Vegetarian Kids: Fit For Life

Has your child decided to become a vegetarian? If so, be proud! A plant-based diet is healthy, humane, and environmentally-friendly. Instead of alienating your child away from the dinner table, take advantage of the opportunity to bond with your child, and praise his or her decision to eat more natural, wholesome foods.  

Animal products are high in saturated fat, calories, and cholesterol, and can contribute to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and other serious illnesses. One study conducted by the University of Southern California in the United States found that children who eat more than 12 hot dogs a month have nine times the normal risk of developing childhood leukemia.

And children are especially susceptible to listeria, E. coli, salmonella, campylobacter, and other pathogens that are routinely found in animal products. Numerous kids have become violently ill, and some have even died, after eating contaminated meats. One of the most-publicized outbreaks of food-borne illness occurred in 1993 when E. coli contaminated hamburgers from Jack in the Box fast-food restaurant in the U.S. sickened more than 700 people and killed four children. Since than, millions of pounds of tainted meat have been recalled, but in most cases, by the time the contamination is discovered, the meat has already been purchased and consumed.

In an effort to control the spread of diseases on filthy, overcrowded factory farms (and to make animals grow faster),the meat industry feeds animals massive amounts of antibiotics. However, the antibiotics are retained in the flesh that people eat, and scientists believe that such involuntary consumption of these drugs by meat-eaters is giving rise to strains of bacteria against which antibiotics are ineffective when consumers become ill.

Let’s see: disease, potentially-deadly bacteria, and antibiotic-resistant drugs. It sounds like your son or daughter is making a pretty smart choice by going vegetarian, doesn’t it?

Milk: Good for Calves, Not Kids 

Children don’t need to drink milk to grow up big and strong—in fact, they’re better off if they don’t consume dairy products at all. Cow’s milk has been found to cause or aggravate many common childhood ailments, including runny noses, allergies, ear infections, recurrent bronchitis, and asthma. Many children are lactose intolerant and cannot digest milk properly. Consumption of milk and other dairy products can cause gas, nausea, cramps, bloating, and diarrhea. Studies have also linked cow’s milk to more serious health problems including osteoporosis, diabetes, heart disease, autism, juvenile diabetes, and cancer. 

In his best-selling book Baby and Child Care, the late pediatrician Dr. Benjamin Spock wrote, “I no longer recommend dairy products. … The essential fats that are needed for brain development are found in vegetable oils. Milk is very low in these essential fats and high in the saturated fats that encourage artery blockage and weight problems as children grow.”Dr. Frank Oski, the former director of pediatrics at the renowned Johns Hopkins University in America, says, “There is no reason to drink cow’s milk at any time in your life. It was designed for calves, it was not designed for humans, and we should all stop drinking it today, this afternoon.”

Good advice, indeed, and you won’t even be billed for it. 

Vegetarians: Healthy at Any Age 

Unlike meat, eggs, and dairy products, plant-based foods are cholesterol free and generally low in fat and high in fiber, complex carbohydrates, and other vital nutrients. Researchers from the University of Toronto in Canada have found that a plant-based diet rich in soy and soluble fiber can reduce cholesterol levels by as much as one-third, and world-famous Dr. Dean Ornish discovered that a low-fat vegetarian diet can actually reverse heart disease. 

Dr. T. Colin Campbell, another internationally renowned nutrition expert, believes, “The vast majority of all cancers, cardiovascular diseases, and other forms of degenerative illness can be prevented simply by adopting a plant-based diet.”

Studies have shown that, on average, vegetarians and vegans are at least 10 percent leaner, and live six to 10 years longer, than meat-eaters. 

But is a vegetarian diet suitable for a growing child? The American Dietetic Association (ADA) thinks so. According the ADA, “Well-planned vegan and other types of vegetarian diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including during pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence.”

Dr. Spock felt children should be raised on a vegan diet for optimal health, writing, “children who grow up getting their nutrition from plant foods rather than meats have a tremendous health advantage. They are less likely to develop weight problems, diabetes, high blood pressure, and some forms of cancer.” Numerous other health experts have concurred that vegan children have an advantage over carnivorous kids. In fact, pediatrician and author Dr. Charles Attwood, claimed, [C]hildren on a diet of mostly vegetables, fruits, grains, and legumes, when consuming adequate calories, not only grow normally, but have actually been shown to attain greater height than meat-eating children, and astudy published in theBritish Journal of Nutrition (Volume 75, Number 4, April 1996, pp. 533-544) indicated that vegan children may have higher IQs than their meat-eating counterparts. 

In other words, you have no reason to worry and plenty of reasons to brag!

It’s Easy Being Green 

A well-balanced diet should be based on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and all the healthful foods made from them.  Children can get all the protein their bodies need from oats, brown rice, and whole-grain pasta; nuts and seeds, and legumes, including tofu, lentils, beans, and peanut butter. Iron-rich foods such as raisins, almonds, dried apricots, blackstrap molasses, and fortified grain cereals are suitable for toddlers and children 12 months and older. Vitamin C helps the body absorb iron, so foods rich in both, such as green, leafy vegetables are particularly valuable. Cornbread, broccoli, kale, tofu, dried figs, tahini, great northern beans, fortified orange juice, and soy milk are excellent sources of calcium. A multivitamin will help ensure your child gets an adequate amount of vitamin B12.Stock your kitchen with plenty of canned beans, whole wheat breads and pastas, rice, lentils, chickpeas, nuts, seeds, fresh and dried fruits, and fresh and/or frozen vegetables. Graham crackers, popcorn, pretzels, frozen juice bars, and hummus and pita bread are tasty and healthy snacks for both kids and adults. School cafeterias tend to have limited vegan options so you may want to help your child pack lunch on school days. PB&J is great, but many other options are just as easy—and a welcome change. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Spread some vegetarian ham with vegan cream cheese and roll up for a fun and easy-to-eat lunch box treat.
• Make a veggie dog in a blanket—wrap a veggie dog in a crescent roll and bake. Pack ketchup for dipping.
• Cut rice or corn cakes in half and spread on jam and a nut butter, and then top with the other half.

• For a healthy alternative to egg-salad sandwiches, try eggless “egg” salad: Mash together tofu, soy mayo, turmeric, salt, and spices.
• Cut mini-pitas in half, and stuff them with hummus, chopped tomatoes, lettuce, sprouts, and diced carrots, celery, and/or onions
• Prepare an easy pasta salad by combining cooked spiral pasta with diced cucumbers, tomatoes, and/or peppers and chunks of baked tofu or mock meats
• Pack hard breadsticks with dip, such as pizza sauce, peanut butter, or hummus.

Together, you and your child can learn to prepare many nutritious and delicious plant-based foods that the whole family can enjoy. And chances are other family members will benefit from a healthier diet. For tips and vegetarian recipes for the whole family, visit www.VegCooking.com.