One of the main difficulties of vegetarianism andVeganism in Russia - a sharp negative from those who do not understand this way of life. Often mummies, who confess to the doctor that they have replaced meat with vegetable food, withstand a barrage of accusations. And the next time they read the recipes on the Internet, trying to avoid the attacks of doctors. But even at home, such families are no better: grandmothers strive to slip a piece of fish or meat to the baby while the parents do not see. And all the reproaches say that they want the best. We collected the main fears of our moms and dads and asked Dr. Skalny to tell the truth: where to continue to stand, and what is the best way for them to give up.
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The child does not receive animal protein, and he is irreplaceable
Argument of relatives:Man is a predator, he needs animal proteins for proper development. Only meat contains the entire necessary set of amino acids, which is irreplaceable. Arguments of vegans: meat is too heavy food, which is poorly digested and clogs the body. With the right diet, the child will receive the necessary amino acids from plant foods, and the body will not be clogged, the child will not get sick, will be active and developed.
- As a rule, none of the parents raisea vegan child if he is not part of this culture. That is, they have an idea of a balanced diet. And until the mother breastfeeds the baby, there is generally no reason for panic - he gets absolutely everything necessary for the development of macro and microelements. Questions begin when breastfeeding is completed, vegetables, porridges on water are used. As for the necessary elements: if we choose a product of plant origin and animal origin, both there, and it contains iron, zinc, calcium, most of the trace elements and vitamins. The question is where they are more digestible. In vegetable products there is no saturated fat, and vegetable oil is also a source of unsaturated fats. That is, fats that are easily digested, affect the level of cholesterol, the so-called beneficial, and not harmful. But for some, nature has created other fats. It is believed that a child from animal protein can indeed more easily get more nutrients. Because we are not born birds, we are more predators than herbivores, according to the structure of the intestines and other organs. Although there are such studies that people who ate a long time for plant food, internal organs have changed under new conditions - the same intestine, for example, is lengthened, because for digesting some vegetable food you need more energy and strength. From my practice I can say that usually people who are serious about their health know the weak points of veganism and, for example, especially pay attention to foods that are rich in the same vitamin B12. It is not true that it is irreplaceable and is contained only in meat. To correct a B12 deficiency, eat algae, such as spirulina or kelp. And get the desired item from there. Eat sprouts and buckwheat, parsley to get iron. And so on. Summing up I will say: you can fully eat vegetable food. But do not forget to regularly take tests with your child, in time to identify the shortage of certain substances.
When the child goes to the garden, he will start eating everything.
Arguments of relatives:in the garden they will give you a cutlet for lunch, and no one will monitor whether you are a vegan or not. At the same time, it is unknown how the body will behave, not used to processing meat. ? Shock? This can be deadly dangerous! Arguments of mothers: by this age, the child himself is already accustomed to a certain food culture, we explain to him what he eats and why. already consciously choose plant foods. And in general, it is not a fact that he will go to kindergarten with us.- In fact, there are different groups of children.You don't have to be a vegan to give up meat. There are people with allergies who are intolerant to dairy products, for example, there are those who have a reaction to gluten. There are those who do not eat meat due to family beliefs. In Russian kindergartens, of course, they will not take into account the child's food preferences; no one will cook for him alone. How ready is a mother to give her child containers with the first, second and third courses every day? After all, this needs to be done every day. But even here there is no guarantee that he will not climb into his neighbor's plate and try his cutlet. Or a compassionate teacher will not feed him a sausage secretly from his mother. Will the child die from this because of some terrible reaction? No. In pediatrics, it is believed that in order to prevent allergic reactions, in order to form enzymes for digesting food, up to 3 years old, you need to let your child try the maximum range of different types of food. He may not eat: smell, lick, bite. But this will affect the brain structures that will send an impulse to the digestive system, and it will begin to produce enzymes to digest these types of products. Therefore, if a child steals something from the common adult table, do not stop him. Let him try.
