A newly-published observational study, which was conducted by researchers at the University of Helsinki and published in the journal Molecular Medicine, concluded that vegan diets induced significant alterations in the metabolism of children, which manifested in significantly lower blood concentrations of vitamins A and D, cholesterol forms, and essential amino acids, compared to age-adjusted omnivores. In addition, DHA, an omega-3 fatty acid, is absent from the vegan diet, the researchers noted.
 
The authors of the study note that vegan diets are gaining in popularity, especially in young adults, though family-wide choices to eat vegan are resulting in young children going vegan at increasing rates. Because vegan diets exclude all animal-based products, most dietary guidelines recommend supplementation with vitamins B12 and D, as well as iodine, and, based on individual assessment, supplementation for calcium, vitamin B2, iron, and zinc may also be needed, the researchers said.
 
The reason for their concern is that nutritional recommendations for vegan dietary supplementation are based exclusively upon studies conducted with adult participants, with an insufficient amount of data on how vegan dieting may affect the nutritional status of children.
 
The preliminary, observational study analyzed the nutrition and metabolism of 40 healthy children in daycares , who were either following a vegan, vegetarian, or omnivore diet, according to the choice of their families. Their nutritional intake, metabolic biomarkers, and micronutrient statuses were extensively studied.
 
The authors said that children on a fully vegan diet were found to have significantly lower vitamin D levels compared to children without a special diet despite having regular vitamin D supplementation, and with the fact that blood samples were collected in late summer. Surprisingly, their levels of vitamin A were significantly lower than the rest of the population. Levels of LDL and HDL cholesterol, essential amino acids, and DHA (a fatty acid with a central role in the development of visual function) were low, while the vegan children had remarkably high levels of folate, the authors said.
 
These findings underscore the necessity to incorporate further and larger studies on the health consequences of a vegan diet in young children.
 
“Our results indicate that the health effects of strict diets on children cannot be extrapolated from studies on adults. In addition to vitamin D intake, attention must be paid to adequate intake of vitamin A and protein from various sources,” Topi Hovinen, MD, co-author of the study, said.
 
“The vegan families were active to participate in our study,” Lilsa Korkalo, PhD, co-author of the study said. “This is important, because without such voluntary contribution of the families it is not possible to undertake this kind of study.”