Plant-based diets are all the rage these days, but what does that mean for your health? If you’re a parent of young children, plant-based diets can offer many benefits. This article will discuss plant-based diet benefits for kids and how to get started with plant-based eating to improve your child’s health.
Healthy Heart
One of the primary benefits of a plant-based diet to kids is that they get to have a healthy heart. According to the health advocates behind All About Greens, plant-based diets are often lower in saturated fat and cholesterol than animal-based foods. This means that plant-based eating can reduce the risk of heart disease as well as obesity.
The plant community is rich with antioxidants that support a healthy immune system by fighting off free radicals or harmful toxins within your body. By decreasing these risks for infections and diseases, plant-based diets can help your child stay healthier and improve their immune system.
Reduced Risk Of Cancer
Plant foods offer many benefits for children. Plant foods pack a powerful punch in the fight against cancer as well. This is because plant food contains phytochemicals or plant chemicals that slow down cell damage to your entire body. A plant-based diet that is rich in plant phytochemicals can help reduce your child’s risk for developing cancerous cells, tumors, and other diseases related to cell damage in the body. Plant-based diets are filled with plant chemicals that support overall health through improved immune function as well as a reduced cancer risk.
Detoxification And Digestion With Plant Foods!
Did you know that plant foods like fruits and vegetables can also help prevent problems with digestion? When plant-based diets are rich in plant fiber, they can help improve your child’s digestion and reduce the risk of digestive problems. This is because plant foods contain a lot more fiber than non-plant-based foods. Fiber supports healthy bowel movements while also helping to make you feel fuller faster – all great things for kids who often have trouble getting their recommended daily intake of plant-based meals.
Plant Foods Are Delicious!
A plant-based diet doesn’t have to be boring, especially with the help of plant-based cookbooks for kids. While it is important to teach your children that eating plant foods can protect their health and reduce their risk for disease, you also want them to enjoy plant foods. There are plant-based recipes for every type of cuisine, including plant-based cheeseburgers and plant-based ice cream!
More Energy
Children who are on a plant-based diet often have more energy than their peers who are on an animal-based diet. Plant proteins tend to be easier for the body to break down, so plant-based diets can provide more energy in less time after eating.
High Nutritional Content
Plant foods contain many nutrients that are beneficial both to adults and children, including fiber, antioxidants, potassium, magnesium, plant sterols, vitamins A and C, iron, calcium, protein (vegetables are also high in protein), plant omega-fatty acids like alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) found in walnuts and flaxseed oil.
The Biggest Change You Can Make for Your Kids’ Health
There is a lot of controversy surrounding plant-based diets, but the truth is that plant-based foods are rich in nutrients and provide many benefits to people of all ages. You can rest assured knowing that your child’s plant-based diet provides him with an abundance of antioxidants, fiber, protein, calcium, iron, and other vitamins needed for his body to function properly.
Plant-based diets are very nutritious and contain many of the necessary ingredients that will help your child grow up to be a healthy adult.
Foster Brain Function
A plant-based diet for kids can also foster brain function. A plant-based diet can help prevent memory loss by increasing blood flow to the brain, especially in older people. This is because plant foods like leafy greens are rich in an antioxidant known as beta-carotene that’s important for improving cell health and preventing free radical damage to the cells of the brain.
Plant-based diets can also prevent or slow down the onset of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. These plant foods are rich in antioxidants which help to protect your brain cells from damage caused by free radicals that can cause these neurological conditions. This is why a plant-based diet for kids has become popular among many parents and plant-based diets are now part of their lifestyle.
Healthy Eyes and Vision
Plant foods like leafy greens, fruits, nuts, seeds, and legumes can foster healthy eyesight as they contain high levels of antioxidants such as lutein and zeaxanthin which protect the cells in your retinas from damage by free radicals. These plant foods are also rich in vitamin A which is necessary for the normal development of eyesight and vision.
Kidney Health
Plant-based diets can protect your kidneys from diseases like chronic renal failure. Plant foods like potatoes, sweet potatoes, soybeans, corn, and peas contain lots of potassium that helps to balance out sodium levels in your body. Potassium is also an antioxidant that can reduce oxidative stress on the kidneys by neutralizing harmful free radicals before they cause damage to kidney cells which may lead to chronic renal failure.
Plant-based diets are also low in protein which can help prevent urinary tract infections and lower the risk of developing bladder stones because plant foods do not contain purines which can trigger the development of these conditions.
Plant-based diets are natural plant foods that have been consumed for thousands of years and many plant foods have medicinal properties as well as nutritional value, making them a healthy choice for your kids’ future health. As more research is being done on plant food nutrients such as antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and plant protein, we now know more about the health benefits of plant-based diets.
How to Follow a Plant-Based Diet
Make at least half of your plate vegetables
At lunch and dinner, fill at least half of your plate with vegetables, picking a variety of colors. Try to consume green leafy vegetables at least once a day as well.
Eliminate meat
Reduce your family’s weekly meat consumption to one or two servings, if not all of it. Beans, tofu, lentils, and nuts are examples of plant-based protein alternatives that can be used to make a satisfying meal.
Choose healthy fats
Choose the healthy fats found in nuts, seeds, avocados, olives, and extra virgin olive oil. Healthy fats have been found to enhance gut health and to have a positive impact on blood pressure. They include reducing inflammation, raising blood sugar management, lowering the risk of heart disease, and improving blood cholesterol levels.
Ensuring healthy growth for kids following a plant-based diet
Your child will get the nutrients they need for healthy growth if they eat a plant-based diet that includes eggs and dairy. If sources of B12, calcium, zinc, vitamin D, and iron are prioritized, a vegetarian diet without eggs or dairy can still be nutritious and full of nutrients. Sources for these nutrients include:
Vitamin B12 – vitamin-rich cereals, breads, soy milk, nutritional yeast
Calcium – kale, broccoli, dried beans, calcium-fortified soy milk, some nuts
Iron – lentils, chickpeas, beans, tofu, cashew nuts, chia seeds, ground linseed, hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds, kale, dried apricots and figs, raisins, quinoa and fortified breakfast cereal
Zinc – hummus, potatoes, nuts, fortified cereal, dried beans, pumpkin seeds, etc.
Vitamin D – fortified cereals, fortified milk alternatives, mushrooms, or in some supplements
Plant-based diets are all the rage and for good reason. But what’s a vegan diet? And how does it work in kids’ lives? If you’re thinking of making the switch to a vegan lifestyle, the benefits listed above may have helped clarify some misconceptions and provide some useful tools for getting started. Whether your family is already on a plant-based diet or not, just keep in mind to make it easy and fun for everyone to enjoy healthy meals together while still nourishing your bodies with all the nutrients you need.