet, 15% would like to. They also found that 13% of children are vegetarian and around one in five (21%) of children who are not currently vegetarian would like to be.
Vegan children had higher intakes of some beneficial nutrients including fibre, vitamin C, folate, carotenoids, unsaturated fats, magnesium, all a reflection of the consumption of healthy plant foods.
Breast Milk Conclusions: It's Vegan
The notion of consent is an important one and really indicates why veganism exists: animals cannot feasibly give their consent for us to take their milk or eggs or honey. But adult humans can indeed give their consent for others to consume their breast milk…