A plant is not enough for a child, only animal food can give strength and energy
Arguments of relatives:What are these vegetables - you eat them and in an hour you are hungry again! A growing organism needs a lot of energy, you can't get it from just foraging food. Arguments of mothers: porridge is the main source of energy for an adult meat eater, because it can be taken from complex carbohydrates. At the same time, the organism easily digests this food, it does not waste energy on processing animal proteins, so it is, on the contrary, lighter and more energetic.- I repeat that I recommend parents at leastonce or twice a year to pass tests with the child in order to control the protein level and the content of other trace elements. But there are indirect signs by which it can be determined whether everything is in order with the child. So, for grandmothers, more frequent catarrhal diseases and reduced immunity can be a guideline. If suddenly the baby is stunted in growth (this may be due to a lack of zinc, which is found in large quantities in animal proteins), in speech development, he has gone late, he has scattered attention, he quickly gets tired. These signs are a reason to be wary and to be examined. If all indicators are normal, if the child is active and cheerful, at the moment there is no cause for concern.
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The decision for the child is made by parents, his right to choose is taken away.
Argument of relatives:You decided yourself that he doesn't want all these tasty dishes, this is violence against the child. Let him decide for himself! Arguments of mothers: when you slip candy or unhealthy food to a child, you also commit violence, because you choose for him.- Yes, there is such a moment. But the child’s choice still exists: after all, he happens to be with his mother in a supermarket and sees diversity on the shelves, gets some information. And he can say what he wants. But it is clear that up to a certain age, the mother influences his behavior to a greater extent, she determines what is best for him. And there can be a story when on the birthday party of a friend he eats himself with a cake, such as on a margarine, with sugar and the like, which he has never seen. And he is being taken away with some development of reactive pancreatitis. But still it is difficult to imagine such sterile conditions under which a child up to a certain age would have no opportunity to see the most diverse products. In my opinion, in order to take responsibility for deciding for a child, you just need to have an incredible intuitive instinct, to be one with it. Or it turns out violence against the person. And in the case when you, against his will, stuff a cutlet into it, and when you feed him one zucchini. When parents decide everything for the child, they take away from him the right to choose. Without stuffing his cones, he will not develop further.
Vegans deny synthetic drugs, antibiotics, waiting for the body to cure itself
Arguments of relatives:It is not for nothing that all the medicines that exist were invented in the 21st century. They make it easy to cope with diseases that used to kill. Why watch a child suffer from a cough and fever if you can give him a safe syrup? Mothers' arguments: we are used to stuffing a child with medicine at the slightest sneeze, killing his immune system. As a result, it does not want to fight. Up to a certain limit, the body itself is able to cope with a fever, and you can help it with healthy food: honey, fruits, herbs. The child will not get sick next time where his peer is laid up with the flu.- There are two points here.On the one hand, mothers are right in some ways: there are a huge number of different multi-vitamins and supplements in pharmacies now, and using all of this can often do more harm than good. Because it is difficult to make a pill that would suit all children. But at the same time, parents should be aware that there is nothing absolutely good or bad. It is important to support the child's body at the right time where it is needed. And this should be done together with a doctor. Vegetarianism and doctors are a separate big problem, not all doctors, unfortunately, react calmly to this style of nutrition. But parents should understand that if there are clear signs that the child is very ill, you cannot just sit and wait for the body to overcome the infection or not. I do not deny that there is herbal medicine, herbal treatment, and so on, and it may help someone. And it may not help someone. On the third hand, in Europe, doctors are generally not supporters of treating colds with medications. There is a very fine line here: if a child gets sick 5-6 times a year, it means that something is wrong with the immune system, which means that you need to help him somehow. And here you should put all prejudices aside. In general, there is such a thing that vegans are generally stronger. The immune system of those who eat meat is more strained. It is indeed easier for our body to process plant foods, and the immune system spends less energy, it is stronger. That is, children generally get sick less often. It is not for nothing that when we get sick, we do not want to eat, because the body does not want to spend energy on processing food. But other people's experience is not always applicable, what is good for one child may not pass without a trace for another. This is the bad thing about advice from the Internet. See also:
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