Most of the time a balanced diet full of fruits, veggies, whole grains, dairy and lean protein can ensure kids get adequate amounts of essential nutrients. With planning, a vegetarian diet can also meet all the nutritional needs of kids. But, sometimes it’s just nice to know what kids need and where to get it!
This “fast facts” page gives you the nitty gritty- the information you need to know in bite sized pieces.
Calcium
How much do kids need?
- 7-12 months: 260mg
- 1-3 years: 700mg
- 4-8 years: 1000mg
- 9-13 years: 1300mg
Sources: dairy products, fortified juices, canned fish with bones, kale broccoli, bok choy (these veggies are low in calcium-binding oxalates as well), tofu and fortified cereals.
Why it’s important: Important for strong bones and teeth as well as healthy hormone and muscle function, nerve transmission and maintaining healthy blood vessels.
What you need to know:
- Key nutrients enhance calcium utilization in the body, including sodium and potassium. Vitamin D is required to get calcium to bones.
- Childhood is THE time to build bones. Building strong, healthy bones now sets kids up for healthier bones throughout their lives.
Iron
How much do kids need? The National Institutes of Health recommend:
- 7-12 months: 11mg
- 1-3 years: 7mg
- 4-8 years: 10mg
- 9-13 years: 8mg
- 14-18 years: 11mg for boys and 15mg for girls
- Vegetarians: multiply recommendations by 1.8
Sources: meat, seafood and poultry are sources of bioavailable heme iron. Soaked beans and fermented soy products (including miso or tempeh), pumpkin seeds, cashews, sunflower seeds, tahini, fortified cereals and grains/flours and baked potatoes with their skin are all plant (non-heme) sources of iron. With non-heme sources of iron be sure to get a variety of different sources each day and pair them with sources of vitamin C for best absorption.
Why it’s important: Iron is essential for transporting oxygen throughout the blood, getting it to the muscles for storage and use during exertion. Iron also is a vital part of growth, neurological development, hormone synthesis and properly functioning cells.
What you need to know:
- Cow’s milk is a rich source of calcium, a mineral that competes with iron for absorption in the body. Too much cow’s milk can prevent iron from food from being absorbed and lead to low iron levels, so it should not be baby’s main beverage until they’re a year old.
- The incidence of iron-deficient anemia is not more common in vegetarian children than in omnivores. However, iron stores do tend to be lower and vegetarians need more iron- 1.8 times more from non-heme sources.
- Heme iron is found in animal products and is the most bioavailable form of iron. Non-heme iron is found in plant foods and is less bioavailable, hence the need for higher amounts.
- Pica, or the desire to eat non-food items like laundry detergent or dirt, is a common sign of deficiency. Other signs include: lethargy/extreme tiredness, frequent illness, cold hands/feet, and slow growth.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
How much do kids need? The recommended Adequate Intakes per day of omega-3s are:
- 0-12 months: 0.5 grams (provided via breast milk and formula)
- 1-3 years: 0.7 grams
- 4-8 years: 0.9 grams
- 9-13 years: 1.2g (boys), 1g (girls)
- 14-18 years: 1.6g (boys), 1.1g (girls)
Sources: Fatty fish like salmon, sardines, herring, tuna and mackerel and fish and algae oil are the gold standard. Trout, cod and tilapia, eggs and free-range beef have it in small quantities as well. Breast milk and formula both provide preformed omega-3s as well. Walnuts, soybeans/tofu, flax, hemp and chia seeds and canola oil contain the precursor ALA.
Why it’s important: Omega-3s play a vital role in immune, cognitive and retina development in children and help reduce inflammation
What you need to know:
- There are three kinds of dietary omega-3 fats: DHA, EPA and ALA. DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) are especially important for the brain, heart and eyes.
- While not significant sources of EPA and DHA, ALA is important in its own right.
- The only practical way to increase EPA and DHA in the body is via fatty fish or oil and algae.
Vitamin B12
How much do kids need: The RDA for vitamin B12 in kids is:
- 7-12 months: 0.5mcg
- 1-3 years: 0.9mcg
- 4-8 years: 1.2mcg
- 9-13 years: 1.8mcg
- 14+ years: 2.4mcg
Sources: Vitamin B12 is another nutrient that primarily comes from animal sources, including meats, fish and poultry. If your kids are not meat eaters, don’t worry too much: breakfast cereals are fortified with vitamin B12. Additionally, dairy products, eggs, fortified soy milk, nutritional yeast, and other fortified products are all vegetarian sources of B12.
Why it’s important: Vitamin B12 plays a role in neuronal, cognitive and brain development. Additionally, vitamin B12 plays a role in immune function. Deficiency can lead to megaloblastic anemia, brain, and cognitive developmental delay and even irreversible brain damage in severe cases.
What you need to know:
- If your kids eat meat and/or dairy they should have no problem getting adequate amounts of vitamin B12 unless they have absorption problems as a result of a condition like celiac or Crohn’s disease.
- Read nutrition labels to ensure a cereal or other product is fortified with vitamin B12. Added B12 is very bioavailable, meaning the body can use it easily.
Vitamin D
How much do kids need: The National Institutes of Health recommend that babies up to one year of age should get at least 400 IU of vitamin D3 per day. Kids older than 1 year and teens should get at least 600 IU of vitamin D3 each day.
Sources: Egg yolks, liver, fortified milk, and plant-based milks, fortified orange juice, fortified cereals and fortified margarine/spreads. Mushrooms can be a source of vitamin D. Look for mushrooms that were grown under UV light or place mushrooms in the sun where they can convert the UV into vitamin D.
Why it’s important: A vitamin D deficiency is most commonly associated with rickets (a condition characterized by soft, brittle bones and bow legs) and although we may think of rickets as a thing of the past, cases are increasing again. Vitamin D is essential for healthy bones, it’s required for the absorption of calcium and phosphorus from our diets. Calcium needs vitamin D to help it get to the bones where it belongs.
Vitamin D is an important part of our immune system. A deficiency increases the risk of bacterial and viral infections and those with low vitamin D often exhibit increased muscle cramps, inflammation and autoimmunity.
What you need to know:
- It is possible to get vitamin D from food, but can be a challenge. This is one vitamin we recommend supplementing.
- Look for a vitamin D3 supplement (vitamin D supplements are usually cheap), D2 is essentially worthless. Try to find one with vitamin K2 as well. Vitamin K2 helps stick calcium to the bone.
- Take your supplement at a meal where fat containing fat. Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin and fat-soluble vitamins need fat to be absorbed! Fat triggers bile flow, which helps emulsify fat and fat-soluble vitamins.
Zinc
How much do kids need:
- 0-6 months: 2mg (provided via breast milk and formula)
- 7 months-3 years: 3mg
- 4-8 years: 5mg
- 9-13 years: 8mg
- 14-18 years: 11mg (boys), 9mg (girls)
Sources: Animal products like meat, and poultry are the best sources. Soybeans, tofu, fortified vegetarian meat substitutes, baked beans, lentils, navy beans, pumpkin seeds, cashews, toasted sunflower seeds, fortified cereals, wheat germ and cooked peas also contain zinc.
Why it’s important: Zinc deficiency can cause failure to thrive in children. It also wrecks the taste buds so children can’t taste food as well and don’t enjoy it as much
What you need to know:
- Zinc deficiencies are not more common in vegetarian children than in omnivores.
- Many vegetarian sources of zinc, primarily whole grains, are also high in phytates, which reduce zincs bioavailability