Vegetarian diets for children and teenagers
Key points
- Vegetarian children and
teenagers need to plan their diets to get the nutrients they need for
growth and development.
- Vegetarian children and
teenagers need enough protein, iron, calcium, zinc, omega-3 fatty acids
and vitamin B12 in their diets.
- Vegetarian teenagers
need more healthy foods and nutrients than younger vegetarian children.
On this page:
- Types of vegetarian diets
- Healthy vegetarian diets for children and teenagers
- Planning healthy vegetarian diets for children and
teenagers
- How vegetarian children and teenagers can get the
nutrients they need
Types of vegetarian diets
People who eat
vegetarian diets eat mostly or only plant foods.
There are four
main types of vegetarian diets:
- Lacto-vegetarian
diets include plant
foods plus dairy foods.
- Ovo-vegetarian
diets include plant
foods plus eggs.
- Lacto-ovo
vegetarian diets include plant foods plus dairy foods and eggs.
- Vegan
diets include only
plant foods.
Healthy vegetarian diets for children
and teenagers
Like all healthy
diets, healthy vegetarian diets for children and teenagers need to include a
wide variety of fresh foods from the five food groups:
- vegetables
- fruit
- grain
foods
- reduced-fat
dairy or dairy-free alternatives
- protein.
Each food group
has particular nutrients, which your
child’s body needs to grow and work properly. That’s why your child needs to
eat a range of foods from all five food groups.
Want to know more about the five healthy
food groups? Check out our articles on healthy food for toddlers, healthy food for preschoolers, healthy food for school-age children and healthy food for teenagers.
Planning healthy vegetarian diets for
children and teenagers
Children and
teenagers need a wide range of nutrients for health, growth and development.
These nutrients include calcium, iron, omega-3 fatty
acids, protein, vitamin B12 and zinc.
Vegetarian
children and teenagers need carefully planned diets. This ensures
they get enough of these nutrients, which non-vegetarians get in animal foods
like red meat, chicken and fish. And when children are cutting out animal
foods, it’s important to replace these foods with alternatives that give them
the nutrients they need.
Also, vegetarian
teenagers need the same healthy foods and nutrients as younger vegetarian
children, just more of them! That’s because teenagers need extra nutrition to
fuel the physical changes happening in their bodies during puberty.
How vegetarian children and teenagers can
get the nutrients they need
# Calcium
For vegetarian children, the best sources of calcium are dairy products like
milk, cheese and yoghurt.
Dairy-free foods
that are rich in calcium include tofu, some green leafy vegetables like kale
and bok choy, nuts, seeds, and foods fortified with
calcium, like cereal, soy milk and bread. Not all dairy alternatives are
fortified with calcium, though, so make sure to read food labels.
# Iron
Vegetarian children can get iron from egg yolks, dark and leafy vegetables like
spinach and kale, beans, lentils, wholegrains and fortified breakfast cereals.
Children can
boost their iron absorption by eating vitamin C-rich foods at the same time as
iron-rich foods. For example, your child could eat wholegrain cereal and an
orange for breakfast. Vitamin C-rich foods include citrus fruits, strawberries,
capsicum and broccoli.
Adolescent girls
with frequent, long or very heavy periods have a higher risk of becoming
iron deficient and getting anaemia. So it’s especially important for them
to eat plenty of iron-rich foods.
# Omega-3 fatty
acids
Flaxseed, chia seeds, walnuts, canola oil and soy products are good vegetarian
sources of omega-3 fatty acids.
# Protein
For protein, vegetarian children can include dairy foods, eggs, beans, lentils,
chickpeas, tofu and nuts in their diets.
# Vitamin B12
Vegetarian children can get vitamin B12 from eggs and milk if their diet
includes these animal products.
If your child is
a vegan, they’ll need to get vitamin B12 from fortified foods like fortified
breakfast cereals, plant-based milks and soy products. Not all of these
products have added B12 so be sure to read their food labels.
# Zinc
Vegetarian children can get zinc from milk, seeds, tofu and wholegrain cereals.
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