Is A Vegetarian Diet Safe For My Child?

If you are vegetarian parent, you may have considered putting your child on a vegetarian diet. Not only would this save time on meal-planning, but for dietary and ethical reasons, your belief is that it may be a better choice for your child.

Also you may not be a vegetarian yourself, but have a child who is going through a vegetarian "phase," where she rejects meat and may not consume enough healthy foods to compensate for this nutritional gap.

Whichever is the case, you may be wondering whether or not a vegetarian diet is a sustainable, healthy choice for your child. It has been said that putting your child on a vegetarian diet could possibly stunt her growth.

These concerns and others may have prevented you from putting your child on a vegetarian diet up till now.

All of these are legitimate concerns. Be warned that, if a vegetarian diet is poorly planned, can be cause for serious short and long term health problems, especially in children, who are continually growing and developing and do not yet have sufficient stores of vitamins.

If your not well-prepared you shouldn't put your child on a vegetarian diet. Although, if you have done your nutritional research and you've become familiar with the nutrients vegetarians commonly lack, then you know that problems such as this can easily be overcome with good meal planning.

You also know that putting your child on a proper healthy vegetarian diet can greatly improve her health in both the short and long term. It can also reduce exposure to products that contain hormones and preservatives, which have been linked to cancer and developmental problems.

If you've not done proper research of vegetarian diets, but are anxious to start your child on one now, you should start by planning meals that boost amounts of the following nutrients that most vegetarians lack:

1. Iron. Add more iron to your child’s diet by increasing servings of soybeans, pinto beans, tofu, and cereals.

2. Protein. Make sure your child is consuming enough protein by adding additional sources, such as wheat, soybeans, isolated soy protein, and nuts.

3. Calcium. Adding calcium-fortified processed foods and leafy green vegetables to his diet ensures your child is consuming enough calcium.

4. Zinc. Enhance your child’s zinc intake by increasing his servings of almonds, peanut butter, and mushrooms.

You can absolutely put you child on a vegetarian diet if you concentrate on compensating for all of these common nutritional deficiencies, without any negative health consequences.

Focus on research and meal-planning and ignore the tales surrounding vegetarian diets.