Breastfeeding, Complementary Foods And A Vegan Diet: You Should Know That
Over the years and armed with new information, more and more women are opting for a vegan diet. In fact, well-planned vegetarian diets tend to be very healthy.
However, if women are pregnant, it is important to pay extra attention to breastfeeding after giving birth to know if their baby is getting enough nutrients.
The American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics states that you should plan a vegan diet with a specialist while breastfeeding. A vegan diet without the necessary planning can cause health problems for both the mother and the child.
The vegan diet and breast milk
Babies who grow up in vegan families, like all newborns, need breast milk for proper development.
However, if you are on a vegan diet, you should supplement breast milk with vitamin B12. This way, your baby will get all of the necessary nutrients they need. Depending on the type of food the family eats, the baby may also need iodine.
If a vegan mom doesn’t want to or can’t breastfeed, there are soy or hydrolyzed rice formulas to feed the baby. Another option is to use baby food made from organic cow or goat milk.
According to the guidelines for baby food from the European Union, all have the necessary ingredients to properly feed your baby. Therefore, many vegan and vegetarian families choose this type of infant formula.
As always, it is important to contact your doctor for professional guidelines and recommendations for your specific case.
Complementary foods that a vegan diet should include
The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology emphasizes that you don’t have to wait until a certain age to introduce peanuts, nuts, and soybeans with your complementary foods. Your child can start eating these from 6 to 7 months of age.
On the other hand, it’s important to note that some foods make great substitutes. Find out which foods are involved below.
A vegan diet should include legumes
Legumes are suitable as the main substitute for meat and fish in the vegan or vegetarian diet. They contain a lot of protein, iron and zinc. This makes it one of the first foods you should give your baby. Usually, you should offer them with vegetables.
Some of the best legume options are:
- The best legumes are peeled red lentils. They are low in fiber, making them easy to digest.
- Later, you can add cooked chickpeas and tender peas, as well as other types of lentils. You can also give your baby unpeeled legumes.
Solid food
When your baby is old enough to eat them, you can also offer them more solid foods. For example, you can give your child hummus made from chickpeas, cooked tofu, pea schnitzel, and lentil stew.
You can also give him peanut butter without sugar. The nut spread tastes very good on bananas, apples and bread. If you are a lacto-ovo vegetarian, you can also give your baby an omelet every now and then.
Grain
For cereals, we recommend whole grain cereals. Generally, cereals are made with dextrinated grains. In these grains, complex chains of carbohydrates are partially hydrolyzed. In 20% or 30% of these products, they are in a very simple form, such as glucose.
Because breakfast cereals are high in sugar, we do not recommend them for babies who eat meat and vegetables.
gluten
According to the Spanish Association of Pediatrics, you should introduce gluten when your baby is 6 months old. So introduce gluten when you start with other solid foods.
The best way to add them to your diet is to offer them as whole grain bread. Babies partially digest it and generally have little difficulty with it.
A vegetarian or vegan diet can be perfectly healthy. In addition, it can provide important health benefits in both the short and long term.
What do experts say about vegan food?
According to the American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics , a vegan diet can be extremely healthy. But only if an expert plans and monitors this type of diet. In fact, vegan food is good for all stages of life, including pregnancy, breastfeeding, and childhood in general.
According to studies, women who follow a vegetarian or vegan diet need sufficient vitamin B12 during pregnancy and breastfeeding. This is because mothers who eat a vegan diet are typically lower in docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).
In summary, we can say that a vegan diet is generally healthy, but it is important that an expert monitors it. Because the correct development of your baby depends on the right diet.
