Feed children a vegetarian diet
Children's Health Foundation recommends a meat-free diet
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Should I feed my child a vegetarian diet? The Children's Health Foundation has now made a recommendation here – for a meat-free diet.
Vegetarian, vegan, omnivorous, low carb, paleo or frutarian? Nowadays, nutrition is becoming increasingly important – not only for adults, but also for children. If you start a family, you not only think about how to raise your child, but also what to eat.
Children can benefit from a vegetarian diet
The number of vegetarians in Germany has been rising steadily for several years, as has the number of people who decide to eat a completely vegan diet. What is perfectly normal for adults is still highly controversial for children. Now, for the first time, the Children's Health Foundation has made a clear recommendation – and that is a meat-free diet.
Specifically, it is about the so-called lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet, from which children can also benefit. The main focus of the diet is to avoid fish and meat, while milk and eggs are still on the menu.
According to the Children's Health Foundation, those who follow a vegetarian diet automatically adhere to the recommendations of modern nutritional science: Consume less animal proteins, cholesterol and saturated fatty acids, but the diet is lighter and richer in fiber and antioxidants. A meatless diet could even protect children from later diseases such as obesity, heart attacks and diabetes.
However, as always: The diet should be balanced. This is also pointed out by Berthold Koletzko, chairman of the Children's Health Foundation on aerzteblatt.de. Those who raise their children vegetarian should always make sure that there are no deficiency symptoms. In general, the risk of nutrient deficiency is higher the more products are removed from the menu and the earlier the diets are implemented. However, there is no risk of a deficiency with said lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet, as long as the child eats well-balanced.
"Children who are fed according to these principles do not have to fear any impairment in terms of their growth and development", Koletzko finally gives the all-clear. If you want to feed your child not only vegetarian, but even vegan, you should take medical advice to be on the safe side – then possible dangers could be prevented at an early stage.
Sources used: aerzteblatt.de, Children's Health Foundation