Feeding Your Vegan Child: A practical guide to plant-based nutrition

By Sandra Hood

Whether you are vegan and planning a pregnancy or a health professional needing further information on nutritional guidelines for a vegan infant, this is an essential practical guide. It takes you through all nutritional aspects of pregnancy up to early childhood and on to the teenage years following a purely plant-based diet. You will find practical advice on dietary essentials, menu planning, and recipes together with vegan family stories to highlight the benefits and potential pitfalls of adopting this way of eating. It aims to dispel the common myths surrounding the vegan diet, showing how this can provide all the key nutrients for pregnancy, breastfeeding and, growth and development. It addresses some of the typical concerns: will your child get enough energy? Enough protein? All the essential fatty acids? Enough calcium and vitamin D? As plant-based diets grow in popularity to help the environment as well as personal health, Sandra Hood's long experience of working with vegan families is more relevant than ever.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hammersmith Health Books
• Release date: Jun 29, 2021
• ISBN: 9781781611975

Sandra Hood

Sandra Hood RD has a degree in dietetics from Leeds Metropolitan University and is a diabetes specialist dietitian for the NHS as well as Honorary Nutrition Advisor to the Vegan Society. Her first book, Feeding Your Vegan Infant – with confidence, was published by the Vegan Society in 2005 and she has had articles published in magazines and contributed to many clinical publications. Sandra worked closely with Plamil Foods Ltd (the first UK soya milk company) in the 1980s to produce Infant Case Histories to prove the efficacy and benefits of a plant-based diet for infants. She has been vegan for over 40 years and enjoys running, cooking and caring for animals.

Book preview

Chapter 1

Introduction

Veganism has been gaining in popularity over the last decade and health professionals are increasingly questioning the role that dairy and other animal products play in our children’s diet. To many parents, feeding cow’s milk and other dairy products to children is among the most natural and healthful acts in the world, but clinical evidence confirms that these foods are not essential for children (or adults) and children do not need to drink the milk of cows to grow fit and healthy.¹ Despite this growing evidence, people often still need reassurance that a vegan diet can support healthy living for all ages, and this is particularly true for parents who understandably want to make sure their children will flourish.

A vegan diet can provide all the nutrients for good health, growth and development, and may protect against many chronic diseases that afflict the western world. Scientists and health professionals agree that a wholly plant-based diet can meet all stages of a child’s development,², ³ but, as with any diet, a vegan diet needs to be adequately planned to meet the health and growth needs of children and adolescents.

The aim of this book is to provide practical advice on how and what to feed your child and to reassure you, as parents, that bringing your children up on a plant-based, cruelty-free diet benefits the growing child, animals and the environment. Providing our children with a compassionate diet enables them to grow up with free minds and make a conscious decision as to how they wish to live their lives.

Raising a child on a vegan diet also enables parents/carers to discuss with a young one where food comes from, why they are being raised vegan and consequently instilling an appreciation and respect for food as well as embracing cooking and eating as happy experiences. Feeding Your Vegan Child is designed to help you make wise food choices for you and your child. Each chapter explores nutritional requirements and how to meet those needs, depending on the life stage concerned.

The recipe section (page 121) covers any suggestions that are detailed in the book. The majority of these recipes take less than 30 minutes to prepare and have been tried and tested by children. The Appendix (page 157) details the Department of Health reference values for various nutrients and which foods provide these, together with a glossary and information on vegan resources. The most important chapter is Chapter 8: Parents’ experiences, in which families have kindly shared their experience and knowledge in raising their vegan children. As you will see, the vegan diet is about inclusion, not exclusion, as it embraces so many wonderful foods that many omnivores rarely try.

All parents want to give their child the best start in life. Feeding your child a nourishing vegan diet is an essential part of this and we hope this book will provide all the information needed for you and your child to eat well and thrive on a vegan diet.

What is a vegan lifestyle?

A person following a vegan diet does not eat any food that comes from an animal. This includes milk and dairy products, eggs and honey. Most vegans choose not to wear animal products, including leather, wool and silk. Vegans also strive to avoid animal testing and using any products which contain animal ingredients, including cosmetics and household cleaning products. For further information please visit the Vegan Society at www.vegansociety.com.

Why a vegan diet?

