The Benefits of a Vegan Diet for Children
The idea of embracing a diet composed of vegetable is becoming a trend in the twenty-first century as the debate on what benefits it offers has since erupted. The advantages to children are particularly critical because there a vast range of positive outcomes that are associated with the diet choice of going vegan. The primary benefits are that vegetables limit exposure to toxins in the environment as there is less pollution. There is a likelihood that one will live longer when they consume less meat. Finally, a child could avoid a host of nutritional-related conditions such as cancer, heart disease, and diabetes by opting to consume more vegetable. However, counterarguments have been raised over the possibility of toxicity and consumption of less mineral and vitamins in the diet, but the overall impression is that going vegan offers many benefits to a child.
Effects of a Vegetarian Diet on Children's Health
A majority of people in the twenty-first century are born into families that eat meat. Such individuals eat meat because they desire to, rather than because they need to consume such foods. However, some opponents believe that going vegan is not a healthy choice. Majority of the time, these opinions are not based on research or facts. The views can be at times based on people's comfort of the so-called "normal" and what they have grown used to their whole life. For example, if a child grew up in a household where her mother cooked a full course dinner about 5-6 times a week her perception maybe defined by the experience (Kristensen " Køster, 2014). Their meals could have been pretty basic, consisting of meat, rice, and vegetables. The subject has since necessitated the need to investigate the benefits associated with going vegan particularly on children's health. The positive effects associated with being a vegetarian are that it leads to an overall improved state of health as the child is less exposed to environmental and biological toxins while they can overcome the risk of developing nutritional disorders.
The Impact of a Vegan Diet on the Environment
One of the primary benefits that children realize from being vegetarians is that the planet is less exposed to pollutants and they breathe cleaner air and are exposed to fewer toxins in the environment. In fact, the subject of pollution is particularly why some people decide to go vegetarian is for their advocacy to save the planet and the land. Scientific research has been conducted and advised that livestock farming is one of the leading causes of pollution. According to Jennings (2010), the air pollution is a result of harmful gases that are released from cows, and these toxic gases are causing damage to the ozone layer. The gases released by the cows are supposed to more dangerous than emissions from motor vehicles. The gas is also known to cause severe changes to the climate. Urine that comes from animals kept in various sheds has also been found to be harmful to the environment from the apprehension that it contains ammonia that later falls as acid rain. It thus follows that with the trend of going vegan, children have a chance to realize better health because it means that there is a reduced chance that they will interact with either of these pollutants or toxic gases (Jennings, 2010).
Additional Health Benefits of a Vegan Diet for Children
There are many other notable benefits of going vegetarian with the key being the loss of weight factor and ability to overcome the risk of cancer significantly. According to Earth (2018), vegetarians are known to have a lower body mass index than meat eaters. The other advantage is linked to cancer prevention because it has been found that trading in red meat for fruit and vegetables are confirmed to lower the chances of suffering from heart disease. World-renowned physician Dr. Dean Ornish discovered that those who commonly eat low-fat vegetarian foods overcame the risk of developing coronary heart disease (Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence, 2004). Moreover, vegans have a reduced chance of developing the problem with circulation from the apprehension that there is a 24 percent lower risk of succumbing to heart disease. Furthermore, going vegetarian means that the child would avoid toxic food contamination including salmonella, parasites and other bacteria are in the flesh of meats. Avoiding these foods eliminate the child's chances of getting infected.
The Longevity and Nutritional Concerns of a Vegan Diet for Children
There are a host of other health benefits to children with a longer a healthier lifestyle being possible when one opts being vegetarian. There were six studies completed by researchers who revealed the effects of meatless diets over a long course of time. Four reviews out of the six that were conducted have indicated that there is an increased chance for a vegan child to live longer than their counterparts who consume other animal-based foods. The Seventh-day Adventist religious group had 34,000 members participate in a survey about their eating habits for 12 years (Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence, 2004). It is also reported that children who are vegans have a much lower likelihood of dying from other diseases than meat eaters especially those that consume it at least once every week. There are also some studies that show vegetarian's diet can lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol and sometimes even contribute to the reduction in the lipid levels in the body (Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence, 2004). These benefits add up to a lesser risk of developing heart disease, which is also good news for children who have challenges managing insulin. It can thus be elaborated that going vegan offers the benefit of having the opportunity of managing diabetes especially to those who are carrying the disease. Food choices such as nuts, soy products, whole grains, and legumes are all healthy diet options that can reduce cholesterol levels. Children who have diabetes will want to do their best to lower their risk of heart disease because it is the most common complications of the disease. Thus, a person can be proud that they are incorporating good eating patterns in their diet that will directly affect their health.
Potential Nutritional Concerns and Counterarguments
However, notable counterarguments have been raised to challenge the choice of making a child go vegan based on the nutritional content of the foods taken by this population. The key concern according to Kristensen " Køster (2014) is that children often lack a variety of nutrients compared to those that consume different food types. It is supposed that vegan parents deny their child body food cravings that are meant to correct nutritional deficiencies. The other challenge is that vegan children risk suffering from toxicity due to consumption of high quantities of low protein in the diet. The problem arises from the fact that plant and animals offer different types of proteins with most plant sources being low in high-quality protein. Lastly, being vegan has been a challenge by consuming food that does not contain real vitamin (Kristensen " Køster, 2014). Instead, vegetarians have a tendency of eating precursors that need to be converted, which could result in vitamin deficiencies.
Conclusion
In conclusion, there are various benefits to a child's health from the choice of going vegan with the primary being the chance of limiting exposure to toxins. The child can also overcome a host of health-related conditions such as cancer, diabetes, and high blood pressure when they are introduced to a diet that is composed of vegetables at a tender age. Therefore, even if the parents decide not to commit entirely to a vegetarian lifestyle, they may choose to provide meat to their children 2 out of 7 days a week. One baby step at a time can move a person closer to completely going meat-free and living a vegetarian lifestyle. While counterarguments have questioned the nutritional content of vegan foods, they remain the healthier option.
References
Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence. (2004). Vegetarianism: addition by subtraction. An increasing number of studies are finding health benefits from a low- or no-meat diet. Harvard Health Letter, 29(4), 6.
Earth, D. (2018). Top 10 Reasons for Going Veggie. Down to Earth Organic " Natural. Retrieved from https://www.downtoearth.org/go-veggie/top-10-reasons
Jennings, D. (2010). No more beef? The argument for vegetarianism. Positive Health, 173(1).
Kristensen, S. T., " Køster, A. (2014). Contextualising eating problems in individual diet counselling. Health (United Kingdom), 18(3), 319–331. http://doi.org/10.1177/1363459313516136
