Is a vegan diet really harmful to children?
A vegan diet for children is rejected by most experts. In principle, however, it is not primarily harmful as long as care is taken to ensure adequate substitution of the missing vitamins, nutrients, trace elements and energy suppliers. Nevertheless a completely vegan nutrition in infants and toddlers should be avoided as far as possible, because it can lead to a delayed or even faulty child development and maturation.
One must also consider that the possible consequences do not have to occur with all children. In most cases, nutritional problems occur, but they do not cause serious limitations. A diet without the intake of animal products can become harmful if the child’s organism is not provided with sufficient nutrients, vitamins and proteins to replenish the child’s energy stores.
Many vegan-fed children stand out as a result of malnutrition and delayed growth. Plant foods have a lower biological value than animal foods. Therefore there is a risk that the high energy demand during the growth phase is not sufficiently covered. In order to compensate for a growth deficit, care should be taken to combine many different plant substances.
What are the risks of vegan nutrition for infants?
Many parents see in the veganen nourishing way a healthy and above all pollution free as well as lasting alternative. The purely vegan nutrition of a child is in principle possible. Nevertheless parents are in most cases not conscious themselves the serious risks, which can accompany this nourishing behavior, in most cases.
Infants and toddlers run a high risk of not consuming sufficient amounts of essential substances such as fatty acids, which play an important role in the development and maturation of children. With increasing nutrient requirements and a progressive growth process, the risk of pronounced malnutrition increases.In addition to the risk of developing a pronounced nutrient deficiency, the children can also develop a susceptibility to mild infections or even allergies, as the children’s own immune system is not strong enough due to the nutrient deficiency. In addition, there is an increased risk that the affected children will have a slowed or defective physical and mental development. Many children who are fed vegan food at an early age are at risk of being inferior to other children in their development.
- Energy suppliers,
- Proteins,
- Calcium,
- Iodine,
- Iron,
- Zinc,
- Magnesium,
- Vitamin B2, vitamin B12
- And vitamin D.
