Your child wants to become a vegetarian or vegan: this is how you go about it according to a pediatric dietitian

By: Kidsweek – Editorial

What should you pay attention to if your child wants to become a vegetarian?

“Vegetarian food is no problem. As long as you consume enough dairy products and meat substitutes. These are eggs, legumes, tofu/tempeh (soy) and some ready-made meat substitutes. If you keep a good and varied record of this, you won’t even need to take vitamin B12.”

And what if your child wants to become vegan?

“Switching to a vegan lifestyle is very difficult, but not impossible. As a vegan you must supplement with vitamin B12, otherwise you will miss out on too much protein. After all, you can no longer eat eggs or dairy products. You can occasionally serve some ready-made meat substitutes. Then buy the right one. For example, soy burgers are a meat substitute, but vegetable burgers made from grain are not.”

How healthy is meat actually?

“An occasional piece of meat is healthy. It is good for growth and contains most of the B vitamins, proteins and irons. But too much meat is not good either. If you eat red and processed meat, such as steak, every day, you are more likely to develop intestinal problems later in life. You don’t get those problems from fish or white meat such as chicken. So nice variety.”

What problems can arise if your child does not eat meat?

“Because of the many proteins, you get the most energy from meat and fish. To get the same amount of good proteins, as a vegetarian you have to eat 20 to 30 percent more proteins than someone who eats meat or fish. As a vegan you even need almost half as much protein.”

This article previously appeared on Kidsweek.nl.