To optimise health

There is no doubt that many chronic diseases of adulthood originate in childhood and the importance of early nutrition to prevent disease in later life is now generally accepted.⁴ Studies to date show that vegan diets rich in wholegrains, fruit and vegetables, show significant health benefits and those who follow this way of eating are unlikely to suffer from common diseases of affluence, such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and certain types of cancer.⁵, ⁶, ⁷, ⁸

In the UK, obesity is continuing to increase, with more than one in five children being overweight or obese even before they begin school, and with most children exceeding the Department of Health calorie-intake recommendations.⁹ Various studies over the last few years have shown that, like adults, omnivore children are falling prey to the pitfalls of the Western diet. Recent studies have shown that pre-school children eat more processed foods than recommended and not enough fruit and vegetables.¹⁰ In contrast, vegan children have generally been found to be lighter in weight than their peers, consume more fruit and vegetables, and have low levels of dental problems.¹¹

Not so long ago, vegetables, grains, beans and fruit were only viewed as accompaniments to meals, but now these foods are accepted as the most important part of our diet. Public Health England has given priority to plant-based sources of protein,¹² and a recent study concluded that the current Government recommendations of a minimum of five portions of fruit and vegetables per day should be doubled.¹³ However, the National Diet and Nutrition Survey,¹⁴ found children were still not meeting the recommended five-a-day fruit and vegetable recommendation, and fibre intake showed a small but consistent decrease, particularly for girls aged 4 to 10 years. Insufficient consumption of fruit and vegetables in childhood increases the risk of chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease.¹⁵ Fruit and vegetables are generally plentiful in vegan diets and, in addition, vegan children tend to have lower intakes of saturated fat and cholesterol than non-vegan children.¹⁶, ¹⁷ They also avoid exposure to antibiotics found in animal-derived foods.¹⁸

It is important to emphasise the danger of practices that are too rigid interfering with the social life and free development of the child. To quote Kathleen Jannaway (1915 – 2003), former secretary of the Vegan Society and founder of Movement for Compassionate Living: ‘Health is dependent on much more than the food eaten … emotional balance ranks very high. This comes in the first place from a happy home and later from the opportunity to form happy personal relationships and to develop a positive attitude to life.’ Whilst children may be following a vegan diet at home, when away from their normal environment they can be put under pressure and may deviate from the family diet. This is understandable and a normal part of the child’s learning and development – one day they will have to make that decision whether they wish to stay vegan. By providing support, kindness and love, you will nurture a compassionate, thoughtful child who will care about animals, all people and the planet, and this increases the likelihood of choosing a vegan way of living.

To be better for the environment and animal welfare

With increased concerns for the environment and the growing awareness that our food choices have an impact on our planet as well as animal welfare, health, economics and world hunger, it is important that a vegan diet is thoroughly understood. Much has been written on the environmental impact of current diets and it is now recognised that growing animals for food has the biggest impact on the environment. Livestock farming accounts for 10% of the UK’s total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and is by far the biggest contributor to food-related GHG emissions, deforestation, biodiversity loss and soil pollution, as well as land and water use which are jeopardising the future security of our planet.¹⁹, ²⁰, ²¹ In contrast, the vegan diet has the highest score on sustainability due to low GHG emissions and land use,²² requiring less than a third of the land needed to support the meat and dairy industry.

Volumes could be written to support the moral and compassionate reasons for not eating animals,²³ and there are many books and charities that address this. Every year over a billion animals, most of them from factory farms, meet a cruel and early death to satisfy the demand for meat and dairy in the UK. Animals are sentient beings and, although we do not understand everything about their needs, we do know that they are generally calm and trusting creatures and can experience pain and fear. Children will readily understand the importance of kindness to animals and why we don’t eat them. To quote Ruby Roth from That’s why we don’t eat animals published in 2009 by North Atlantic Books: ‘While the power of nature can move mountains and make rainbows, the power we have as humans is boundless too. Every day, we have the freedom to change our lives. In fact, when we treat animals respectfully, we practise world peace. That’s why we don’t eat animals.’²⁴

What is a balanced vegan diet?

