Adopting vegetarianism (including its strict form which abstains from consumption of any animal byproducts such as eggs and dairy) is a healthy practice for children when food planning is involved, as it should be for any type of diet, including omnivorous.

Vegan nutrition for babies is still a contentious issue for many, causing a lot of uncertainty, or even instilling fear. Can a completely vegan diet really be suitable for children and even babies? In other words, can a completely vegan diet provide all the necessary nutrients which are needed to allow the baby to grow normally and develop healthily, both physically and mentally? The answer is yes ... but certain nutrients should be paid attention to – most importantly vitamin B12. In other words, a vegan baby’s diet should be “well-planned”. What does “well-planned” mean? This booklet will explain.

But wouldn’t it be safer to err on the side of caution and give your baby a “normal”, i.e. a non-vegetarian diet? The answer is: No, not really … as long as the vegan diet is wellplanned. Nothing suggests that a well-planned vegan diet is any less safe than a typical “Western” (i.e. a not very wellplanned) diet – or even than a very well-planned non-vegan diet.

There is also no evidence that a typical “Western” or other non-vegan diet would have a more beneficial effect on a baby’s long-term health and life expectancy compared to a well-planned vegan diet. All recommendations in this book are evidence-based. That means that they are based on what is known from scientific studies, including the most recent scientific studies. These recommendations are also supported by years of personal experience.

A recently published case-control study involving participants from 6 countries showed that the standard of strict vegetarian diet with natural and whole foods (plant-based diet) provided 73% less chance of manifestation of moderate to severe symptoms of COVID- 19 when compared to those that followed other diets.

The evaluation was also made against those who followed the plant-based diet compared with those who followed a low carb and high protein (low carbohydrate diet and high in protein). The risk of moderate to severe symptoms of COVID-19 was almost 4 times higher in those following low carb/high protein.

About the study

A total of 2,884 participants (94.8% were physicians and 5.2% were nurses and assistants) who worked on the front line against COVID-19 in 6 countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom and United States of America), compared to the number of contaminations, severity and duration of infection, which occurred between July 17 and September 25, 2020.

A total of 568 cases and 2,316 controls were evaluated.

The cases were considered symptomatic when the individuals presented, persistently, fever, cough, fatigue, loss of taste and smell. They were asymptomatic when there was no symptom, but antibodies or PCR tests were positive. The individuals who entered the control group were those who had no symptoms and also had negative blood tests to detect contact with COVID-19.

The food profile of the participants was also evaluated, and 11 profiles were computed: whole food, plant based, vegetarian diet, fish-vegetarian, Mediterranean, ketogenic, paleolithic, low fat (low fat), low carb (low carbohydrate), high protein (high in protein) and none of the previous ones.

This reduction in risk in the plant-based pattern (and also in the vegetarian-pesco) was evaluated by adjusting the other possible confounders, such as BMI (body mass index) and comorbidities.

Text prepared by Dr Eric Slywitch (CRM 105231) @drericslywitch, director of Department of Medicine and Nutrition of International Vegetarian Union (IVU)

La nutrición vegana para bebés sigue siendo un tema controvertido para muchas personas. El tema causa gran incertidumbre e incluso infunde miedo. ¿Puede una dieta completamente vegana ser realmente adecuada para los niños e incluso los bebés? En otras palabras, ¿una dieta totalmente vegana puede proporcionar todos los nutrientes necesarios para que un bebé crezca normalmente y se desarrolle saludablemente, tanto a nivel físico como mental? La respuesta es sí, pero hay que prestar atención a ciertos nutrientes, sobre todo a la vitamina B12. En otras palabras: la alimentación de un bebé vegano debe estar “bien planificada”. ¿Y qué significa “bien planificada”? Este libro lo explicará. Pero, ¿no sería más seguro pecar de precavido y alimentar a tu bebé con una dieta “normal”, es decir, una dieta no vegetariana? La respuesta es que no, en realidad no, siempre y cuando la dieta vegana esté bien planificada. Nada sugiere que una dieta vegana equilibrada sea menos segura que una dieta típica “occidental” (es decir, no vegetariana y no muy bien diseñada), o incluso una dieta no vegana que esté muy bien planificada. Tampoco hay nada que sugiera que una dieta típica “occidental” u otra dieta no vegana tenga un efecto más beneficioso para la salud y la esperanza de vida a largo plazo del bebé que una dieta vegana adecuadamente planificada. Todas las recomendaciones de este libro están basadas en las evidencias científicas actualmente disponibles. Esto significa que se apoyan en lo que se conoce de los estudios científicos, incluyendo los más recientes. Estos consejos también están respaldados por años de experiencia personal.

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