Is a vegan or vegetarian diet safe for young children?

Pediatrician Lawrence Kagan, MD, shares advice for parents on whether vegetarian or vegan diets are safe for young children and why it is important to meet a child's nutritional needs
Are Vegan Or Vegetarian Diets Safe For Young Kids?
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Is a vegan or vegetarian diet safe for young children?

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It is important for a developing young child to have a balanced and varied diet, which is why I support the use of multivitamins daily in children. I think it is wonderful for people to make lifestyle decisions for themselves and I support vegetarians and help people to try to find a diet that works for them, that encompasses everything that they need nutritionally and that is particularly true for vegans. Vegans have a very strict diet and it is very important that you get all the protein and carbohydrates and fats that you need. To impose one´s belief on your child is probably not the best idea. Children have a real need for a varied and balanced diet to successfully develop. And so, in the early years of life, I think it is a challenge to meet a child´s nutritional needs if you want to maintain that lifestyle.

Pediatrician Lawrence Kagan, MD, shares advice for parents on whether vegetarian or vegan diets are safe for young children and why it is important to meet a child's nutritional needs

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Lawrence Kagan, MD

Pediatrician

Lawrence Kagan, MD, FAAP, is a UCLA honors graduate, with a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry. He received medical training at USC Keck School of Medicine, and completed his internship and residency in Pediatrics at Children's Hospital Los Angeles. In addition to passionately studying neonatal, general pediatric and adolescent medicine at CHLA, he had the opportunity to train under some of the greatest minds in subspecialty pediatrics, diagnosing and managing the rarest and most complicated childhood ailments. Prior to opening Westside Pediatrics, he worked as an attending physician at the CHLA Emergency Department as well as at Cedars Sinai Urgent Care. Dr. Kagan is a native of Los Angeles and is happily married with two children.

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