Vegans don’t eat types of foods that contain any animal products. In short, this means that they consume no beef, fish, chicken, veal or pork. They also don’t eat milk products, eggs, or sour cream. They eat vegetables, fruits, grains, nuts and legumes instead.
Many pediatricians with patients whose parents are vegan will tell you that a vegan diet is perfectly healthy for a growing and active child. They will consume more healthy foods like vegetables and fruits than children who eat meat, and these are healthy foods. They commonly have fewer allergies to foods, and their snacks are healthier than junk food, since they will intake fruit juices instead of sugar, and flour made from whole wheat instead of white flour.
Tony Ferguson, UK weight loss expert, includes many vegetarian dishes in his diet plans, and they can be a healthy addition to your child’s diet as well, even thought they should not be heavy enough to worry about weight loss when they are very young.
When your vegan child is of school age, you can send along in their lunch boxes peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, fruit-sweetened cookies, carrots and apples, and that way, no one at school will know that your child eats differently from them, unless they are friends and find out at parties.
On the other hand, there are parents who are or were vegan, and they fed their children a vegan diet, only to find that they were in clothing a couple sizes smaller than other children of the same age. Their mother may have thought that they were eating a diet of healthy food, and the protein lost from not eating meat or fish could be compensated for by eating seeds and nuts.
One parent noticed that her children had weaker muscles, and more eyesight difficulties. Her young children also seemed to crave dairy foods, since they didn’t get any at home. She felt that she was feeding her children a healthy diet, but sometimes they seemed to lack energy and were run down. This particular mother’s nutritionist, whom her pediatrician sent her to, said that the child’s diet, devoid of carbohydrates, was not giving his body enough energy to fuel his active, young life.
Breast milk from vegan women is often devoid of quite a few pesticides and toxins that are normally found in nursing mothers. This is thought to give the infants a better chance for a healthy life, in the short and long term.
If your baby has moved beyond breast feeding, you can feed him healthy food like mashed vegetables and fruits, and rice cereals that are fortified with iron. The vegan child will not have cow’s milk or eggs, and as he grows, you can offer him healthy foods from your own plate.
As your child ages, you will want to incorporate into his diet the things he likes, including spaghetti and tomato sauce, baked French fries, hot dogs and burgers made with meat substitutes, mashed potatoes, veggie pizzas, pancakes and oatmeal with fresh apples and cinnamon.
During holiday times, your vegan child should not feel different from others, just because of the way they eat, and there are many dishes you can serve for the holidays, like vegetarian recipes from Tony Ferguson UK weight loss guru. Try to find the vegan alternatives to traditional foods, so that your children can be included in the festivities.
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