Vegan Children Have Healthier Hearts

A new study is showing that vegan children may have healthier hearts, but experts are concerned about the effects it is having on their growth. When it comes to what parents feed their children, it seems like everyone has an opinion. Right from the beginning, banter can be seen online about breastfeeding vs. formula, but it doesn’t end when the baby starts eating solid foods. Then the conversation turns to omnivore, vegetarian and vegan diets. While it is important that a child eats, it is important to know the benefits of every diet and that is why studies are so important when it comes to a child’s diet.

According to Medical Xpress, a new study is showing that children who are on a vegan diet have a healthier cardiovascular system and less body fat, but these diets may affect their growth, bone mineral content, and micronutrient status.

The study was completed by researchers from UCL and Children’s Memorial Health and can be read in full here. The study looked at 187 healthy children between the ages of 5 and 10 years old between the years 2014 and 2016. The group had three cohorts, vegans, vegetarians, and omnivores.

The results were interesting:

•They showed that the children who followed the vegan diets were 3 cm shorter and had 4 to 6% less bone mineral content than their omnivore peers.

•They also were deficient in vitamin B-12 and had lower levels of cholesterol.

It seems that there were some clear benefits to a vegan diet for children, but some negative traits to watch out for as well.

•The study also found that vegetarian children also had a less healthy cardiovascular profile.

•When it comes to heart health, it is clear that the vegan diet is the optimal choice, but there are still areas that it is lacking.

The researchers explained the concerns about having a low bone density in vegan children. They stated that when they enter adolescence, they are coming in with a bone deficit already formed. The adolescence period is important because that is when bone-specific nutrient nerves are higher and it can have an impact on their bone health when they are adults.

The study calls for more education and resources for parents who have children on a vegan diet, especially because a diet full of nutrients and vitamins is the most crucial in childhood because they are growing quicker at that point in their lives than they ever will again.

Sources: Medical Xpress, Oxford Academic