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That's why I find the flap over the vegetarian recommendations
in the latest edition of Dr. Benjamin Spock's Baby and Child Care
so silly.
Earlier editions of Spock said a vegetarian diet was fine for kids
but urged the inclusion of dairy. The newly released seventh edition,
however, recommends a ``vegan'' diet -- a vegetarian diet minus
dairy and eggs -- for children over the age of 2.
Spock became a vegan when he was ill at age 90, and credited the
change in his diet for forestalling declining health, improving
his quality of life and giving him the time to write a final revision
of his guide. He died in March at 94.
Since its release, some pediatricians have labeled Spock's proposal
``insane'' and ``dangerous.'' But there are plenty of nutritionists
and parents who think he was right on target.
Many support Spock
``Well-planned vegan and lacto-ovo [milk and egg] vegetarian diets
are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle,'' according to
a statement from the American Dietetic Association, the nation's
largest organization of food and nutrition professionals. ``[They]
satisfy nutrient needs of infants, children, and adolescents and
promote normal growth.''
``To say that vegan diets cannot be nutritionally adequate is just
plain wrong,'' says Suzanne Havala, a registered dietitian and the
primary author of the ADA's 1993 position paper on vegetarian diets.
``Anyone -- vegan or not -- can eat Coke and french fries and be
poorly nourished, but we're talking about diets that are reasonably
well-planned and in keeping with basic principles of good nutrition
-- not rocket science.''
Havala was one of several experts called to Spock's home in Maine
while he was writing the revision to discuss the issue with co-author
Dr. Steven Parker, who considered the recommendations too extreme.
Ahead of his time
``You have to remember that Spock was roundly criticized years
ago for his disapproval of spanking and his stand on the Vietnam
War,'' Havala said in an interview. ``He was an incredibly principled
man.
``On this subject, he's right and everything is on target and scientifically
accurate. But all of this is outside the culture, at odds with our
traditions.
``He's ahead of his time once again,'' Havala said. ``In 20 years,
we'll be looking back and wondering what all the scuffle was about.''
Reed Mangels, who has a doctoral degree in nutrition and is an
adviser to the Vegetarian Resource Group, can't understand all the
hoopla either. A longtime vegan, she is raising her children, ages
6 and 3, as vegans as well.
``A lot of people who have very little practical experience with
vegan diets are very willing to give lots of advice about a subject
they don't know a lot about,'' Mangels said.
``The comment made by one doctor that `raising children on an all-plant
diet would be like climbing Mount Everest' is very hard to believe.
I do it on a daily basis and I don't spend a lot of time thinking
about it.''
Her kids eat what most kids eat: peanut butter and jelly sandwiches,
pancakes, pasta, fruits, raw veggies and dips, bean burritos, bagels,
beans and rice -- with the addition of an occasional veggie burger
or tofu shake.
Blender in hand, Mangels made a trip to her daughter's kindergarten
class this year when the teacher was discussing calcium and whipped
up strawberry soy shakes. ``You've never seen a bunch of 5-year-olds
finish a shake so fast,'' she said.
Get adequate calories
The best way to see that children achieve their ideal rate of
growth is to make sure they have adequate calories. Vegetarian diets
-- especially vegan ones -- tend to be bulky, and little stomachs
can fill up fast. Offering between-meal snacks like fruit muffins,
shakes, or half a sandwich, can help boost calorie intake.
Vegetarian kids are not shunned, odd kids who sit around eating
tofu. They go to baseball games and eat popcorn and Cracker Jacks.
They go to fast-food Mexican restaurants and eat bean burritos.
They play on baseball teams and sing in school choruses. They are
normal, healthy kids.
``This is not a handicap for the kids,'' says Mangels. ``It's an
advantage.''
She says she hasn't been to a gathering of kids and families yet
where there wasn't a kid who couldn't eat something because of allergies
or lactose intolerance. Being a vegan is no big deal.
``What if you kept kosher?'' she asks.
Feeding children takes extra time and thought -- whether they are
vegetarian or not. On a well-planned plant-based diet, your child
will eat less fat and cholesterol, more fruits and fiber, and establish
lifelong healthy eating patterns.
``The risk is not in eating vegetarian,'' she says. ``The risk
is kids continuing to eat a typical American diet.''
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