Can My Child Be Safe on a Vegetarian
Diet?
by Daniel
Lesser
zone3
If you are a vegetarian parent you have probably considered putting
your child on a vegetarian diet. Not only would it save you time and make
meal planning easier, but for dietary reasons or ethical reasons you may
believe it is the best choice for your child.
Conversely, you may not be a vegetarian but you may have a child who is
at a vegetarian phase where he or she is rejecting meat but doesn't eat
enough healthy foods to compensate for the nutritional gap.
Whatever the case may be, you may be wondering if a vegetarian diet is
a sustainable, healthy choice for your child. Or, perhaps you have heard
that a vegetarian diet could potentially stunt the growth of your
child.
These concerns probably prevented you from putting your child on a
vegetarian diet up to this point.
You should be aware that these concerns are in-fact legitimate issues
and that if a vegetarian diet is poorly planned, it can cause serious long
term and short term deficiencies especially in children who do not have
sufficient stores of vitamins and minerals in their bodies as yet.
If you have not done sufficient research and are not well-prepared for
the task of putting your child on a vegetarian diet, then you probably
should not. However, if you've done your research and are aware of the
kind of nutrients that vegetarian diets lack, then you know that these
problems can easily be over-come with some meal planning.
You will probably be aware that putting your child on a vegetarian diet
can greatly improve his or her health and limit the exposure to animal
products that are often linked to hormones and preservatives.
To begin your child on a vegetarian diet you should make sure that you
your meal-planning ensures enough of the following elements that
vegetarian diets lack:
1) Protein - make sure that your child is getting enough protein from
additional sources such as nuts and soybeans.
2) Calcium - ensure that your child is getting enough calcium in his
diet by including lots of green leafy vegetables to his diet.
3) Iron - add more iron to your child's diet by increasing beans,
soybeans, tofu and cereals.
4) Zinc - enhance your child's Zinc intake by increasing, nuts, peanut
butter, and mushrooms.
If you concentrate on compensating for all of these common deficiencies
that vegetarian diets lack, then, you can absolutely put your child on a
vegetarian diet without any negative consequences.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Daniel J Lesser is the creator of VeganEssentialsGuide.com. A whole
world awaits curious appetites. Find out how the children in your life can
improve their health.
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