Nutritional deficiencies in a vegetarian diet

Protein

Protein is vital for tissue building and repair in the body.

• Proteins are made up of amino acids. All animal proteins are complete because they contain all the amino acids needed to make a complete protein.
• The only plant food that has all the amino acids needed to make up a complete protein is soy – it is the only complete vegetable protein.
• All other plant foods only contain some of the amino acids needed to make up a complete protein.
• Eating a variety of plant foods each day should provide enough of the different amino acids to build the complete proteins our bodies need.
• To ensure a diet that meets their protein needs, vegetarians should eat nuts, legumes and wholegrain cereals.

Plant foods that are high in protein are:

Legumes – chickpeas, lentils, red kidney beans

Nuts – tahini, peanut paste

Seeds – sesame, pumpkin, poppy

Soy products, including tempeh and tofu

Wholegrain cereals – rye, barley, oats

Iron deficiency

Iron is essential for the making of red blood cells in the body. Lack of iron can lead to anaemia (lack of iron in the blood) which causes a loss of energy. The daily requirement of iron needed for children up to 11 years is 6-8mg per day.

Iron from animal foods (meat) is more easily and efficiently absorbed than the iron from plant-based sources, so to ensure that your child meets his daily requirements, you should try:

• Offering plant foods which contain iron every day. Eating plant foods every day which contain iron, such as: dried beans and cooked peas; dark leafy vegetables such as spinach and broccoli; dried fruit such as apricots and raisins; eggs; and nuts.
• Combining plant foods containing iron with foods that contain vitamin C. The combination helps the body to absorb the plant-based iron more efficiently. A breakfast of orange juice (vitamin C) and cereal (iron) is an ideal way of helping the body access the iron in his diet.
• Offering iron-enriched foods. Many breads, pastas and breakfast cereals have added iron which will help his iron intake.
• Don’t let him have caffeine drinks (which he shouldn’t be drinking anyway!) at meal times as caffeine interferes with the absorption of iron.
• Keeping bran consumption low. Bran can also interfere the absorption of plant-based iron.