Children's vegetarianism: advantage or harm for health?

Quite large number of people adheres to the principles of vegetarian food. But how to be if in a family of vegetarians there are children? Whether it is possible to eat also it the same as to parents, or after all the children's organism is not adapted for the use of exclusively vegetable food? Let's try to understand.

For a start it is necessary to understand about what type of vegetarianism there is a speech. The most strict in this respect can call a veganosyroyedeniye is a full refusal not only of food of animal origin, but also of thermal treatment of products.

Vegans do not use meat, fish, milk and eggs at all, and only occasionally afford honey. Adherents of ovo-vegetarianism are allowed to use both honey, and eggs, but it is impossible to eat milk, meat and fish. Lacto-vegetarians eat honey and milk, but refuse meat and eggs. At last, lacto-ovo-vegetarianism is in this respect the most sparing direction as excludes from a diet only meat, fish and seafood, but allows the use of milk, eggs and honey.

Advantages of vegetarian style of food

It is necessary to agree with vegetarians that from the meat which is grown up in the industrial way for the person there is not much advantage. About a half of all antibiotics which are released in the world falls to the share of livestock production. They are used preventively – for prevention of diseases. Besides, in livestock production growth-promoting factors, including hormonal drugs are actively applied. It for anybody is not long ago a secret.

Of course, all people have an opportunity to independently grow up animals and a bird or at least to buy them in the checked farms not. As for fish, the question of its ecological purity is doubtful – even ocean and sea fish is capable to accumulate in herself toxins and harmful substances.

Adherents of vegetarianism consider that people use the bigger amount of protein is considerable, than it is required to them actually – it the quantity exceeds norm by 10 times. Vegetables and fruit contain a huge amount of vitamins, microelements and cellulose which completely covers needs of the person.

Rather interesting observation can be considered also the fact that vegetarian children practically never have obesity – while this problem becomes more and more urgent for their peers eating usual food.

Natural and useful products improve digestion of the kid and strengthen his immunity. It is considered that vegetarian children have catarrhal diseases less often, and cases of food allergy at them are extremely rare. All these pluses, certainly, deserve rather fixed studying of the vegetarian power supply circuit.

Very often small children just do not want to eat meat – and most of parents faces this problem sooner or later. The kid refuses chicken, quenelles or cutlets, but is always ready to eat porridge, yogurt and fruit. Whether means it that all children actually initially vegetarians, and parents only impart to them other food traditions inherent him?

It is quite tempting to follow the tastes of the kid, having provided him a healthy vegetarian diet and to forget about problems of gripes, indigestions and allergies. But doctors claim: everything is not as simple as it seems.

Vegetarianism is a deficit of protein, iron and vitamins

And here it is difficult to argue with science. Proteins are "bricks" for construction and growth of an organism of the child. Adherents of vegetarianism try to compensate deficit of animal protein vegetable – in particular, bean cultures, but it is quite difficult. And it is necessary to the growing organism of protein very much: for example, the kid aged from 1 year up to 3 years needs to receive daily from food 4,0-4,5 g of protein on 1 kg of weight.

Animal protein has the highest comprehensibility – to 90%. Thus, if the kind of vegetarianism prohibits the use of dairy products and eggs, it is fraught with very negative effects for the child. Parents completely deprive of it a source of animal protein.

The second problem which it is possible to face on the way to a healthy lifestyle of the child is deficit of iron which main source at all not berries and fruit, but the same meat are. Quite often at vegetarian children the insufficient level of hemoglobin is observed.

The third problem is a deficit of B12 vitamin which is irreplaceable for normal functioning of nervous and circulatory systems of an organism of the child. In vegetable products of B12 almost completely is absent.

At last, the considerable amount of vegetable food will be required to compensate deficit of calcium and zinc – in meat, fish and their dairy products much more, than in fruit and vegetables.

What way to choose?

Parents should remember that they, in fact, do not give the choice to the children – kids are forced to eat that food which to them was provided by mother and the father. Besides, by all means it is necessary to consider also that circumstance that in kindergarten or school the vegetarian diet is not offered, so, there will be certain problems with food.

All these issues, of course, can be resolved. But if parents are firmly sure that harm from meat and fish it is much bigger, than advantage, it is necessary to approach drawing up a children's diet with great attention, having studied all recommendations of specialists. Food has to be various, include various dishes – soups, porridges and baked puddings. Anyway doctors extremely do not recommend to remove dairy, fermented milk products and eggs from the child's diet – at absence in a diet of meat and fish they will become the only available source of animal protein for the growing organism.

When the child grows up, he will be able independently to choose the style of food, having understood philosophy of vegetarianism and having comprehended it. In other cases children's vegetarianism is always the choice, so, and responsibility of parents.