Dear Doctor: My sister has decided to switch her entire family to a vegan diet, including her 2-year-old twins. But I’m really worried — is it possible for young children to stay healthy and get all of the nutrients that a growing body requires? Dear Reader: Unlike a vegetarian diet, which cuts out meat, poultry and fish, the vegan approach eliminates all animal-based products. It centers instead on whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, fruits, vegetables and leafy greens. Some people choose a vegan diet for health reasons, others for ethical ones. But because not all nutrients essential to human health are present in plants, vegans face special challenges to ensure that their diet is well-rounded. A vegan diet for young children has gotten a lot of bad press recently. A mother in Pennsylvania, who fed her infant only nuts and berries in an effort to go vegan, was recently charged with child endangerment. In Italy, where a number of vegan babies wound up in the hospital with malnutrition, some lawmakers want to make a plant-based diet illegal for anyone under 16. But these are extreme cases. Proponents of plant-based diets say the real culprit is ignorance of proper nutritional principles, not veganism itself. With care and vigilance, and with the guidance of a pediatrician or registered dietitian, a well-balanced vegan diet can provide the nutritional needs of children and adolescents. One of the most important parts of childcare is proper nutrition and feeding. Due to their more intensive nutritional requirements,…more detail
