Vegetarian Diet
What is a vegetarian?
Vegetarians are people who choose not to eat meat. This includes all animal meat, poultry, and fish. Many vegetarians also avoid other animal products such as gelatin, rennet (used in making cheese), and animal fats.
Vegetarians that include eggs and dairy products in their diets are known as ovo-lacto vegetarians. People who do not eat any animal product (including honey) are called vegans.
Semi- or partial-vegetarians sometimes eat meat (usually poultry or fish).
What are the pros and cons?
A well-planned vegetarian diet is very healthy. By not eating meat, your child eats less cholesterol and saturated fat. This may reduce the risk of heart disease, gallstones, stroke, and certain types of cancer. Teens do not need to worry about growth problems. They will reach a normal adult weight and height without meat.
Planning a healthy vegetarian diet may take more time to prepare. It has to be carefully planned to make sure your child gets all the proper nutrients.
Will my child get all the proper nutrients?
If the meals are well-planned, a vegetarian diet is safe for everyone. If the diet is too restricted, it may be unhealthy. Some nutrients may be missing. For example, if a child will only eat soda pop, potato chips, and meatless pizza, nutrients such as iron and calcium will be lacking.
You need to make a special effort to make sure your child gets enough calcium, iron, zinc, vitamin D, vitamin B-6, and vitamin B-12.
- Calcium: Milk and dairy products are a great source of calcium. If your child is on a vegan diet and does not eat animal products, it is harder to get calcium. Other sources of calcium include legumes (peas, beans, lentils), tofu, calcium-fortified orange juice, collard greens, and fortified soymilk. If your child is a vegan, discuss calcium with your health care provider.
- Iron: Typical vegetarian diets usually provide enough iron. The problem with iron is that it is difficult for the body to absorb. Iron in meat, poultry, and fish is absorbed much better than iron from plants. Eating foods containing Vitamin C along with foods that contain iron helps the body to absorb the iron better. Breast-fed babies who are not yet getting solid food should have supplements of iron after the age of 4 to 6 months.
- Zinc: Vegetarians sometimes don’t eat enough zinc. It is not found in many plant foods. Plant foods that do contain zinc include legumes (peas, beans, lentils), tofu, corn, and whole grains.
- Vitamin B-6: Vitamin B-6 is found in legumes (peas, beans, lentils), sweet potatoes, corn, soybeans, and avocados.
- Vitamin B-12: Vegans need extra vitamin B-12 because it is available naturally only in animal products. Vitamin B-12 is added to some fortified cereals, fortified soymilk, and some meat substitutes. B-12 is found naturally in diary products and eggs.
- Vitamin D: Vegans often have diets that have low amounts of vitamin D. Vitamin D is made in the skin when there is exposure to direct sunshine. Some vegetarians may need more outdoor activity or vitamin D supplements. Vitamin D is added to some fortified cereals and fortified soymilk. If your baby is only getting breastmilk, you need to give your baby a vitamin D supplement every day. You can give your baby multivitamin drops that contain vitamin D.
See also:
Sources of Some Essential Nutrients in a Vegetarian Diet
How do I know if my child is eating healthfully?
One of the best ways to check if your child is eating well is to measure your child’s weight and height. If your child is not getting enough calories, his or her weight will not follow the usual growth patterns for children. Your health care provider can check your child’s growth on a growth chart.
If your child is not getting enough vitamins or minerals, he or she may have symptoms such as:
- skin rashes
- a painful, swollen tongue
- fatigue
- irritability
- pale skin
- mental slowness
- difficulty breathing.
Check with your provider if you are worried about vitamin or mineral deficiency.