Is a Vegetarian Diet Safe For My Child?

If you are a vegetarian and a parent, you have probably thought about putting your child on a vegetarian diet. Not only would it save time by making meal planning easier, but for ethical reasons, you feel it is a better choice for your kids.

Or, you might not be a vegetarian yourself, but live with a child who is going through a vegetarian "phase," where she rejects meat, but doesn't consume enough healthy foods to make up for the nutritional gap.

No matter the reason, you have wondered whether a vegetarian diet is maintainable, and a healthy choice for your kids. You may have heard that putting your child on a vegetarian diet could potentially retard her growth.

These concerns probably stopped you from putting your child on a vegetarian diet up to now.

All of these concerns have merit. Obviously, if a vegetarian diet is not well planned, it can create serious short and long term health problems, especially for children, who are still developing--and who don't yet have sufficient stores of vitamins.

If you are not prepared to put your family on a vegetarian diet plan, you probably shouldn't. However, if you have done due diligence and you're familiar with the nutritional detriments of vegetarians, then you are aware that these problems can easily be fixed with meal planning strategies.

You may also know that having your child on a healthy vegetarian diet could improve her health greatly in the short term and down the road. It would also reduce her consumption of animal products which contain hormones and preservatives, which are associated with cancer and various developmental problems.

Even if you haven't finished researching vegetarian diets, but are ready to start your child on one now, you must begin by ensuring that you plan meals to increase amounts of the following nutrients (that most vegetarians lack):

1. Protein: Make sure your family is consuming enough protein by adding additional sources, such as wheat, soy beans, isolated soy protein, and nuts.

2. Calcium: Ensure your child is getting plenty of calcium by adding leafy green vegetables and calcium-fortified processed foods to his diet.

3. Iron: Make more iron part of your family's diet by increasing servings of tofu and cereals, pinto and soy beans.

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

If you work on compensating for these common nutritional deficiencies, you absolutely can place your child on a vegetarian diet without any negative consequences.

Disregard the mythology on vegetarian diets and focus instead on research and meal-planning.

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