VEGAN AND VEGETARIAN DIET: ITS IMPACTS ON CHILDREN'S HEALTH

Abstract

The prevalence rate of individuals adhering to a vegan or vegetarian diet is on the rise. In Brazil there were about 30 million vegetarian people in 2018 and with an increase of 350% of vegans in the world in the last 10 years. In addition, vegan or vegetarian food for infants is also on the rise, which can bring benefits, but also harm to children's health, if poorly introduced, and is a topic much discussed by professionals. Therefore, the importance of balanced nutrition for the vegan/vegetarian children's audience based on adequate nutrition is perceived. Thus, the objective of this study was to analyze, through scientific studies, the impacts of these diets on child health in favor of a healthy diet that guarantees adequate growth/development for infants. The present study is a Bibliographic Review Article, the electronic databases "Google Scholar" and "Pubmed" were consulted, analyzing 10 scientific articles between the years 2018 to 2022 in Portuguese and English. In view of the findings, vegetarian food provides infants with a higher intake of sources of fiber, magnesium, vitamin C, E, folic acid, carotenoids, carbohydrates and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). However, there may be protein deficiencies in terms of essential amino acids, calcium, iron, zinc, iodine, omega-3 PUFA and B vitamins, such as B2 and B12, in addition to A and D, as well as a lower energy intake . Therefore, it is noteworthy to emphasize that there should be more studies on the subject, to clarify possible divergences between the researched articles, as well as the monitoring of trained professionals is essential, to decide together with the family on the best method to be followed in the face of a diet that provide all the fundamental nutrients that benefit the child's health.