Pediatr. praxi. 2020;21(6):409-413 | DOI: 10.36290/ped.2020.085

Plant based diets: breastfeeding and complementary feeding

MUDr. Martin Světnička^1,4, MUDr. Eliška Selinger^2,3,4, MUDr. Jan Gojda^2,4, MUDr. Eva El‑Lababidi, Ph.D.^1,4

¹ Klinika dětí a dorostu, Fakultní nemocnice Královské Vinohrady a 3. lékařská fakulta Univerzity Karlovy v Praze

² II. interní klinika, Fakultní nemocnice Královské Vinohrady a 3. lékařská fakulta Univerzity Karlovy v Praze

³ Oddělení hygieny dětí a mladistvých, Státní zdravotnický ústav, Praha

⁴ Centrum pro výzkum výživy, metabolismu a diabetu, 3. lékařská fakulta Univerzity Karlovy v Praze

Popularity of plant-based diets, vegetarianism and veganism, is growing nowdays. This dietetic style is also spreading among young families, who also lead their children to leave out animal products from their diet even during the time of pregnancy and breastfeeding. With the wrong composition of the diet and lack of information, the exclusion of all animal products could cause nutritional deficiencies and affect the physiological development of the child. The major potential problem may arise from the absolute absence of vitamin B12 in a strict plant-based diet, the problem the most common yet simple to handle. It is also necessary to focus on vitamin D, calories, protein, calcium, iron, fatty acids and iodine intake. The newest reviews shows that all the deficits can be prevented by a well balanced composition of the plant-based diet and the inclusion of the nutritional supplements.

Keywords: vegan, vegetarian diet, vitamin B12, breastfeeding, complementary food, infant.

Published: January 6, 2021  Show citation