Dairy products are a significant source of energy and many nutrients in children's omnivorous diet

– Sources of iodine are scarce in vegetarian and vegan diets

BackgroundThe sources of nutrients in vegetarian and vegan diets of Finnish children have not been described before.

MethodsWe analyzed the 3- to 4-day food records of children aged 1–6 years from DAGIS and MIRA Helsinki studies from 2015–2017. We calculated the energy and nutrient intake from different food ingredient groups in i) an omnivorous diet (n = 438), ii) a pescovegetarian or flexitarian diet (n = 13), iii) a lacto- or lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet (n = 7), and iv) a vegan diet (n = 8).

ResultsIn an omnivorous diet, food of animal origin was a significant source of saturated fatty acids. In an omnivorous diet, dairy products, and in vegetarian and vegan diets, plant-based dairy alternatives were important sources of protein and vitamins D and B₁₂. In an omnivorous diet, dairy products were a good source of iodine, but in vegetarian and vegan diets, the sources of iodine were scarce.

ConclusionsChildren on an omnivorous diet would benefit from partial replacement of meat and fatty dairy products with plant-based products. In counselling, it is good to note that a child’s vegetarian diet can in practice be close to a vegan diet. This calls for careful planning. The use of iodine supplementation should be discussed whenever a child's diet does not include dairy products.

Liisa Korkalo, Topi Hovinen, Essi Skaffari, Henna Vepsäläinen, Reetta Lehto, Kaija Nissinen, Riitta Freese, Maijaliisa Erkkola 

Liisa Korkalo

Ph.D., Nutrition, University Lecturer

University of Helsinki, Department of Food and Nutrition