Vegan Nutrition with Brenda Davis

Brenda Davis is a registered dietitian in private practice. She is the past Chair of the Vegetarian Nutrition Dietetic Practice Group of the American Dietetic Association. Brenda is co-author of the international best seller, Becoming Vegetarian, and highly acclaimed Becoming Vegan. Brenda is an internationally recognized speaker. She has worked as a public health nutritionist, a clinical nutrition specialist, nutrition consultant and academic nutrition instructor.

Question:

Do vegan babies and toddlers NEED a multivitamin to ensure adequate nutrition? If so, can you recommend a vegan brand? And if not, how diligent must a vegan parent be in order to get adequate nutrition into their vegan child?

Answer:

While it is not necessary to give vegan babies and toddlers multivitamins, it is definitely worth considering. If fortified foods are avoided, supplementation with vitamin B12 and vitamin D are absolutely necessary. (While it is possible to get enough vitamin D from sunshine alone, it is generally recommended that infants be protected from direct sunlight with clothing and/or sunscreen).

Other nutrients of concern are calcium, iron and zinc. Multivitamins never contain enough calcium to make them a significant source. Calcium is best provided by a combination of calcium-rich plant foods and calcium-fortified beverages such as fortified non-dairy milks and fortified orange juice. Alternatively a liquid calcium supplement may be used.

Iron and zinc are less well absorbed from plant foods than from animal foods, thus we need to take care to insure reliable sources of these nutrients. Good plant iron sources include legumes, nuts, seeds, blackstrap molasses, dried fruits and iron-fortified foods (infant cereals, veggie meats, etc.). Zinc is an even greater challenge - the best plant sources are legumes, nuts, seeds and wheat germ.

By selecting a multivitamin/mineral supplement, you can insure reasonable intakes of vitamin B12, vitamin D, iron, zinc and many other important vitamins and minerals. Remember that supplements will never make up for a bad diet, nor will they provide all the beneficial dietary components in foods. If you do choose to provide your child with a supplement, be aware that many supplements designed for children provide only vitamins and iron - these are not your best choice. Instead, select a supplement that contains a variety of vitamins and minerals, including iron, zinc and copper. The amounts of iron and zinc should be about 5-10 mg each. Store all vitamin supplements out of reach of children as many are made to look and taste like candies, thus are very appealing to little ones. Vitamins and minerals can be toxic, and even fatal when taken in large doses (vitamin D and iron are especially risky).

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