Over the years, a number of food guides have been developed. The UK opted for the Eatwell Guide,¹² now adopted by the Food Standards Agency; it is flexible enough to be applicable to all age-groups, from toddlers to elderly people. There are varying divisions on the plate, each representing one of five food-groups, to show the types and proportions of foods in a well balanced and healthy diet for the general population. The Vegan Society has adapted this Guide to make it more appropriate for vegans – see Figure 1.1: The Vegan Plate.

This guide is aimed at children aged 5 years and over, and at adults. For further guidance on portion sizes for infants up to 5 years of age see Chapter 6 (page 71).

The measure suggestions in Table 1.1 are a guide only, allowing for differences in age, body size and activity level for children and adults. See the relevant chapters throughout this book for further guidance on portion sizes for different stages of your child’s growth and development.

Figure 1.1: The Vegan Plate (with permission from the Vegan Society)

Fruit and vegetables

Fruit and vegetables should form the basis of a diet, being important sources of vitamins and minerals and beneficial substances called phytochemicals and antioxidants. They are a good source of fibre, which maintains a healthy gut and helps prevent constipation and other digestion problems. Including a variety of colourful fruit and vegetables every day can help reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke and some types of cancer.²⁵ This food group is the most important part of our diet and maximises our health. It is best to include raw fruit and vegetables, especially dark-green leafy vegetables, every day.

Grains and starchy vegetables

Grains are often referred to as cereals, which are the edible seeds of grasses and include wheat, rice, barley and oats. They provide carbohydrates, protein and minerals together with phytochemicals and fibre. ‘Wholegrains’ should be the first choice as they contain the entire grain kernel – the bran, germ and endosperm – and have a higher nutritional value than refined grains, which have been processed to remove the bran and germ. Try to vary the cereals consumed to include a range, such as rye, millet, buckwheat and barley. For those who have to avoid gluten (a protein found in some cereals), suitable choices include buckwheat, quinoa, rice and millet.

Table 1.1: A guide to recommended daily measures of vegan foods

Cereals are usually refined to provide a finer texture and improve their shelflife, but – as I have said – processing removes fibre, iron and many vitamins and minerals. However, once these cereals have been refined they then may be fortified with vitamins and minerals to put back some of what has been lost. Examples of this include breakfast cereals. If you are choosing refined cereals, check the ingredients as some products may be a mixture of whole and refined grains and therefore contain more nutrients.

Calcium-rich foods

Calcium is widely distributed in plant foods and many of these calciumcontaining foods duplicate those in the other sections of the Vegan Plate (Figure 1.1). Calcium is essential for growing bones and teeth and is also involved in the working of many systems in the body. Good sources include nuts – especially almonds – and green leafy vegetables, fortified plant milks, tofu made with calcium, blackstrap molasses, baked beans, lentils and sesame seeds. Absorption from these foods has been shown to be excellent.

Legumes (pulses), beans and meat alternatives

Legumes and beans are important for protein, vitamins and minerals. There are a wide variety to experiment with, including lima beans, butter beans, black beans, aduki beans, chick peas, haricot beans, flagelot beans, mung beans, lentils and yellow peas, to name just some of them. Buying tinned varieties of these can save on cooking time but brands with added salt and sugar should be avoided. Soya beans are especially nutritious, being rich in phytochemicals and containing all the essential amino acids. There are many alternatives to meat that are available and these often have a similar protein content; however, they are still processed foods and should be limited.

Nuts and seeds

These nutritious foods are an extremely beneficial part of any diet as they are a good source of healthy fats, protein and fibre and are rich in phytochemicals, with many documented health benefits. Botanically, nuts and seeds are the same: both have kernels containing the whole plant. Peanuts are actually legumes because they grow in pods and not on trees, but they are often included with other nuts because their protein content is similar to that of tree nuts. There is a large variety of nuts and seeds to choose from, including walnuts, hazelnuts, chestnuts, sunflower seeds, linseeds and sesame seeds. On their own they can make a handy snack if needed.

Other essentials – fats, vitamin B12, vitamin D and iodine

Only small amounts of these foods are needed but they are essential. Getting the right balance of essential fatty acids (EFAs), taking a regular and reliable source of vitamin B12, and including a source of iodine and vitamin D are important and, with careful planning, easily incorporated into your diet. Some plant milks are now fortified with iodine, which can be very